Baclaran is a
barangay located in the northern area of the city of
Parañaque
Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque ( fil, Lungsod ng Parañaque, ), is a first class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to t ...
, Metro Manila,
Philippines. It is also known to be located at the borders of the cities of Parañaque and
Pasay.
Because of its proximity to the seashore, the place was named after a piece of fishing equipment called "". Baklad is a rattan fence placed around the fish to protect them until they are ready to be sold in the market. Many of these were assembled at the seashore, so people started calling the place "Bakladan". The Filipino grammatical feature of changing d's to r's when a suffix is added changed this to "Baclaran".
History
Baclaran was established in 1971 in the municipality, now city, of Parañaque. In 1973, Cardinal Karol Józef Wojtyła (later
Pope John Paul II) visited the Baclaran Redemptorist Church or Baclaran Church, during his first visit to the Philippines. Cardinal Wojtyła, Archbishop of Kraków, celebrated
Mass in the shrine during a brief, unofficial stopover in Manila. In 1981, Wojtyła, as Pope John Paul II, returned to the shrine as part of his apostolic visit to the Philippines.
The area is well known for the
National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help
The National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help ( fil, Pambansáng Dambana ng Iná ng Laging Saklolo), also known as the Redemptorist Church and colloquially as Baclaran Church, is a prominent national shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Perpet ...
, also known as the Redemptorist Church or Baclaran Church, dedicated to
Our Mother of Perpetual Help. The first Wednesday of every month is dedicated to the shrine of
Our Mother of Perpetual Help. There was also once Muslim mosque, the
Baclaran Mosque
The Baclaran Mosque, formally called the Rajah Sulaiman Grand Mosque was a mosque in Barangay Baclaran at the border of Pasay and Parañaque in Metro Manila, Philippines.
The mosque, along with nearby shopping stalls, was demolished by local autho ...
, now demolished by the City of Pasay. Baclaran is known for its children and youth membership in the local
rondalla, which won at
NAMCYA in 1996, and the Drum and Lyre Band, as well as its street welding. There are a number of
flea market
A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...
s () occupying the westbound lane of Taft Avenue.
Transportation
Located near the intersection of
Epifanio de los Santos Avenue and
Roxas Boulevard, Baclaran is a major transportation hub and transfer point. The
Baclaran LRT Station
Baclaran station is an elevated Manila Light Rail Transit (LRT) station situated on Line 1. Located on the last stretches of Taft Avenue in Pasay right at the border with Baclaran, Parañaque, it is the current southern terminus of the line. T ...
is the southern terminal station of the
Manila Light Rail Transit System Line 1. Many bus and jeepney routes pass through Baclaran or have it as their end destination, especially transportation to and from the province of
Cavite to the south. Baclaran also has the closest street near the four airport terminals in Metro Manila, more known as the Airport Road. Wednesdays are generally busier as
novena devotees come to pray at the Baclaran Church.
Cycle rickshaws can also be used to navigate the interior streets.
References
{{MetroManila-geo-stub