The City of Greater Manila, also known simply as Greater Manila and sometimes Greater Manila Area (GMA),
was a
chartered city which existed during the
World War II era. It was governed by the
Commonwealth of the Philippines
The Commonwealth of the Philippines ( es, Commonwealth de Filipinas or ; tl, Komonwelt ng Pilipinas) was the administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the Second World War from 1942 ...
and was dissolved by
Japanese occupation forces. It served as a model for the present-day
Metro Manila and the administrative functions of the
Governor of Metro Manila
The Governor of Metro Manila was a political position whose holder served as the executive head of the National Capital Region (NCR) of the Philippines, also known as Metro Manila. The position during its existence was also known as the Governor of ...
, both established three decades later during the
administration of
President Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
.
Greater Manila was formed on January 1, 1942, by virtue of Executive Order No. 400 signed by President
Manuel L. Quezon
Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina, (; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his dea ...
as an emergency measure. It was a merger of the cities of
Manila and
Quezon City and the then-
Rizal
Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal ( fil, Lalawigan ng Rizal), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Antipolo. It is about east of Manila. The p ...
towns of
Caloocan,
Makati,
Mandaluyong,
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 ...
,
Pasay, and
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to:
Places Argentina
* San Juan Province, Argentina
* San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province
* San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province
* San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
.
Jorge B. Vargas
Jorge Bartolomé Vargas y Celis (August 24, 1890 – February 22, 1980) was a Filipino lawyer, diplomat and youth advocate born in Bago, Negros Occidental, Philippines. He graduated valedictorian from Negros Occidental High School in 1909 and ...
was appointed Mayor of Greater Manila in December 1941. He then appointed
León Guinto
León Gawaran Guinto Sr. (June 28, 1886 – July 10, 1962) was a public servant in the Philippines from the Commonwealth period up to the post-war era, best remembered as the war-time Mayor of the City of Greater Manila in the Philippines.
...
as his successor a month later, in January 1942.
Mayors of the towns and cities that comprised Greater Manila became assistant mayors or vice mayors of their respective localities and was under the Mayor of Greater Manila.
It was also represented in the
National Assembly of the Japanese-sponsored
Second Philippine Republic under the
at-large district of
Manila.
On July 26, 1945, President
Sergio Osmeña signed Executive Order No. 58, which would reduce the territories and thus dissolve the City of Greater Manila. The order took effect six days later, on August 1. The cities and towns that were once part of the city then regained their respective pre-war status.
See also
*
Metro Manila
References
{{coord missing, Philippines
Former cities in the Philippines
History of Metro Manila
Philippines in World War II
1941 establishments in the Philippines
1945 disestablishments in the Philippines