History of Makati

Originally founded in 1670 as a visita of Sta. Ana de Sapa under the jurisdiction of the Franciscans, Makati City was first dismissed as "worthless" swamp land by the Spanish conquistador Juan Miguel de Legazpi in 1571.

Yet over the centuries, this small community would leave large imprints in social, economic and cultural history. The friars established two of the earliest churches in the Philippines - the Nuestra Señora de Gracia in Guadalupe and the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul - in Makati, drawing pilgrims from all over the country.

At the turn of the century, the Americans established Fort McKinley in Makati, and in 1901, San Pedro de Makati, with a population of 2,500, was incorporated into the province of Rizal. On February 28, 1914, the Philippine Legislature passed Act 2390, shortening the name San Pedro Makati to Makati in the 1930s, the first airport, Nielson Airport, opened in what is now the Ayala Triangle. The first centrally planned community was established in the 1950s, and since the 1970s, Makati has been the undisputed financial and commercial capital, the once worthless swampland becoming prime real property.

Makati has also figured prominently in the political history of the Filipino. The community was one of the cradles of the revolt against Spanish colonial rule, and following the assassination of Ninoy Aquino in 1983, the epicenter of the protest movement against the dictatorial rule of Ferdinand Marcos. On January 2, 1995, the Makati became an independent city by virtue of Republic Act 7854.

For more information, see the Makati City Portal History section.

Port of Manila

"Manila Port" (also known as the "Port of Manila" or "Manila International Cargo Terminal") is one of Asia's and South East Asia's major seaports, and also one of the Philippine's most active ports together with Subic Bay, Cebu, and other major Philippine ports.

In a 2005 study, The Port of Manila was listed as the world's 31st most active container port, moving 2,665 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) worth of containers that year.


Roxas Bridge (formerly Del Pan Bridge)The bay entrance is 19 km wide and expands to a width of 48 km. Mariveles, in the province of Bataan, is an anchorage just inside the northern entrance and Sangley Point is the former location of Cavite Naval Base.

On either side of the bay are volcanic peaks topped with tropical foliage: 40 km to the north is the Bataan Peninsula and to the south is the province of Cavite.

Manila has in all around 3 main areas, which are known as Manila North (MNN), Manila South (MNS) and Manila (MNL).

Manila Orientation

Manila is but one of 13 cities and 4 municipalities that comprise the area known as Metro Manila or the National Capital Region (NCR) of the Philippines. The NCR is located in the southern portion of the island of Luzon, in between the Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog Regions, between Manila Bay and the inland lake of Laguna de Bay. The City of Manila, where most of the historical attractions are located, lies at the confluence of Manila Bay and the Pasig River.

The City of Manila is in the western part of Metro Manila. It is bordered to the west by Manila Bay, to the north by Quezon City and Kalookan City, to the east by San Juan and Mandaluyong City and to the south by Pasay and Makati.

Kamayan Malate

Kamayan, 523 Merchant Bldg., Padre Faura St., +632-528-1723 to 24. Kamayan literally means to eat with your hands in Filipino. Their native buffet has a wide range of Filipino food to offer for just under 10 US$/person. Specialties include the lechon (suckling pig) and grilled seafood. Kamayan also has branches in Makati and Quezon City and is usually located alongside its sister restaurants Dad's (Western food buffet) and Saisaki (Japanese food buffet).

Department of Health

The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) (Filipino:Kagawaran ng Kalusugan) is the principal health agency in the Philippines. It is the executive department of the Philippine Government responsible for ensuring access to basic public health services to all Filipinos through the provision of quality health care and the regulation of providers of health goods and services.

In 1947, President Manuel Roxas signed Executive Order (E.O.) No. 94 into law, calling for the creation of the Department of Health. Dr. Antonio C. Villarama as appointed Secretary. A new Bureau of Hospitals and a Bureau of Quarantine was created under DOH. Under E.O. 94, the Institute of Nutrition was created in 1948 to coordinate various nutrition activities of the different agencies.

On February 20, 1958, Executive Order 288 provided for the reorganization of the Department of Health. This entailed a partial decentralization of powers and created eight Regional Health Offices. Under this setup, the Secretary of Health passed on some of responsibilities to the regional offices and directors.

One of the priorities of the Marcos administration was health maintenance. From 1975 to the mid-eighties, four specialty hospitals were built in succession. The first three institutions were spearheaded by First Lady Imelda Marcos. The Philippine Heart Center was established on February 14, 1975 with Dr. Avelino Aventura as director. Second, the Philippine Children’s Medical Center was built in 1979. Then in 1983, the National Kidney and Transplant Institute was set up. This was soon followed by the Lung Center of the Philippines, which was constructed under the guidance of Health Minister Dr. Enrique Garcia.

With a shift to a parliamentary form of government, the Department of Health was transformed into the Ministry of Health on June 2, 1978 with Dr. Clemente S. Gatmaitan as the first health minister. On April 13, 1987, the Department of Health was created from the previous Ministry of Health with Dr. Alfredo R. A. Bengzon as secretary of health.