Valenzuela has been known as Metro Manila’s industrial hub with the presence of many manufacturing and industrial facilities located across the city. Its industrial history is not a recent phenomenon as well as it goes all the way back during the 1930s. And chief among these industrial locators is a venture formed by Japanese businessmen put up a formidable competitor to the beloved San Miguel Beer and Breweery with the Balintawak Beer Brewery located in Malinta.
But before all this, Valenzuela, or Polo as it was called before, was a quiet rural town under the jurisdiction of the Province of Bulacan, established by the Spanish authorities in 1623. While so much has changed in the landscape in the past 402 years (at this time of writing), it is nice to see Valenzuela managing to retain some old world charm while embracing some unexpectedly new elements in pleasantly surprising ways.
For this particular journey, we focus on the five barangays which comprise what is considered Old Valenzuela: Pariancillo Villa, Poblacion (Valenzuela), Pulo, Palasan, and Arkong Bato.
Pariancillo Villa: Home of Valenzuela’s Beloved Son
The northernmost part of old Valenzuela, the barangay of Pariancillo Villa was said to be the old quarters of the Chinese merchants who plied their trade at old Polo (hence, the “pariancillo” name). While the traces of the old Chinese heritage of this barangay have been lost to time, it has remained an important part of the city as it was the home of a beloved son after whom the city was named: Dr. Pio Valenzuela.
The site of Dr. Valenzuela’s old home is now a museum which opened in 2023 and has become one of the most popular landmarks in the area reminiscent of its prominence back in the day. The Urban Roamer has a separate piece on this museum which would be linked here once published.
The Old-Time Modern Charm of Old Polo Proper
Old Polo Proper now comprises two barangays: Poblacion (Valezuela…and not to be confused with the other Barangay Poblacions in the metropolis) and Pulo.
Poblacion is the site of the San Diego de Alcala Parish or Polo Church, the oldest parish in Valenzuela established by the Franciscan missionaries who propagated the Catholic faith in the area. An old stone church would eventually be completed in 1632, dedicated to San Diego (or St. Didacus) of Alcala, a Franciscan lay brother and saint. Unfortunately, the church was destroyed in 1945 during World War II, particularly the invasion of American forces in the then Japanese-occupied town. Only the arch and the belfry of the old church managed to survive. A new Polo Church would be built and completed by 1951.
Across the church is the Polo Park and an events place owned the city government, the Casa de Polo, which resembles the design of a bahay na bato of the Spanish colonial period. Interestingly, while the park has been around for a long while, it did not look like this a decade ago as the park was at least one to two steps above the road elevation. More so, the events place which was then the site of basketball court and a tricycle terminal.
But in the past five or six years the area was redeveloped drastically with park gaining more elevation and added not only trees but art installations, particularly figures depicting the meeting of Pio Valenzuela and Jose Rizal and the old covered court and terminal demolished to give way to the new events place which was inaugurated during Valenzuela’s quadricentennial in 2023.
The terminal was relocated at the back of Casa de Polo as part of the administrative center of barangays Pulo and Poblacion. The prominent landmark here is the City Hall Annex building, built on the site of the old municipal hall of Polo/Valenzuela.
Another new development is a riverside park running parallel to Polo Bridge which links Poblacion and Polo to Mabolo. Unfortunately, the park was closed at the time this was taken but from what could be captured, this is a very positive development.
And being part of old Polo/Valenzuela, there are still some old houses and structures that stand in the area. Somehow they managed to survive despite the threats of not only urbanization buf of flooding that has long been a problem in the area. If anything, Valenzuela’s commitment to preserve and showcase its history, as evident with initiatives like the Museo ni Dr. Pio Valenzuela and the Casa de Polo have helped keep the old spirit of this area alive.
Showcasing Modern Valenzuela in Palasan and Arkong Bato
Making the way southwards towards the southwestern end of Valenzuela, one can find the barangays of Palasan and Arkong Bato. While there is nothing unique to see in Palasan, one thing that struck the Urban Roamer is the massive, well-maintained open spaces in Pio Valenzuela Elementary School and the Palasan Mega Center which serves as the site of its barangay hall and park.
Finally, there is Arkong Bato, named after the old boundary arch that delineated the boundary of Malabon (which was in Rizal Province back then) and Valenzuela/Polo (which was formerly in Bulacan). More on that later. But before going to the arch itself, there are some new interesting sights that can be seen here. For one, the barangay center of Arkong Bato has EV chargers as Valenzuela has recently deployed electric vehicles for its police force.
Near the arch, Valenzuela also put up a park, the Arkong Bato linear park which opened also in 2023. The park is elevated the same way as Polo Park and it features a small amphitheater and a monument dedicated to a Valenzuela figure Delfin Velilla, a member of the Katipunan and of the Philippine revolutionary forces who died fighting American forces in 1899.
Towering behind the park is a housing project of the city called Disiplina Village Arkong Bato. There are already three Disiplina Villages erected across Valenzuela and this would be the fourth one. This particular Disiplina Village is comprised of 20 three-storey buildings, totalling 720 housing units in the village. Each unit has a base floor area of 16 sq m and a loftable area of 11 sq m, totalling 27 sqm of livable space.
Finally, the Arkong Bato itself. I’ve written about it here before but some things about its history and what it is now have since been known to me. Apparently, the arch itself is older than 1910 as it was actually first constructed in 1858 as an initiative of the gobernadorcillo (mayor as we know today) of Polo, Mariano Velilla (unknown how he is related to the aforementioned Delfin Velilla).
The old arch was made out of adobe bricks and back then, Malabon was under the Province of Manila. In 1910, the Americans plastered the adobe arch with concrete, adding other elements into what we see now. The adobe part of the old arch was eventually uncovered and is now partly showcased thanks to the renovations done by Arch. Gerard Lico and his team in 2021-2022.
Viva Valenzuela
While the Urban Roamer has only managed to explore just a fraction of this city, Valenzuela has left a deep, positive impression. In its own way, it has managed to deliver beyond the basic needs of its people by providing a total quality of life from the abundance of open spaces to the delivery of beneficial technologies such as electric vehicles to helping people better appreciate their past in an accessible manner. Having the local government be at the forefront in delivering such quality of life is the key factor here and here’s hoping other local governments emulate what Valenzuela (as well as Pasig and Marikina) has done.
Looking forward to roam more of Valenzuela in the future. Viva Valenzuela!
Acknowledgements as well to the Valenzuela City Government, Wikipedia, Business Mirror, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Facebook, and Beauty of the Philippines
