Rodriguez, Rizal

Rodriguez, officially the Municipality of Rodriguez (Tagalog: Bayan ng Rodriguez) and still commonly known by its former name Montalban, is a municipality in the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 443,954 people making it the most populous municipality in the country. Pending an affirmation through plebiscite, Republic Act No. 11812 repealed Batas Pambansa Blg. 275 and intend to formally revert to its original municipal name Montalban.
It is one of the richest municipalities in the Philippines, ranking third in 2016 with an income of ₱691 million.
The barrio was then called “Balite” by the natives, after the wide spreading Balite Trees that stand proudly on the banks of the Montalban River. But then, the town's former official name of Montalban derives from the Spanish word monte, which translates to "mountain," in reference to the numerous hills found within and surrounding the town. A common name for the municipality up to the present, it was its official name from its founding in 1871 until 1982 when the Batasang Pambansa officially renamed it to Rodriguez under Batas Pambansa Blg. 275 in honor of Eulogio Rodriguez, a native of the municipality who served as its first municipal president and Philippine Senate president.
Based on the 1954 journal History and Cultural Life of Montalban and its Barrios, what would then be the town of Montalban was formerly the barrio Balite which was under the jurisdiction of the town of San Mateo during the Spanish period. On another account, San Mateo, with its large size, was partitioned on April 27, 1871, when Captain General Rafael Izquierdo issued a decree separating the barrios of Balite, Burgos, Marang and Calipahan from San Mateo and formed them into the new municipality of Montalban.
The town was then headed by its first parish priest Fr. Eustaquio "Quako" Infante of Pasig who led the dedication of the Most Holy Rosary Parish church on June 2, 1871 during the term of Archbishop Gregorio Meliton Martinez of the Archdiocese of Manila.
According to the Executive Summary included in the Annual Audit Reports of Rodriguez, Rizal, the municipality of Montalban was founded on June 30, 1871, under the "Acta de Erreccion" or Deed of Foundation. The town, including its poblacion, was initially part of the province of Manila, while its present-day mountainous central and eastern portion, according to old maps, was under the jurisdiction of the District of Morong. The municipality was then incorporated to the newly created province of Rizal on June 11, 1901, by virtue of Philippine Commission Act No. 137, after having been a part of the defunct province of Manila. Montalban was then returned to its mother municipality of San Mateo by virtue of Philippine Commission Act No. 942 on October 12, 1903. San Mateo served as the seat of government in line with the economic centralization. Montalban then separated from San Mateo to become an independent municipality again by virtue of Executive Order No. 20 on February 29, 1908.
In 1955, Nacionalista gubernatorial candidate Isidro Rodriguez of Montalban won as governor of Rizal, defeating Malabon mayor Florante Villegas of the Liberal Party.
In 1982, the town was officially renamed to Rodriguez under Batas Pambansa Blg. 275 in honor of the former Senate president and town native Eulogio Rodriguez, Sr.
On October 30, 1997, rebels from the New People's Army (NPA), the militant arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines, raided the police station of Rodriguez before noontime, where they ransacked the armory, killed one police officer, and kidnapped Rene Francisco, the police chief. He was later released on December 5, 1997 in Tanay, Rizal.
As early as 2018, the town's Sangguniang Bayan approved Resolution No. 60, Series of 2018 requesting the Senate of the Philippines thru its president, Vicente Sotto III and the House of Representatives through its speaker, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to co-sponsor a bill for Rodriguez's conversion into a city.
In mid-to-late 2019, before a formal ruling could be enacted, the municipal government under the term of Mayor Dennis Hernandez started to refer to the town as Montalban.
Notable examples were the discontinuation of the use of the town name Rodriguez in official documents, office names and correspondences, and the municipal government utilizing a modified municipal seal that indicates the name "Montalban" instead of "Rodriguez". In February 2020, a new municipal seal that bears the year 1871 as the date of establishment was used.
In April 2020, the municipality celebrated its 149th Foundation Day (Araw ng Montalban); in the previous year April 2019, at the time when 1909 was still the recognized date of establishment, the municipality celebrated its 110th founding anniversary.
In response to the numerous requests from the town's native residents to return the town to its former name, on July 3, 2019 during the 18th Congress, Rizal's 2nd District Representative Juan Fidel Nograles filed House Bill No. 337. The bill was later substituted by HB No. 8899 filed March 5, 2021; it was approved by the House of Representatives on March 17 and was received by the Senate on March 27. It was introduced by Sen. Imee Marcos under Senate Bill No. 2258 on June 1.
In the Senate hearing of the Committee on Local Government on January 21, 2022, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines did not pose any objection on the proposed measure and clarified that the proposed change will only apply to the municipality's name; structures and other features such as buildings, schools in the municipality dedicated in memory of Rodriguez are not covered by the proposed bill and should be retained.
