San Martin de Porres is an administrative division in southern
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...
, the Philippines. It is an elongated
barangay
A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolita ...
located in the northeast corner of
Parañaque
Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque ( fil, Lungsod ng Parañaque, ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 689,992 people.
It is ...
adjoining the areas of Bicutan in
Taguig
Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig ( fil, Lungsod ng Taguig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 886,722 people. Located in the northwestern shores of ...
and northern
Muntinlupa
Muntinlupa, officially the City of Muntinlupa ( fil, Lungsod ng Muntinlupa), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the ...
. The village is unique in that it is connected to the rest of Parañaque by only two bridges, one of which is a footbridge. Its western border follows the
South Luzon Expressway
The South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), signed as E2 of the Philippine expressway network and R-3 of the Metro Manila arterial road network, is a limited-access toll expressway that connects Metro Manila to the provinces in the Calabarzon region ...
, thus separating it from
Merville,
Sun Valley,
Don Bosco
John Melchior Bosco ( it, Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; pms, Gioann Melchior Bòsch; 16 August 181531 January 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco , was an Italian Catholic priest, educator, writer and saint of the 19th century.
While working ...
and Marcelo Green. It neighbors
Western Bicutan
Western Bicutan is one of the 28 barangays of Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is the city's most populated barangay and the largest in terms of land area. It is located in the northwestern part of the city. Arca South, Food Terminal Inc., T ...
to the north, particularly the redevelopment area of the former Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) known as
Arca South. To the east, it adjoins
Taguig
Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig ( fil, Lungsod ng Taguig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 886,722 people. Located in the northwestern shores of ...
's barangays of
Upper Bicutan, Central Bicutan, North Daang Hari and Tanyag. It neighbors South Daang Hari and
Sucat, Muntinlupa to the south.
The village is roughly divided into three parts, the main residential area and housing development in the north by the Arca South development, the mixed commercial and residential area in the center by the Bicutan Interchange and the narrow industrial strip in the south. As of the 2015 census, it had a population of 21,181.
History
The village took its name from the parish church founded by the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila in 1967 within the
gated community
A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences ...
of United Parañaque Subdivision Phase 1 (UPS1, now United Hills Village). The parish in turn was named after the patron saint and protector of mixed-race people and the first
Black American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
saint from
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
,
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
canonized in 1962,
Martin de Porres
Martín de Porres Velázquez (9 December 1579 – 3 November 1639) was a Peruvian lay brother of the Dominican Order who was beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. He is the patron saint of mixed-r ...
.
Until the late 19th century, the village was a no man's land in the middle of a vast friar hacienda owned by the
Order of Saint Augustine
The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...
containing rice paddies and swamps between Parañaque (as
La Huerta,
San Dionisio and
Don Galo
Don Galo, also historically known as Dongalo (and erroneously as Longalo and Tungalo), is an administrative division in southern Metro Manila, the Philippines. It is a barangay in the city of Parañaque along the north bank of the Parañaque Rive ...
were then called) and Bicutan.
[Dulce Festin Baybay, Ariel Marquez-de Guzman (2001). ''Palanyag to Parañaque: A History'', p. 182. City of Parañaque, Philippines.] It was part of the then-
sitio
A ''sitio'' (Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own barangay if its popul ...
of Ibayo located in the Guadalupe plateau at an elevation of between higher than the coastal elevation in the sitio's easternmost portion. In 1901, when Ibayo was reorganized as a barrio now known as
Santo Niño, Bundok Mani as the area was then called became one of its four sitios, along with Libro Balagbag (now part of
Pasay
Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, i ...
), Dilain and Mataas na Kahoy.
Subsequent development of the former friar estate as a U.S. airfield and military reservation and construction of the railroad line passing through this sitio towards the
Bicol Region
Bicol, known formally as the Bicol Region or colloquially as Bicolandia ( bcl, Rehiyon kan Bikol; Rinconada Bikol: ''Rehiyon ka Bikol''; Waray Sorsogon, Masbateño: ''Rehiyon san Bikol''; tl, Rehiyon ng Bikol), is an administrative region of ...
in the 1930s paved the way for the village's initial growth.
With the destruction of
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
by the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
came the mass exodus to the neighboring towns and the development of gated communities across the region, among them the United Parañaque Subdivision. By the late 1960s, the village became more accessible with the opening of the
South Superhighway to
Alabang
Alabang is a barangay in Muntinlupa, Philippines. At one time the area was a farming district, and has since grown from a village to a major commercial center, which includes the Filinvest City and Madrigal Business Park, and a transportation hub ...
