Rizal
Rizal is a province of the Philippines in the Calabarzon region of Luzon, named after national hero José Rizal.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal, is a Philippine province in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. It occupies the western slopes of the southern Sierra Madre and extends along the northern shore of Laguna de Bay, the country's largest lake. The province lies immediately east of Metro Manila, making it part of the Greater Manila Area and one of the most strongly urbanizing areas outside the national capital. Its present provincial capital is Antipolo City, while Pasig served as the capital for most of the province's history and remained the legal capital until 2020. The province was created on June 11, 1901, during the American colonial period under Act No. 137. It combined municipalities from the former Province of Manila with towns belonging to the politico-military district of Morong. The new province was named for José Rizal, the Filipino writer, physician, and national hero. Before its formal creation, the area had long been inhabited by Tagalog communities and had been administered through shifting Spanish colonial jurisdictions, including the provinces of Tondo and La Laguna and the District of Morong. Rizal originally included a much larger area than the modern province. Its territory encompassed numerous communities that later became part of Metro Manila, including Pasig, Marikina, Makati, Taguig, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Pasay, Malabon, Navotas, Pateros, Caloocan, and Quezon City. The most consequential territorial change occurred in 1975, when Presidential Decree No. 824 transferred a group of municipalities and cities to the newly established Metropolitan Manila. Fourteen towns remained in Rizal after the partition. Today, Rizal consists of one city and thirteen municipalities. Antipolo is the administrative, commercial, educational, tourism, and cultural center. Cainta and Taytay are major suburban and business centers closely connected to Metro Manila, with Cainta developing business-process outsourcing and services activity and Taytay retaining an important role in garment and textile manufacturing. Other municipalities, including Angono, Binangonan, Cardona, Morong, Rodriguez, San Mateo, Tanay, Teresa, and Pililla, combine residential growth, manufacturing, agriculture, lakeside activity, and cultural tourism. The province is known for its mountainous landscapes, access to Laguna de Bay, religious and pilgrimage sites, artistic communities, and proximity to Manila. Angono is associated with visual art and music and is widely recognized as an important creative center. Antipolo is also known for local agricultural and food products, including cashew-based goods and rice cakes. Rizal's economy has shifted from large-scale livestock estates and agricultural activity toward a mixed metropolitan economy driven by services, trade, construction, manufacturing, housing, tourism, and commuting links with Metro Manila. In the 2024 Philippine census, Rizal had a population of 3,416,541, making it one of the country's most populous provinces. Tagalog is the dominant language, while Filipino and English are also widely used. The province is religiously diverse, although Roman Catholicism is the predominant tradition. Rizal remains an active provincial government jurisdiction rather than a conventional commercial brand; its public identity is built around its historical association with José Rizal, its proximity to Manila, its growing urban economy, and its natural and cultural attractions.
History
The territory now known as Rizal was settled by Tagalog communities before Spanish colonization. During the Spanish period, its towns were administered through several changing jurisdictions. Historical records from the late sixteenth century placed Morong and Taytay within the jurisdiction of La Laguna and assigned other settlements, including Pasig, Taguig, Parañaque, and Tondo, to the Province of Tondo. These arrangements reflected the colonial use of encomiendas and religious administrative divisions rather than the boundaries of the modern province. In 1853, the colonial government organized the politico-military district of the San Mateo Mountains. It brought together Antipolo, Bosoboso, Cainta, and Taytay from the former Province of Tondo with Morong, Baras, Tanay, Pililla, Angono, Binangonan, and Jalajala from La Laguna. Morong served as the district capital. The district was renamed the politico-military district of Morong in 1857. Meanwhile, the Province of Tondo was renamed the Province of Manila in 1859, bringing its municipalities under a new provincial administration. The revolutionary period produced further changes in local administration. Marikina served briefly as capital of the Province of Manila under the government of Emilio Aguinaldo. The Morong district had its seat in Antipolo from 1898 to 1899 and in Tanay from 1899 to 1900. After the establishment of American civil government, officials debated whether the District of Morong was sufficiently self-supporting to continue separately from Manila. At a meeting held at the Pasig Catholic Church on June 5, 1901, delegates considered a proposal to unite the two jurisdictions. Although Morong representatives opposed the plan, the assembly ultimately supported the creation of a new province. Act No. 137, enacted on June 11, 1901, established Rizal Province. It incorporated thirty-two municipalities: nineteen from the former Province of Manila and thirteen from the District of Morong. The province was named in honor of José Rizal, whose writings and execution had made him a central symbol of Filipino nationalism. Pasig was selected as the provincial seat, although San Felipe Neri temporarily served as the seat in 1904. Municipal boundaries were adjusted repeatedly during the early twentieth century. Bosoboso, Malibay, Novaliches, and Quisao were absorbed into neighboring municipalities in 1903. Muntinlupa was transferred to Laguna in 1903, returned to Rizal in 1905, and later administered as part of Taguig. Urban growth around Manila gradually altered the province's composition. Quezon City was created in 1939 from territory that included parts of Caloocan and later areas associated with Novaliches, Marikina, Pasig, and San Juan. During the Second World War, the Japanese occupation period included guerrilla activity by Marking's Guerrillas and the Hunter's ROTC Guerrillas in Rizal. In 1942, several municipalities and cities were temporarily combined with Manila as the City of Greater Manila, an emergency wartime arrangement that was dissolved in 1945. The largest territorial transformation came in 1975. Presidential Decree No. 824 created Metropolitan Manila and removed numerous communities from Rizal, including Pasig, Marikina, Makati, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Taguig, Pateros, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Malabon, Navotas, Pasay, Caloocan, and Quezon City. Pasig remained the nominal capital of Rizal even after becoming part of the National Capital Region. This created an unusual administrative situation in which the province's legal seat lay outside its remaining territory. The provincial government began restoring its administrative presence inside Rizal in the late 2000s. Governor Casimiro Ynares III announced the transfer of the capitol to Antipolo in 2008. A new building was completed and inaugurated in 2009 on land near the Ynares Center. In 2020, Republic Act No. 11475 formally changed the statutory capital from Pasig to Antipolo, resolving the long-standing mismatch between the legal capital and the province's geographic boundaries. Contemporary Rizal is shaped by its position between Metro Manila, the Sierra Madre, and Laguna de Bay. Antipolo, Cainta, and Taytay have become major urban and commercial centers, while other municipalities have pursued industrial, residential, tourism, agricultural, and cultural development. The province's economy moved away from the large piggery estates that were prominent before the 1990s and toward services, construction, trade, manufacturing, tourism, and metropolitan commuter activity. Its artistic reputation is especially strong in Angono, while its natural setting supports upland recreation and lakeside communities. The province recorded 3,416,541 residents in the 2024 census.
