roaming the neighborhood: Barangay Kapitolyo

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First thing you need to know about Barangay Kapitolyo in Pasig is that despite its name, the old Rizal Provincial Capitol was not actually located in its premises, but rather right across it. But I suppose that particular matter is moot and academic now with the Capitol itself now gone.

If anything, Kapitolyo is one of those places that has come out to make its own identity beyond what is was known for before as a barangay named after a provincial capitol. In recent years, there has been a boom in the area’s commercial activity, most striking of which is the growing presence of restaurants and other food establishments here.

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the Pasig formerly of Rizal: the second Rizal capitol

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Last time, we talked about Pasig’s importance before as the capital of the Province of Rizal when the latter was first established. For a while, the seat of power was located near the banks of the Marikina River, where it stayed for almost 50 years.

the old Capitol building (taken from the Internet)

Fast forward to 1950, as the Rizal provincial capitol found itself settled in its new home, right along Shaw Boulevard near what was to become the Ortigas Center business district.The land that new capitol sat on was made possible through a donation of the land by its landowners, the Ortigas family,.whose property once extended to what are now parts Mandaluyong, San Juan, Pasig, and Quezon City. For the first 20 or so years, the capitol settled itself comfortably as development began to sprout in neighboring places like the rising Ortigas Center. That would be the way of things in this part of town until 1975, when things became a bit more “complicated.”

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the Pasig formerly of Rizal: Rizal’s first Capitol

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Lying on the eastern end of Metro Manila lies the city known as Pasig, which serves as an industrial and commercial hub in the east, as well as the metropolis’ gateway to the eastern highlands of Rizal, Quezon, and eastern Laguna.

old rizal capitol 1

But long before it became part of the metropolis, Pasig was one of the many towns and cities which used to be part of Rizal province itself. But Pasig holds a more special distinction of being what was once the province’s seat of power ever since the American colonial government established a new province named after the national hero Dr. Jose Rizal in 1901.

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Isabel II: the monument that almost got ditched

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Located in an inconspicuous corner at the northeastern end of the Intramuros walls stands this particular monument made of copper (which is why it’s greenish in color) This monument happens to be of one dedicated to one of Spain’s most controversial monarchs, Queen Isabel (or Isabella) II.

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She became a polarizing figure when she assumed the throne of the Spanish monarchy at age 3, as her accession was opposed by those who feel that the crown should be given to a male member of the royal family, even though Isabel was a direct descendant of the late king Ferdinand VII and that the king himself had no male children.

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