, bringing with it new commercial and industrial enterprises, including the Greater Manila Terminal Food Market and the Philippine American Embroideries plant. And in 1978, the United Parañaque Subdivision together with neighboring communities, Marian Park and Sitio de Asis, that were earlier physically separated from the rest of
Santo Niño by the superhighway, made the separation official by forming its own village and local government through Presidential Decree No. 1324.
Education
San Martin de Porres is the location of the following educational institutions:
* Dr. Arcadio Santos National High School
* Regis Grace Montessori School
* St. Martin de Porres Kindergarten School
Transportation
![9809Taguig City Landmarks 04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/9809Taguig_City_Landmarks_04.jpg)
The
South Luzon Expressway
The South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), signed as E2 of the Philippine expressway network and R-3 of the Metro Manila arterial road network, is a limited-access toll expressway that connects Metro Manila to the provinces in the Calabarzon region ...
and elevated
Skyway
A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of enclos ...
run for approximately along San Martin de Porres's western boundary. The main access road into the village and its principal north–south corridor is a
frontage road
A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. A frontage road is often used to provide access to private drivew ...
east of the expressway which is a national tertiary road known simply as East Service Road. The village's only road link with
Don Bosco
John Melchior Bosco ( it, Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; pms, Gioann Melchior Bòsch; 16 August 181531 January 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco , was an Italian Catholic priest, educator, writer and saint of the 19th century.
While working ...
and the rest of Parañaque is the Bicutan crossing at the three-level Bicutan Interchange serving as the junction between the South Luzon Expressway,
Doña Soledad Avenue and General Santos Avenue, and between the Skyway and Doña Soledad Avenue. Its main east–west access road starts from this interchange as a continuation of Doña Soledad Avenue into Central and Lower Bicutan towards the Pateros-Alabang Road (Manuel L. Quezon Street) and
C-6 Road on the shores of
Laguna de Bay
Laguna de Bay (Spanish language, Spanish for "Lagoon/Lake of Bay, Laguna, Bay"; tl, Lawa ng Bay, ), also known as Laguna Lake, is the List of lakes of the Philippines, largest lake in the Philippines. It is located southeast of Metro Manila, b ...
.
At the village's north end separating it from Western Bicutan and Arca South is Cucumber Road which gives access to the San Martin de Porres Barangay Hall and which is also linked to FTI Avenue and Tanyag Avenue in
South Signal Village
South Signal Village, also simply known as South Signal, is one of the 28 barangays of Taguig, Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region ...
at its eastern terminus. This portion of San Martin de Porres is a predominantly slum area with 600 families living there when a fire broke out in August 2015.
Several Sitios on its eastern end, mainly Sitio Sampalocan and Sitio GSIS, could only be accessed by cramped one lane roads connecting to Rajah Sumakwel Street, Upper Bicutan, Taguig City, making them technical enclaves. A tricycle route operated by SUBTODAI connects these sitios to the DOST Terminal along East Service Road via Upper Bicutan, Taguig's Raja Trinanes and Rajah Sumakwel streets, and Central Bicutan, Taguig's A. Bonifacio Avenue.
Within the gated community of United Hills Village (UPS1) south of Cucumber Road linked to the East Service Road at its west end is its main street, Narra Street, which leads to the San Martin de Porres Parish Church. Just south of United Hills is Marian Park and UPS2 which is traversed by Marian Road where the Dr. Arcadio Santos National High School is situated. Its central section near General Santos Avenue is dominated by the Bicutan Market and
Walter Mart
Walter Mart (stylized as WalterMart) is a Filipino chain of community shopping malls located in Metro Manila, Central, and South Luzon. The chain operates its anchor stores that include Walter Mart Supermarket, Walter Mart Cinemas, Abenson Appl ...
Bicutan shopping mall. The village's southern portion is a narrow strip of warehouses fronting the East Service Road.
The Bicol Commuter and
Metro South Commuter lines of the
Philippine National Railways
The Philippine National Railways (PNR) ( fil, Pambansang Daang-Bakal ng Pilipinas and es, Ferrocarril Nacional de Filipinas) is a state-owned railway company in the Philippines which operates one commuter rail service between Metro Manila an ...
run along the median between East Service Road and South Luzon Expressway. San Martin de Porres is served by the
Bicutan railway station
Bicutan station is a railway station located on the South Main Line in Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines.
The station is the fourteenth station southbound from Tutuban and is the only PNR station in Parañaque.
Nearby landmarks
The statio ...
situated near the Bicutan Interchange where a long footbridge also connects this village across the South Luzon Expressway to Don Bosco by the SM City Bicutan mall.
References
{{Metro Manila populated places
Barangays of Metro Manila
Parañaque