Press Release
March 9, 2020

Senate approves transfer of Rizal capital from Pasig to Antipolo City

A bill transferring the capital and seat of the Rizal provincial government from Pasig City to Antipolo City has been approved by the Senate on third and final reading.

The enactment into law of House Bill No. 2998 is seen as a curative legislation, correcting a historical error and will properly locate the capital in Antipolo City, Sen. Francis "Tol" Tolentino, sponsor of the measure said.

It's been nearly 45 years now since Pasig City, originally a municipality of Rizal, has been included under the territorial and political jurisdiction of Metro Manila, yet it remains the capital of the province, Tolentino said.

As early as 2013, the chair of the Senate Local Government Committee said that the provincial government has transferred de facto its seat to Antipolo City following an ordinance issued by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

Its recognition, however, is not backed by any law, Tolentino said.

Once the bill becomes law by legislative fiat, Antipolo City would now be the capital of the province of Rizal, Tolentino said.

Upon the effectivity of this bill, the present provincial capitol located in Antipolo City shall be deemed as the official provincial government center where all the provincial offices shall be established.

HB 2998 shall be effective 15 days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation or in the Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.

The province of Rizal was created June 11, 1901 by the first Philippine Commission headed by former US President William Howard Taft by virtue of an Act No. 137. Under this Act, and the seat of the provincial government was Pasig.

But when Presidential Decree No. 824 that created the Metropolitan Manila and Metropolitan Manila Commission was issued in 1975, several local government units (LGUs) were removed from Rizal yet the provincial capitol was maintained in Pasig.

"Being declared as the seat of government of the province would generate more economic activities. It would perhaps entice investors to go to the capitol considering that there is no more confusion that it's no longer in Pasig, it's now in Antipolo. Designating the city as capital for purposes of administrative convenience and historical reasons would augur well for the economic development of not just the city of Antipolo but the entire province," Tolentino said.

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