Muntinlupa (), officially the City of Muntinlupa (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 552,225 people.
It is bordered on the north by Taguig, to the northwest by Parañaque, by Bacoor and Las Piñas to the west, to the southwest by Dasmariñas, by San Pedro to the south, and by Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the country, to the east. From high above, the city of Muntinlupa has many large, green patches, which is unusual for Metro Manila. Because of these green patches, Muntinlupa earned the name "Emerald City" by the tourism establishment and also known as the "Gateway to Calabarzon" as it is the southernmost city of the National Capital Region.
Muntinlupa is known as the location of the national insular penitentiary, the New Bilibid Prison, where the country's most dangerous criminals are incarcerated. This was relocated from its old site in Santa Cruz, Manila. Before the prison's relocation in the 1930s, Muntinlupa was mainly dedicated to fishing and farming.
Ayala Alabang Village, one of the country's largest and most expensive residential communities, is also located in Muntinlupa.
Etymology In historical maps, Muntinlupa (first attested in the 1800s) was variously spelled as "Montinlupa" (e.g. in the 1852 Coello-Morata Case Map) or "Muntinglupa" (e.g. in the 1887 Enrique d'Almonte Map). The 1987 Constitution also spells the city's name as "Muntinglupa" instead of "Muntinlupa". In the Diccionario geográfico, estadístico, histórico de las Islas Filipinas (Buzeta & Bravo, 1850-1851), it was spelled "Montinlupa".
The most plausible etymology for the name "Muntinlupa" or "Montinlupa" is a Hispanization of Tagalog muntíng lupà, literally meaning "small land" or alternatively, "little soil". The original Tagalog words can be inferred by comparing it to similar place-names during the Spanish era mentioned in the Diccionario Geográfico by Buzeta et al.: "Montin-ilog" (now Munting Ilog, Silang, Cavite), and "Montintubig" (now Munting-Tubig, Ibaan, Batangas). However, the precise reason why the place would be named as such is unknown.
History Spanish colonial era In 1601, some 88 years after the arrival of Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan in the Visayas islands, the original lands constituting Muntinlupa could be deduced to have been friar lands administered by the Augustinians, then sold and assigned to the Sanctuary of Guadalupe.
In the early 1800s, Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga, an Augustinian friar, in his two-volume Book: "Estadismo de las islas Filipinas", described Muntinlupa as a lakeside town composed of 250 tributes (each tribute representing a family of 5 to 7), and was the farthest town of the province of Tondo (later Manila), itself composed of 14,437 native tributes and 3,528 Spanish Filipino tributes. He recorded the area, which is the present-day Poblacion, to be known as La Poblacion que Sigue se Llama Muntinlupa. Spiritually, it also belonged to the Parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe in San Pedro de Macati (present-day Makati) and was connected to it via many rivers that streamed from Laguna de Bay through Muntinlupa towards San Pedro de Macati and eventually Manila proper.
In 1869, the lands were transferred to the state and large individual landholders. In an effort by the Spanish Government to bring under closer administrative control the people living in the contiguous sitios, as well as those in Alabang, Tunasan, Sucat, and Cupang, the municipality was created upon the recommendation of Don Eduardo de Canizares.
On August 6, 1898, the town supported the Philippine Revolution against the Spaniards and formally joined the revolutionary government headed by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo.
American occupation
The Philippine Commission promulgated Rizal Province on June 11, 1901, through Act No. 137. Muntinlupa became part of the new province after being a part of the defunct province of Manila.
On October 12, 1903, Muntinlupa, alongside Taguig, was merged with Pateros by virtue of Act No. 942. On November 25, 1903, Muntinlupa was incorporated under Act No. 1008 and included within the boundary of the province of La Laguna under the municipality of Biñan. Muntinlupa residents protested this Executive Act, and through their town head, Marcelo Fresnedi, filed a formal petition to the Governor for the return of the municipality to the province of Rizal. On March 22, 1905, Act No. 1308 paved the way for Muntinlupa's return to the province of Rizal to then become a part of Taguig, along with Pateros.
On December 19, 1917, Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison signed Executive Order 108, which made Muntinlupa an independent municipality, separating it from Taguig. The law took effect on January 1, 1918. Vidal Joaquin, a native of Alabang, served as the first appointed mayor from 1918 to 1919, followed by Primo Ticman, native of Poblacion, from 1919 to 1922. Melencio Espeleta became the first elected mayor of Muntinlupa in 1922, serving until 1924.
Japanese occupation
On January 22, 1941, the historic New Bilibid Prison, the national penitentiary, was established in the hills of Muntinlupa. During World War II, the New Bilibid Prison was used to lock up Filipino political prisoners by the Japanese occupation authorities, but they were set free by Hunters ROTC guerrillas.
Philippine independence On November 12, 1963, in the early morning of election day, Nacionalista mayoralty candidate Maximino A. Argana was talking to his bodyguards at his home when he managed to avoid bullets that were fired at him by unknown gunmen. Incumbent mayor Francisco de Mesa later won reelection, defeating Argana. On March 18, 1964, de Mesa was assassinated by a gunman, and was succeeded by his vice mayor Demetrio Loresca.
