Pateros

Pateros, officially the Municipality of Pateros (; ), is the lone municipality of Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 67,319 people.

This municipality is famous for its duck-raising industry and especially for producing balut, a Filipino delicacy, which is a boiled, fertilized duck egg. Pateros is also known for the production of red salty eggs and "inutak", a local rice cake. Moreover, the town is known for manufacturing of "alfombra", a locally made footwear with a carpet-like fabric on its top surface. Pateros is bordered by the highly urbanized cities of Pasig to the north, and by Taguig to the east, west and south.

Pateros is the smallest municipality both in population and in land area, in Metro Manila, but it is the second most densely populated at around after the capital city of Manila. Unlike its neighbors in Metro Manila, Pateros is the only municipality in the region.

Etymology

The name Pateros is most likely derived from the duck-raising industry. The Tagalog word (of Spanish origin) for "duck" is pato and pateros, "duck-raisers". The early 19th-century US diplomat Edmund Roberts used Duck-town, another name for Pateros, stating that he "never before saw so many ducks together" in one place. The duck reference is perfectly suited for Pateros, whose popular culinary specialty is a street food called balut, a fertilized developing duck embryo that is boiled and eaten from the shell. Several balutans offer different and unique cuisine as well as street merchants selling them on the side of the road.

History

Spanish colonial era

thumb|left|1821 Idyllic Painting of Pateros by [[José Honorato Lozano, showing the duck farms on the river banks that are the namesake of the municipality]]

Before 1799, Pateros was a barrio of Pasig called "Aguho" (agoho, the Casuarina equisetifolia tree), or "embarcadero" (“small port”). The port made the area a focal point of trade and commerce for Pasig and nearby towns, making it a more progressive barrio. The Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines later issued a decree creating Pateros as an independent municipality, initially with five barrios (villages): Aguho, San Roque, Santa Ana, Santo Rosario (since partitioned into Santo Rosario-Silangan and Santo Rosario-Kanluran), and Mamangcat (now in Fort Bonifacio).

The Philippine Revolution

thumb|left|1896 Revolution Memorial Monument, also known as the Dulumbayan Memorial Monument

During the Philippine–American War in March 1899, the first contingent of American Volunteers from Washington arrived in the town of Pateros. The American soldiers rallied and eventually won the battles to take control and establish a temporary camp in town.

American colonial era

Throughout the American colonisation of the Philippines, American soldiers were able to experience the culture and livelihood of the citizens of Pateros, such as eating roast duck meals during wartime and sending postcards of Pateros back to the United States. In 1900, Lieutenant Charles Nosler renamed the city of Ive's Landing in Washington State after the town of Pateros in the Philippines. The American Pateros in Washington officially became a city on May 1, 1913.

Province of Rizal and restructurings

On March 29, 1900, Pateros, then a part of the Province of Manila, was among the towns absorbed by the newly created province of Rizal, by virtue of General Order No. 40, Act No. 137 of the Philippine Commission, promulgated on June 11, 1901. On October 12, 1903, Act No. 942 united Pateros with Taguig and Muntinlupa into one municipality under Pateros. On November 25, 1903, Muntinlupa was later ceded from Pateros to Biñan, La Laguna through Act No. 1008. The remaining municipality was renamed Taguig, and it reabsorbed Muntinlupa on March 22, 1905, through Act No. 1308.

Executive Order No. 20 dated February 29, 1908, partitioned Pateros from Taguig, and the town regained its status as an independent municipality on January 1, 1909, by Executive Order No. 36.

Philippine independence

Incorporation in Metropolitan Manila

On November 7, 1975, Pateros became a part of the new Metropolitan Manila Area through Presidential Decree No. 824.

International partnership

On July 23, 2013, Mayor Jaime C. Medina visited the city of Pateros, Washington State, United States to sign the Sister City Memorandum of Understanding between the Municipality of Pateros, Metro Manila and Pateros City of Okanogan County, Washington State, USA. According to Mayor Gail Howe, the two cities have not applied through Sister Cities International but the goals of promoting the culture and exchanges have turned the sisterhood into reality.