- 2024
Population reaches 3,416,541
[1]The 2024 census recorded Rizal as having 3,416,541 residents.
- 2020
Antipolo becomes the official provincial capital
[1]Republic Act No. 11475 legally transferred the capital from Pasig to Antipolo.
- 2009
New provincial capitol opens in Antipolo
[1]The provincial government inaugurated a new capitol in Antipolo, bringing the administrative center back inside Rizal's remaining territory.
- 1975
Metropolitan Manila is created
[1]Presidential Decree No. 824 partitioned Rizal and transferred many of its former municipalities and cities into Metropolitan Manila.
- 1942
City of Greater Manila is formed during the war
[1]Several Rizal municipalities and adjacent cities were temporarily merged with Manila as an emergency wartime administrative unit.
- 1939
Quezon City is established
[1]The creation of Quezon City removed and reorganized areas that had been associated with Rizal, accelerating the province's long-term territorial evolution.
- 1901
Province of Rizal is created
[1]Act No. 137 legally established Rizal Province on June 11, 1901, combining thirty-two municipalities from Manila and Morong jurisdictions.
- 1857
District is renamed the District of Morong
[1]The San Mateo district was renamed the politico-military district of Morong, with Morong serving as its administrative center.
- 1853
District of the San Mateo Mountains is organized
[1]A politico-military district was formed from towns associated with the former provinces of Manila and La Laguna, creating an important predecessor to modern Rizal.
Products and positioning
A rapidly urbanizing province adjoining Metro Manila, positioned through its government identity as a combination of metropolitan connectivity, upland and lakeside landscapes, cultural heritage, tourism, and expanding services and manufacturing activity.
Manufacturing
Garments and textiles
Taytay is identified as Rizal's principal garment and textile manufacturing center. The sector contributes to the province's commercial identity and reflects its transition from predominantly agricultural and livestock-based activity toward manufacturing and metropolitan-linked enterprise.
Food and agricultural products
Cashew products
Antipolo is associated with cashew production and cashew-based local goods. These products form part of the city's visitor economy and the province's broader mix of agricultural, culinary, and tourism offerings.
Food and local delicacies
Rice cakes and traditional delicacies
Rizal communities, particularly Antipolo and Cainta, are known for traditional rice cakes and related Filipino delicacies. They function as local food products, visitor purchases, and markers of provincial cultural identity rather than as a single standardized commercial brand.
Brand decisions
2020
Legal transfer of the provincial capital to AntipoloStrategyBackground
Pasig had served as Rizal's capital even after its incorporation into Metropolitan Manila in 1975, leaving the province's legal seat outside its remaining territory. A provincial capitol had already been established in Antipolo in 2009.
Action taken
Republic Act No. 11475 formally transferred the capital from Pasig to Antipolo. The law was signed on June 19, published on June 22, and became effective on July 7, 2020.
Aftermath
Antipolo became the province's statutory capital and its established administrative center.
Recent events
- 2020
Antipolo becomes the statutory capital of Rizal[1]
Regulation · Other
Republic Act No. 11475 transferred the legal provincial capital from Pasig to Antipolo. The law was signed on June 19, published on June 22, and took effect on July 7, 2020.
- 2009
Provincial capitol moves from Pasig to Antipolo[1]
Other
A new provincial capitol was inaugurated in Antipolo, restoring the physical seat of Rizal's provincial government within the province after decades in Pasig.
- 1975
Rizal territory is reduced through the creation of Metropolitan Manila[1]
Other · Regulation
Presidential Decree No. 824 transferred a number of cities and municipalities historically associated with Rizal to the newly created Metropolitan Manila, leaving fourteen towns in the province.
- 1901
Rizal province is formally established[1]
Other
Act No. 137 created the Province of Rizal by combining municipalities from the former Province of Manila and the District of Morong. The province was named after José Rizal.
Sources2 sources
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