Pasig City

Population: 505,058 (2000 census)
Land area: 31 km²
Founded: 1573. Incorporated into city: 1/21/1995.

The City of Pasig is one of the cities and municipalities that comprise Metro Manila in the Philippines. It used to be the capital of the province of Rizal before Metro Manila was formed. Located along the eastern border of Metro Manila, Pasig City is bordered on the west by Quezon City and Mandaluyong City; to the north by Marikina City; to the south by Makati City, Pateros, and Taguig City; and to the east by the municipality of Cainta in the province of Rizal.

Pasig City a is primarily residential-industrial town but it is increasingly becoming a commercial area. Along its western border is the eastern (and arguably more significant) half of the Ortigas Center, one of the top business districts in the metropolis (the western half is in Mandaluyong City). Found here are numerous high-rise office buildings, residential condominiums, and schools. The University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P), one of the most expensive universities in the country, is located here, as well as the head office of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. Northwest of Ortigas Center is the Meralco Compound, home of the head offices of Meralco (Manila Electric Company), which is the largest electrical distribution company in the Philippines. The headquarters of the Philippine Stock Exchange, which is also home to one of its trading floors, is located here. Due to this, the barangay of San Antonio has one of the largest incomes for a local government unit in the country, larger than most small towns.

Being the former capital of Rizal, the provincial capitol is still located in Pasig City. Located along Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Avenue (C-5 road) are many industrial manufacturing plants.

It is believed that the name Pasig came from the legendary tale of Virgilio and Paz who customarily spent their evenings together on the banks of the river while riding on a banca. As fate would have it, the banca capsized, the current carried Virgilio who did not know how to swim. His repeated shouts of "Paz sigue me" could be heard from a distance and until finally he could only utter "Paz sig". From then on, the river was named Pasig and the land along the river was likewise referred to as Pasig.

Pasig is one of the oldest towns in the Philippines. The Augustinians created it in 1572. In June 1901, Act No. 137 of the Philippine Commission incorporated Pasig in the newly created Province of Rizal. It became the capital of the Province Capitol of Rizal until 1975 when the Metro Manila Commission was created under Presidential Decree No. 824.

On July 26, 1994, the Senate and the House of Representatives enacted RA 7829, converting the Municipality of Pasig into a highly urbanized city. On December 8, 1994, President Fidel V. Ramos signed it into law, which was ratified through a plebiscite by the people of Pasig on January 21, 1995.