ABSTRACT

This chapter explores the planning of the National Government Center (NGC) in Quezon City since its inception in 1939 and its relationship with Barangay Commonwealth, one of the largest squatter communities in the city and Metropolitan Manila that emerged in the 1960s. The new capital built on a former farmland area was named Quezon City in honor of President Manuel L. Quezon, who led the country during the Commonwealth period between 1935 and 1944 and initiated the transfer of the capital city from Manila. As Quezon City blossomed from farmland into the Capital City, new infrastructure, housing, commerce, and employment eventually led to the influx of more people into the urban center. The National Government Center houses the Batasang Pambansa Complex, the official headquarters of the Philippine House of Representatives, with other agencies in the vicinity including the Government Auditing Office, the Sandiganbayan and the Civil Service Commission.