Geography

Climate

Barangays

Pateros is politically subdivided into ten barangays:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; font-size:90%"

|- style="font-size:100%;"

! rowspan="11" |thumb|border|center|223x223px

!Barangays

!Population (2024)

!Area (km2)

!Density (/km2)

|Aguho

|align=right|7,488

|align=right|0.21

|align=right|35,657

|Magtanggol

|align=right|1,452

|align=right|0.08

|align=right|18,150

|Martirez del 96

|align=right|5,130

|align=right|0.19

|align=right|27,000

|Poblacion

|align=right|2,089

|align=right|0.0743

|align=right|28,116

|San Pedro

|align=right|2,252

|align=right|0.1

|align=right|22,520

|San Roque

|align=right|4,897

|align=right|0.2

|align=right|24,485

|Santa Ana

|align=right|30,950

|align=right|0.75

|align=right|41,267

|Santo Rosario–Kanluran

|align=right|5,504

|align=right|0.21

|align=right|26,210

|Santo Rosario–Silangan

|align=right|4,744

|align=right|0.2

|align=right|23,720

|Tabacalera

|align=right|2,853

|align=right|0.1

|align=right|28,530

! colspan="5" |<nowiki>Source: Facts & Figures | Pateros Official</nowiki>

Boundary dispute

thumb|Delineation map showing territories claimed by Pateros.

The municipal government of Pateros claims that its original land area was not its present land area of but including Fort Bonifacio, particularly the Embo barangays Comembo, Pembo, East Rembo, West Rembo, Cembo, South Cembo, Pitogo, Rizal, Post Proper Northside and Post Proper Southside which are now part of the city of Taguig (originally Mamancat, Masilang, San Nicolas, and Malapadnabato, former parts of Pateros), based on documents and official maps obtained by former Pateros Councilor Dominador Rosales from 30 libraries and offices including USA Library of Congress and USA Archives. One of those maps was the 1968 Land Classification Map of the Bureau of Land. Also included in their claim are the present-day barangays Buting, San Joaquin, and Kalawaan in Pasig.

Pateros' decrease in territory was accounted to a cadastral mapping in Metro Manila conducted in 1978. Pateros Mayor Nestor Ponce challenged the map through an objection letter dated June 23, 1978. But in January 1986, then President Ferdinand Marcos issued Proclamation No. 2475 which stated that Fort Bonifacio is situated in Makati and it is open for disposition. Because of that, a boundary dispute arose which moved Pateros to request a dialogue about that with then Municipal Council of Makati in 1990. Pateros also filed a complaint against Makati at the Makati Regional Trial Court in 1996 but the trial court dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction. The case was brought to the Court of Appeals in 2003 but the case was also denied. The same case was also elevated to the Supreme Court in 2009 but it was denied again.

Supreme Court decision

Almost two decades later, the Supreme Court on June 16, 2009, per Antonio Eduardo B. Nachura denied Pateros' petition against Makati but ruled out that the boundary dispute should be settled amicably by their respective legislative bodies based on Section 118(d) of the Local Government Code. Pursuant to the decision, Pateros invited Makati to a council-to-council dialogue. This happened on October 8, 2009. Four meetings were held and at the fourth dialogue on November 23, 2009, a joint resolution was made stating that Makati is requesting a tripartite conference between Pateros, Taguig and Makati.

Despite the resolution of the dispute between Taguig and Makati in favor of the former by the Supreme Court in 2023, the high court has allowed Pateros to pursue its claims.

Demographics

thumb|Aerial view of Pateros

As of 1818, the population was estimated at 3,840 Tagalog people. When Edmund Roberts visited in 1834, he estimated approximately 4,500 residents.

Language

Filipino and English are the Philippine official languages. Filipino, a standardized version of Tagalog, is spoken primarily in Pateros.

Economy

thumb|Red salty duck eggs, a popular product of Pateros

The town of Pateros is known for balut and had a duck-raising industry.

According to the town's 2005 classification report, 3.13% of its land area is classified as commercial, 0.39% industrial, and 0.88% agricultural.

Notable personalities

Cesar Homero Rosales Concio Sr. (1907–2003) – architect who as the first University Architect of the University of the Philippines designed many buildings in the University of the Philippines Diliman campus.
Berting Labra (1933–2009) – actor, sidekick of FPJ.
Pete Lacaba (b. 1945) – poet, writer and journalist.
Emmanuel Lacaba (1948–1976) – poet, writer and activist.
Pelagia Mendoza y Gotianquin (1867–1939) – first female sculptor in the Philippines and was the first female student at the Escuela de Dibujo y Pintura (Drawing and Painting School).
Daisy Reyes (b. ) – beauty queen, actress.
Jimmy Santos (b. 1951) – Filipino actor, basketball player, and TV host.
Socrates Villegas (b. 1960) – Bishop of Balanga (2004–2009), Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan (2009–present), former CBCP President.