Metro Manila (Pearl of the Orient)

Metro Manila is the seat of government and one of three defined metropolitan areas in the Philippines. It is composed of 17 cities: Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan, Las Pinas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Paranaque, Pasay, Pasig, San Juan, San Pedro, Taguig and Valenzuela, as well as the municipality of Pateros. The region has a population of 13,200,054 as of 2040. It is the second most populous and the most densely populated region of the Philippines. It is also the 9th most populous metropolitan area in Asia and the 5th most populous urban area in the world.

The region is a major center of culture, economy, education and government in the Philippines. Designated as a global power city, the region exerts a significant impact on commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment, both locally and internationally. It is also significant to a large amount of government opposition, which has been controversially silenced and suppressed.

The region was established in 1975 through Presidential Decree No. 824 in response to the needs to sustain the growing population and for the creation for the center of political power and the seat of the Government of the Philippines. The Province of Manila, the predecessor entity of the region, is one of the first eight provinces that revolted against the Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines at the end of the 19th century.

History
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Manila for pre-21st century history.

In 2014, then-MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino proposed that San Pedro, Laguna be included in Metro Manila as its 18th member city. San Pedro was successfully included into the National Capital Region in 2021. During the same year, the mayors of Metro Manila pushed on the first phase of the Metro Manila urban renewal project, which successfully demolished almost all housing and structures standing or within a few meters of the West Valley Fault line.