With further minor amendments, the bill was approved on third and final reading on January 31. The House adopted the Senate amendment and the bill was submitted to the president for his signature.
On June 2, 2022, Republic Act No. 11812, an act for the reversion of the name of municipality Rodriguez to Montalban and repealing Batas Pambansa Blg. 275, lapsed into law. A plebiscite, having no final schedule yet, will be supervised by the Commission on Elections.
Rodriguez is a town of mountains. It is located on the slopes of the Sierra Madre mountain range. From its north to south, a series of sloping ridges, hills and mountains ranges adorn the town. In fact, around 27% of the town is occupied by mountains and slopes. The town's highest peak is Mount Irid, 1,469 meters (4,820 ft) above sea level.
Rodriguez makes up 26.23% of the 1,191.94-square-kilometer (460.21 sq mi) total area of Rizal. Making it the largest town in Rizal province with an area of 312.70 square kilometers (120.73 square miles). The municipality borders San Mateo and Antipolo, Rizal on the south, Norzagaray and San Jose del Monte, Bulacan on the north, Quezon City and Caloocan on the west and General Nakar, Quezon on the east. Rodriguez's economic activities include agriculture and commerce such as the Avilon Zoo.
Rodriguez is the northernmost town in the province and comes after San Mateo, Rizal, and Quezon City coming from Metro Manila. It is also the location of the Montalban Gorge that is associated with the Legend of Bernardo Carpio. The gorge forms part of a protected area known as the Pamitinan Protected Landscape.
Rodriguez is generally very rough in topography, with 83% of its total land area composed of upland areas, hills and mountain ranges. The remaining 17% low-lying terrain and rolling lands are found at the south-western portion of the municipality, along with the northern portions of the Municipality of San Mateo.
The rolling slopes comprise the Marikina River Valley, where water from higher elevations drain towards the Marikina River and its tributaries at the south-western portion of the municipality. Elevations at these western lowlands range from 10 to 30 meters (33 to 98 ft) above sea level. The western portion of the flatlands gently rises towards the west, which is part of Quezon City.
The mountainous regions of Rodriguez are found at the central and eastern areas, with sleepy sloping ridges and mountain ranges, traversing north to south. The terrain in these mountain ranges has slopes ranging from 30 to 50%. Very steep hills and mountains have slopes greater than 50%. Rolling to hilly areas 18–30% in slope can also be found. These high elevations are drained by the Tanay, Puray, and Rodriguez Rivers.
Rodriguez is politically subdivided into 11 barangays (8 urban, 3 rural) . Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
The barangays of San Isidro and San Jose are two of the most populated barangays in the municipality and in the Philippines.
In the 2020 census, the population of Rodriguez, Rizal, was 443,954 people, with a density of 1,400 inhabitants per square kilometer or 3,600 inhabitants per square mile.
Poverty incidence of Rodriguez
The main transportation used in the municipality are jeepneys, tricycles, UV Express, and buses. There are jeepneys that ply through the towns of San Mateo, Marikina and Cubao in Quezon City via Marcos Highway, while some ply the route that leads to Philcoa in Quezon City via Batasan Road in San Mateo, others connect Rodriguez to Litex Road in Quezon City. UV Express vehicles ply the routes to Cubao in Quezon City and Santa Lucia Grand Mall in Cainta. During the 2010s, there were additional UV Express vehicles that serve the routes to North EDSA in Quezon City and Quiapo in Manila, and the route to Cubao operates via Marikina and via Payatas Road.
Formerly, there was railway service under the Manila Railroad Company that traversed the San Mateo, Marikina, and Pasig areas and had its terminus at Barangay Balitè behind the Santo Rosario Parish Church. It had been long dismantled and the railway line converted into roadway that now consists of the road aptly named Daang Bakal.
It is known that 'patok' jeepneys originated from this town way back during the 1980s. These jeepneys are known for their notoriety on the road. Despite this, they are popular among the passengers hence the name patók which means 'popular'. They still ply this town up to this day, most plying the Montalban-Cubao route via Marcos Highway. These jeepneys have already spread throughout the Rizal province as well as in Marikina since then.
The Marikina Auto Line Transport Corporation (MALTC) buses is the only one that regularly travels to farther places like Makati and Parañaque. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) implemented a route rationalization system for city buses. Currently, a city bus route connects Montalban with the capital city of Manila and Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange.
The proposed San Mateo Railway will connect the municipality of Rodriguez to the Light Rail Transit Line 2, in which 6 stations are in development.
There are numerous elementary and high schools, both public and private, offering primary, secondary and tertiary education in the town of Rodriguez. There are also colleges and institutions that offer graduate and undergraduate programs in town.