BF Homes Parañaque
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BF Homes Parañaque, officially Barangay BF Homes, is an exclusive
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 ...
and
barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...
in
Parañaque Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque (, ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...
,
Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...
, Philippines. It is the largest barangay in the city and its southernmost village. As a ''subdivision'', the local term for a gated community, its territory includes portions of neighboring cities,
Las Piñas Las Piñas (, officially the City of Las Piñas (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of ...
and
Muntinlupa Muntinlupa (), officially the City of Muntinlupa (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population o ...
. It was formerly known as Las Piñas-Parañaque BF Homes and was developed by Banco Filipino owner Tomas Aguirre in 1968. The development was part of the BF Homes project, alongside its sister branches in
Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...
,
Caloocan Caloocan, officially the City of Caloocan (; ), is a highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 1,661,584 people making it the fourth-most populous city in the Philippines. Caloo ...
, and Naga, and became fully operational by early 1970. Philippine media refer to it as "the biggest subdivision in Asia". The larger portion of the development in Parañaque was carved out of the village of San Dionisio to form its own barangay in 1978.


History


Development

In 1964, Tomas Aguirre, whose family is of the Agencia de Empeños de Aguirre pawnshop fame, founded Banco Filipino with the aid of money from the family business. By around 1966, BF had become the premiere bank in the Philippines. For Aguirre, it was time to venture into the next phase and to consider land development. With that, he put up the BF Homes Incorporated (BFHI) arm to further realize his goal. Prior to the formation of
Ayala Alabang Ayala Alabang, in terms of land area, is the third largest barangay in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila, Philippines. A large portion of it came from Barangay Alabang. Its land area of includes Alabang Town Center, Ayala Alabang Village, El Molito, ...
in
Muntinlupa Muntinlupa (), officially the City of Muntinlupa (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population o ...
, Aguirre already envisioned that a suburban community south of
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
would be ideal, as well as conducive for potential residents that wanted to stay far away from the busy streets of Manila,
Makati Makati ( ; ), officially the City of Makati (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, known for being one of the leading financial centers in the country. As of 2013, the city has the highest concent ...
, and
Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...
, yet hoped to stay close to their work and education, minus the large population. His fortunes from the family business were able to help him invest in of agricultural land, mostly from the area of Barrio San Dionisio in
Parañaque Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque (, ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...
, as well as that from neighboring
Las Piñas Las Piñas (, officially the City of Las Piñas (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of ...
and
Muntinlupa Muntinlupa (), officially the City of Muntinlupa (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population o ...
(all three cities were then municipalities part of the province Rizal until 1975, when they became incorporated into
Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...
), and formed what became known as the southern branch of BF Homes. The Las Piñas portion was labeled as "Las Piñas BF Homes," while the Parañaque and Muntinlupa portions made up what was labelled as "Parañaque BF Homes." (Simultaneously, Aguirre started work on sister subdivisions—BF Almanza, BF Resort, and Pilar Village—which are all located at Las Piñas.) Property started to go up on sale as soon as it opened in 1968; and by December of the following year, the subdivision had its first annual homeowners meeting at the clubhouse located in 37 Pilar Banzon Street.


Height of success

For majority of the 1970s, Parañaque BF Homes, as well as Las Piñas BF Homes (by then rechristened as BF Homes International), enjoyed its reputation as the preferred place of residence. It was the first
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 its kind to have its own convenience store, movie theater, bowling alley, as well as a few commercial complexes; all unheard of at that time. It also featured two premiere hotels developed consecutively by Aguirre's son, Anthony, in the Las Piñas portion; the El Grande Hotel and the Tropical Palace Resort. In 1978, the Parañaque portion of BF Homes was regrouped with neighboring subdivisions by Presidential Decree 1320 of President
Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...
on April 3, 1978, as Barangay BF Homes. Meanwhile, BF Homes International, part of Las Piñas, was still registered under the Parañaque branch for most of the early years.


BF Homeowners Association

Despite its initial success and adequate security, the quality of the subdivision began to decline at the turn of the late 1970s when informal settlers residing along the nearby Manila Memorial Park – Sucat branch gradually swarmed past its walls. Sometime in 1985, Tomas Aguirre fell out of favor with the Marcos government, and Banco Filipino ceased operations, citing insolvency, causing BFHI to suffer as a result. Consequently, the Aguirre family fled briefly to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. On June 30, 1986, the Tropical Palace, a popular venue for the residents, mysteriously burned down. A year after, the El Grande Hotel (almost abandoned for nine years before once again operating, albeit for a few months) was also damaged by fire, though was not as severe. By March 1989, management of BF Homes was then transferred from BFHI to the residents, under the aegis of United BF Homeowners Association Incorporated (UBFHAI); however, despite the turnover, BFHI still retains its shares in the subdivision. With the residents now in control, clusters of streets in the vicinity were split and fenced from each other, forming their respective associations. This caused the subdivision, which was up until then a large community with streets connecting with one another, to become nothing more than a collective of eighty-two enclaves.


Demography

The subdivision, which initially catered to middle class Filipino families, is noted for its high concentration of South Korean expatriates, with local residents saying that every fifth or sixth door has a Korean business behind it such as a restaurant, travel agency, taekwondo gym, or used appliance seller.


Municipal services

The subdivision was originally a gated community with strict access but in September 2005, the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court denied an appeal by the UBFHAI and ordered the opening of the subdivision gates to permit motorists to transit on the roads through the subdivision. This led to worsening security in the area. The municipal government pledged to improve public safety in the aftermath of a 2006 carjacking attempt which left a nursing student dead.
Water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...
has also been an ongoing issue in the subdivision. In 2002, Maynilad Water Services cut off the water supply to the Philippine Waterworks Construction Corporation, a subsidiary of BFHI, which owns the pipes in the subdivision, due to non-payment of bills reaching P5 million. In 2007 there were plans to ensure every house had a connection to the Maynilad
water supply network A water supply network or water supply system is a system of engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components that provide water supply. A water supply system typically includes the following: # A drainage basin (see water purification – sour ...
. However, by 2008 these plans had stalled due to the high rates which Maynilad proposed, P49 per cubic meter, compared to P28 per cubic meter in 2002.


Business and economy

BF Homes Parañaque, in particular Aguirre Avenue, is known as a food hub in Metro Manila, rivaling other famous restaurant districts like the Timog-
Morato Morato or Morató is a surname. It is most prevalent in Brazil, followed by Spain and the Philippines. Notable people with this surname include: * Andrew Eric Feitosa (born 1992), Brazilian footballer commonly known as Morato * António Henriques ...
and Maginhawa areas of Quezon City and Concepcion Dos area of
Marikina Marikina (), officially the City of Marikina (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 4 ...
. BF also houses SM City BF Parañaque, a
shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...
owned and operated by SM Prime Holdings. Puregold has three branches in BF Homes, namely: Puregold Southpark, Puregold Aguirre, and Puregold Jr. (at Phase 3, along Aguirre Avenue). Robinsons Townville, a community mall by Robinsons Retail Holdings, has a branch located adjacent to a BF Homes gate near Aguirre Avenue's eastern end; it features a Robinsons Supermarket branch.


References


External links


Facts and Trivia about BF Homes Parañaque Subdivision
{{DEFAULTSORT:BF Homes Paranaque 1969 establishments in the Philippines Gated communities in Metro Manila Barangays of Metro Manila Parañaque