The story of Novaliches is an interesting and tragic one. Established as a town in its own right in 1854, it ceased existing when it was absorbed by Caloocan in 1903 and was never reconstituted since. Worse, it was further divided in 1948 to enlarge Quezon City which was originally envisioned to be the country’s capital city and its bid to become a separate entity in its own right was undermined in 1999 by the politicking of the Quezon City government at that time that schemed to get the whole city to vote rather than just the area concerned.
But Novaliches has been so far off from where the Urban Roamer has lived (whether it’s in Santa Mesa or in Rizal Province) that it was unfamiliar territory for a long while. Save perhaps to visits to TV5’s old studios and quick visits to the Novaliches’ mall trinity of SM City Fairview, Robinson’s Novaliches, and Ayala Malls Fairview Terraces, there was no opportunity for this Roamer to learn more about this lost town.
The opportunity came during Holy Week this year, the Urban Roamer’s favorite time of year for unimpeded urban explorations. Given the sheer size of Novaliches as a whole, the Urban Roamer decided to focus his exploration on one area of Novaliches, the considered Novaliches core, at least in the Quezon City side, which encompasses the old and new centers of Novaliches from Novaliches Proper to the area of Greater Lagro and Pasong Putik connected by the main Novaliches thoroughfare: Quirino Highway.
A Background of Quirino Highway
The road that we know today as Quirino Highway has been around at least during the American colonial period which served to link Balintawak in Calooocan to San Jose del Monte in Bulacan Province. In various points in its history it has been known as the Manila-Novaliches Road, Balintawak-Novaliches Road, and Novaliches-Ipo Road, among others.
Around 1956, the road was renamed Quirino Highway, after Elpidio Qurino, the Philippine president who not only designated Quezon City as the capital of the Philippines in 1948 but was instrumental in expanding Quezon City’s borders to include most of Novaliches which was under Caloocan’s jurisdiction at that time. Interestingly, Quirino also put up his retirement home in Novaliches, though quite far from the current Quirino Highway. (his old house was located in Hilltop Subdivision in Greater Lagro, which offered an overlooking view of the La Mesa Watershed) This was where Quirino died in 1956.
Today Quirino Highway is an important thoroughfare in the metropolis and neighboring Bulacan, stretching all the way from the North Luzon Expressway in Balintawak up to San Jose del Monte in Bulacan. As such, it has long been a traffic chokepoint that commuters have been bearing with for a long while. It is hoped that the mass railway transit Line 7 project which traverses part of Quirino Highway will somewhat help alleviate the situation…that is whenever they intend to finish it. Even so, another mass transit line that will traverse most of the areas covered by Quirino Highway is sorely needed.
The Susanos of Novaliches
Apart from the Manuel Pavia, the Governor General of the Philippines in whose honor the town was named (via his title as the Marquis de Novaliches, which is a village in the town of Jerica in Valencia, Spain), the most dominant name, or surname to be specific, that has shaped Novaliches’ history is Susano. Specifically, the family of Tomas Susano, who served as the first Filipino municipal president (the old equivalent of today’s mayor) of old Novaliches. He may have been the last mayor of Novaliches before it was absorbed into Caloocan. Afterwards, Susano served as the town president of Caloocan from 1906-1908.
Suffice to say, the Susanos shaped Novaliches into what it ts today In fact, much of Novaliches was part of the landholdings held by the Susanos, with significant parcels donated to the government and the church. For instance, the oldest church in Novaliches, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy was built on land donated by the Susanos.
The Susanos still hold considerable economic influence in Novaliches as the family owns a number of commercial buildings there, especially around Novaliches proper. You can’t miss them as these buildings bear their name. And up until 2010, the Susano name also had political significance with a Susano scion, Mary Ann, having served as a city councilor and a representative of Quezon City’s old 2nd legislative district, which included the whole QC side of Novaliches and nearby areas, which was the largest legislative district at that time in terms of population.
The Evolution of Novaliches
Traversing the length of Quirino Highway from Novaliches Proper to the area of Greater Lagro and Pasong Putik offers a glimpse of how Novaliches has evolved over the years. One can notice this evolution moving away from the densely-populated Novaliches proper on the northbound direction.
Along the way, one can see some traces of the old quiet suburban charm of Novaliches that has made it an ideal place of residence during the postwar years. There are actually some examples of structures built around the 1960s-1970s that can still be seen here.
The scenario quickly changes once you get past Teresa Heights as urbanized Novaliches comes into view. This is marked by the presence of the malls owned by the country’s three retail giants: SM City Fairview, Robinsons Novaliches, and Ayala Malls Fairview Terraces. It is probably the only area in the metropolis where one can find malls owned by the three retail giants this close in proximity. An overlooked shoppers haven if you will which is worthy of a future deep dive.
Right across SM City Fairview is the future Line 7 Mindanao Avenue station (which is actually not at nor nearby Mindanao Avenue, but I digress), which God knows has been taking forever to get done. The good news though is that reportedly, the station will be part of the 12 of 14 stations that will be operation by the fourth quarter of 2025. Let’s hope there will be no more delays this time.
Postscript
If this particular has been a bit more rambling than what is usually published here, apologies. Hopefully, the Urban Roamer can say more about this part of the metropolis in the future but for now, getting to know Novaliches up close has been quite a treat.
Acknowledgements as well to Wikipedia, Public Private Partnership Center of the Philippines, Annie Rosa Susano on Facebook, and the book A Capital City at the Margins by Michael Pante
