Malabon History, Philippines

One joke about Malabon is that it is a requirement for residents in the area to have boats instead of cars. You may be wondering why, and in case you don’t know, this is because Malabon can be flooded especially when it is the rainy season in the country.

However, this is no reason for you to fret, because Malabon is as beautiful as other cities in the Philippines. Malabon belongs to the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila. It is a coastal town located just north of the city of Manila. Together with Pateros, Taguig, Muntinlupa, Pasig, Valenzuela and Navotas, it belongs to the Metro Manila outer ring of towns.

Its population is within the range 300, 000 to 350, 000 and is considered to be one of the most densely populated cities in the country. Just like any other city belonging to Metro Manila, Malabon is also highly urbanized. People swarm here and there, streets become crowded, the deafening sound of vehicles horns can be heard during early morning—these are just some of the descriptions that show one how it is to live in Malabon.

Its name was said to be derived from the terms “maraming labong” or “malabong”, which mean “plenty of bamboo shoots”, because edible bamboo shoots abundantly grew in the town way back.

Malabon was founded as a “Visita” of Tondo in the 16th century by the Augustinian friars. It remained under the administrative authority of the province of Tondo until 1688, and then later on it became a municipality of the province of Rizal. It was also known as Tambobong in earlier times.

Malabon was an important literary center of the revolutionary Filipinos during the reign of the Spain. It was here that the “La Independencia”, the declaration of the revolutionary government, was printed, most particularly in the Malabon’s Asilo de Huertanos. This also served as the quarters of the orphans and victims of the plague in 1882. Besides, the Spanish conquistadors established the San Bartolome Church in 1614.

Today, the city is a thriving port and fish trading hub where fish is supplied from Palawan and other fishing capitals. Commercial fishing has been the backbone of the Malabon economy. This also buoyed up supporting industries such as ship building and repair, fish net weaving, fish processing, fishing equipment supplies trading, and ship chandler services. Other industries present are wood working, metal working, soap making, and food processing.