Valenzuela City

Valenzuela (/vɒlənzjuːˈɛlɑː/; ), officially known as the City of Valenzuela (Filipino: Lungsod ng Valenzuela) (ISO: PH-00; PSGC: 137504000) or simply Valenzuela City, is the 119th largest city of the Philippines and one of the sixteen cities and a municipality that compose the region of Metro Manila, located about 14 km (7.9 miles) north of Manila. Valenzuela is categorized by virtue of Republic Act Nos. 7160 and 8526 as a highly urbanized, first-class city based on income classification and number of population. A chartered city located on the island of Luzon, it is bordered by Meycauayan (Bulacan) in the north, Quezon City and northern Caloocan to the east; by Obando (Bulacan) to the west; by Malabon, southern Caloocan and Tullahan River to the south. With a land mass of 44.59 km2 and a population of 575,356 in August 2010, Valenzuela is the 13th most populous city in the Philippines. Valenzuela's population is composed of 72% Tagalog people followed by 5% Bicolanos. Small percentage of foreign nationals reside in the city.

Valenzuela was named after Pío Valenzuela, a doctor and a member of Katipunan. The town preceding Valenzuela that was originally called Polo was formed in 1621 due to religious separation movements from parishes of Meycauayan (Catanghalan). Polo has been occupied twice by foreign armies other than colonial powers Spain and United States: first during the Seven Years' War by the British and by the Japanese during the Second World War. In 1960, President Diosdado Macapagal ordered the creation of the municipality of Valenzuela carved from few territories of Polo and is independent from the provincial government of Bulacan. However in 1963, another law was issued ordering the reversal of the previous edict and reunifying the towns of Polo and Valenzuela under the single name of Valenzuela. In 1975, Valenzuela was named as an independent municipality from the government of Bulacan and incorporated under the administration of Metropolitan Manila Authority. On 14 February 1998, President Fidel V. Ramos signed Republic Act 8526, or the Valenzuela City Charter, which elevated the status of Valenzuela as a highly urbanized, chartered city.

Under the Local Government Code of 1991, Valenzuela has a similar government system to other chartered cities of the Philippines. It is governed by a city mayor and vice-mayor elected through popular vote. The city is divided into two congressional districts and each is represented by a congressional district representative at the Philippine Congress. The vice-mayor heads the 12-manned city council: each district elects six councilors. The current mayor is Sherwin T. Gatchalian.

There is no known tourist spot in the city except for the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, the Philippine apostolate to the Our Lady of Fatima of Portugal. Valenzuela is traversed by two major roads in the country: MacArthur Highway and North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), with NLEx being connected to Circumferential Road 5 at segments 8.1 and 9. Major transportation modes include buses and jeepneys that founded terminals at the northern points of the city.

Owing to the cross migration of people across the country and its location as the northernmost point of Metro Manila, Valenzuela has developed into a well-mixed, multicultural metropolis. A former agricultural rural area, Valenzuela has grown into a major economic and industrial center of the Philippines when a large number of industries relocated to the central parts of the city.