Singkamas is a

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 ...

located in

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 ...

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 The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. It is a predominantly residential area with a population of 7,218 recorded by the 2020 census. It is the second smallest barangay in Makati in terms of land area with a land area of .

Etymology

The name of the barangay derived from the word ''

singkamas ''Pachyrhizus erosus'', commonly known as ''jícama'' ( or ; ; from ) or Mexican turnip, is a native Mesoamerican vine, although the name ''jícama'' most commonly refers to the plant's edible tuberous root. It is in the pea family (Fabaceae). ...

'', a local term for jicamas, which was involved in the then-barrio's past unique tradition wherein it is hanged while it was fresh and succulent instead of the usual

buntings Bunting may refer to: Birds * ''Emberiza'', a group of Old World passerine birds * ''Passerina'', a group of birds in the Cardinalidae family known as the North American buntings * Blue bunting, ''Cyanocompsa parellina'' * Lark bunting, ''Calam ...

during their fiesta.

History

Present-day Singkamas was once part 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 ...

's Singalong area and were initially not included in the Hacienda San Pedro de Macati when it was purchased by the

Zobel de Ayala family Zobel may refer to: * Zobel, a mountain range in the Ethiopian district of Kobo * Zobel (surname), including a list of people with the name * Zobel network constant resistance networks invented by Otto Zobel * Zobel Building, a building in down ...

from the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

s in 1851. Singkamas later became a

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 popu ...

part of Barrio Tejeros. It had about 200 houses of light materials and 150 houses of stronger built. The first move towards this independent status was taken in the early 1950s when the residents felt it would be more beneficial for them to have their own set of leaders and the

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...

to manage their own affairs especially its Barrio Fiesta. In 1960, after the passage of Republic Act No. 2370 (Barrio Charter), Barangay Singkamas was officially recognized as a separate

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

from Barrio Tejeros. Inspired by their independent status, the inhabitants built their own house of worship — the Holy Cross Chapel — which became the rallying point of neighborhood rehabilitation. This landmark also became the center of public forum and festivities, like

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

and Barrio Fiesta Celebrations. Being the second smallest

, Barangay Singkamas struggled to sustain its existence by depending on its sparse income or revenue derived from

tax collection A revenue service, revenue agency or taxation authority is a government agency responsible for the intake of government revenue, including taxes and sometimes non-tax revenue. Depending on the jurisdiction, revenue services may be charged with ...

individual retirement account An individual retirement account (IRA) in the United States is a form of pension provided by many financial institutions that provides tax advantages for retirement savings. It is a trust that holds investment assets purchased with a taxpayer's ...

s (IRA) and real property tax (RPT) entitlements.

References

Barangays of Metro Manila Makati 1960 establishments in the Philippines {{MetroManila-geo-stub