Photo credit: Ivan Henares
industries. Food processing, specifically for tocino and longanisa products, has become a major industry in itself. The lantern industry is also the city’s main product under the government’s One Town One Product (OTOP) program. San Fernando is famous for its giant lanterns and is known as the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines” with its annual Giant Lantern Festival. There is also a growing service and retail sector and a flourishing car dealership business. The Kapampangan have a reputation for their culinary skills. As the food center of Pampanga, with around 83 restaurants, San Fernando offers authentic Kapampangan food, such as tocino, longanisa, tapang damulag, sisig, and pancit luglug. It is also the location of SM Department Store and Robinsons Department Store. The city is strategically located at the crossroads of central Luzon and is highly accessible by both air and land. Leisure seekers can easily go to the former Clark air base or nearby Dau and Angeles City for casinos, bars, resorts, and duty-free shopping. Manila is also 45 minutes away, thanks to the worldclass North Luzon Expressway. It’s also near the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (formerly Clark International Airport), which has domestic and international flights.
Mandaluyong City
Population: 278,474 Why it’s great: the other half of Ortigas, plenty of residential options, good schools
The Ortigas district belongs just as much to Mandaluyong City as to Pasig. As the western half the Ortigas center, Mandaluyong can lay claim on hosting the likes of the Asian Development Bank and the headquarters of San Miguel Corporation, along with hundreds of companies, so employment 56
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opportunities abound. This is where the posh EDSA ShangriLa Manila, Shangri-La Plaza, The Podium are located, as well as more middleclass hangouts as SM Megamall, EDSA Central, and Star Mall. Mandaluyong City also boasts of good schools such as the Lourdes School of Mandaluyong, La Salle Greenhills, and Don Bosco Technical College. Like Pasig, Mandaluyong has a rich historic past. It was part of the Kingdom of Sapa of the extensive Indonesian Majapahit Empire in the 1300’s. Around 1470, it expanded its territories and was then called the Kingdom of Namayan. Today, the city is loosely divided along land use, with residential subdivisions in the north, heavy industries in the south, commercial activities in the east, and medium-scale commercial districts in the west. A little more than a third of Mandaluyong is composed of residential zones, the most prominent and exclusive of these is Wack-Wack Village, the residential homes of the Wack-Wack Golf and Country Club. There are a lot of condominiums and townhouses to choose from as well, such as Gateway Garden Heights, Gateway Garden Ridge, One Gateway Place, Soho Central, and St. Francis Tower. The most well-known hospital in Mandaluyong is the Dr. Victor R. Potenciano Medical Center along EDSA. And of course, it is also home to the Philippine’s only psychiatric hospital, the National Center for Mental Health, hence the perennial joke that if you’re a little crazy, you’re probably from Mandaluyong. quezon City Population: 2,173,831 Why it’s great: plenty of residential areas, good schools, access to hospitals, lots entertainment centers Quezon City is the largest city in Metro Manila in terms of population and area, taking up a quarter, and also the biggest city in Luzon. The good thing about a city this big is that there is just more of everything. Those who plan to live here can choose from numerous subdivisions, condominiums, apartments, townhouses, and single-detached houses in either the southern portion of the city, covering Diliman, Commonwealth, the Project areas, Cubao, Kamias-Kamuning, New Manila, San Francisco del Monte, and Sta. Mesa Heights, or the northern half, comprising of Novaliches and contains the areas of Fairview and Lagro. Finding work among close to 57,000 business establishments shouldn’t be hard. Quezon City joined the ranks of Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taipei as one of the “Top 10 Asian Cities of the Future,” ranking seventh among more than 200 Asian cities, based on a survey commissioned by the London Financial Times through AsiaBiz Strategy. Residents love the fact that QC is home to schools and universities, such as the University of the Philippines-Diliwww.moneysense.com.ph
Photo credit: Premium Fantasy
plying the needs of Metro Manila and other regions. As one of the six provinces of the socalled W Corridor (these key municipalities, when plotted on the map, form the shape of the letter W), it plays a key role in the industrial corridor as host to the Clark Special Economic Zone and five other industrial estates. It also has attracted numerous manufacturing companies such as Universal Robina Corporation, Zuellig Pharma Corporation, Nestle Philippines, Mondragon Industries, Asia Brewery, and Del Monte Corporation, as well as bottling companies like San Miguel Corporation, Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, and Cosmos. San Fernando is strategically located at the heart of Central Luzon. One has to pass through the city to be able to go to any provinces from all directions. Thus, it has established its role as the regional growth center. The combination of agriculture, industrial, and manufacturing capabilities makes San Fernando a triple threat. The city is also home to numerous small businesses and cottage