On November 7, 1975, Muntinlupa was transferred from the Province of Rizal to the newly formed Metropolitan Manila by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 824 issued by then-President Ferdinand Marcos.
On June 13, 1986, following the EDSA Revolution in February of that year, President Corazón C. Aquino appointed Ignacio R. Bunye as Officer-in-Charge of Muntinlupa as part of a nationwide revamp of local government units. In the ratification of the 1987 Constitution, Muntinlupa together with Las Piñas formed one political district.
On January 31, 1988, protesters of the 1988 Muntinlupa election results who barricaded in front of the Muntinlupa town hall the past two days began storming the premises, with supporters of the two leading mayoral candidates confronting each other and causing injury to former mayor Santiago Carlos Jr. and barangay official Florante Torres among others. By February 17, a grenade that failed to explode was found to have been thrown onto the roof of mayor-elect Bunye's house in Alabang. On December 6, 1988, President Corazon C. Aquino by Proclamation 351 declares December 19 as "Municipality of Muntinlupa Day".
Cityhood On February 16, 1995, House Bill No. 14401, which seeks to convert the municipality of Muntinlupa into a highly urbanized city, was approved by the House of Representatives.
On March 1, 1995, Muntinlupa became the 65th city in the Philippines as signed into law by President Fidel V. Ramos, its conversion into a highly urbanized city by virtue of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 7926. Per Section 62 of R.A. 7926, Muntinlupa and Las Piñas were to constitute separate congressional districts, with each district electing its separate representative in the 1998 elections. This separation was additionally confirmed in the city charter of Las Piñas (R.A. 8251) which was approved by plebiscite on March 26, 1997. Ignacio Bunye, who previously served as mayor of Muntinlupa, was elected in 1998 as the first congressman representing the city.
On March 1, 2001, Republic Act No. 9191 was enacted, declaring March 1 of every year as a Special Non-working Holiday in the City of Muntinlupa to be known as "The Muntinlupa City Charter Day".
Contemporary On August 3, 2007, the Muntinlupa City Hall was completely damaged and later abandoned due to a fire. The fire started from a slum area behind the city hall. Almost all files, important documents and other references of Muntinlupa were burned.
Geography Topography
It is bordered on the north by Taguig, to the northwest by Parañaque, to the west by Las Piñas, to the southwest by the cities of Bacoor and Dasmariñas in Cavite, to the south by the city of San Pedro in Laguna, and to the east by Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the country.
Muntinlupa's terrain is relatively flat to sloping towards the east along the lake. Gentle rolling hills occupy the western part of the city, with elevation increasing up to and above towards its southwest portion.
While a majority of the land area in the city is highly urbanized, the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) Reservation in barangay Poblacion is relatively free of urbanization, although there are ongoing discussions to move the national penitentiary to Nueva Ecija and Occidental Mindoro, respectively.
Cityscape
Alabang is the central business district of the city where the tallest structures in the city are located. It used to be the location of Alabang Stock Farm. Land reclamation is also done along the Laguna Lake for further developments in the city. During the dry season, the water level in the lake subsides, exposing the soil that is then used for farming.
Climate The dry season rungs through the months of November to April, while the wet season starts in May and lasts to November. The wet season reaches its peak in the month of August. Maximum rainfall in Muntinlupa usually occurs from the month of June to September. The average annual of rainfall is with a peak of in July and a low in April. The highest temperature occurs during the month of April and May at , while the lowest occurs during the months of January and February at .
Natural hazards The west segment of the Marikina Valley Fault System, the West Valley Fault (WVF) cuts through parts of Muntinlupa and moves in a predominantly dextral strike-slip motion. The West Valley Fault is capable of producing large scale earthquakes on its active phases with a magnitude of 7 or higher.
Districts and barangays Muntinlupa is represented in the congress by its lone congressional district, and the city is politically subdivided into nine barangays.
Barangay Population Area ZIP Code EstablishedAlabang 1781Ayala Alabang 1799Bayanan 1772Buli 1771Cupang 1771Poblacion 1776Putatan 1772Sucat 1770Tunasan 1773 Total 552,225 39.75
Other zip codes include Muntinlupa Central Post Office 1770, Ayala Alabang Village 1780, Pleasant Village 1777, Susana Heights 1774, and Filinvest City 1781.
Etymology of barangays The barangays of the city are named after the botanical characteristics, topographical features, and historical events that had been observed in the area when it was named. Tunasan from the plant tunas. Putatan got its name from a tree called putat. Cupang is likewise named after the cupang tree. Buli is named after the buri palm. Alabang is named after the river that passes through the barangay. Ayala Alabang was created by Batas Pambansa Bilang 219 out of Barangay Alabang. Sucat got its name from the vernacular word "sukat", which means "measurement" since it was measured during the Spanish era.
Subdivisions While barangays are the administrative divisions of the city and are legally part of the addresses of homes and establishments, many residents identify themselves by their subdivision (village) instead of their barangay.
Territorial dispute and discrepancies Muntinlupa is involved in a boundary dispute with Parañaque, centered on Sitio Bagong Silang, which is claimed by Sucat and contested by Parañaque's barangay BF Homes. Additionally, Sitio Pagkakaisa in barangay San Martin de Porres, Parañaque is mistakenly regarded as part of Sucat.
Demographics