- Provide technical and management support in the implementation of nutrition program at the regional and sub-regional levels.
- Ensure operationalization of PPAN at all levels
- Coordinate, monitor and evaluate implementation of PPAN
- Take the lead in nutrition advocacy and resource generation and mobilization
Metro Manila: Demography and Topography
Metro Manila is the total urban area that is composed of different cities and the surrounding urban fringe. The proper city Manila is only one of the big cities of this urban agglomeration. Metro Manila, or the “National Capital Region” (NCR) as they say in the Philippines, is a real metropolitan area. On 636 square kilometer live more than 10 million inhabitants. The biggest city in this metropolitan area is Quezon City, with more than 2 million inhabitants. Manila, as the second biggest city within Metro Manila, counts 1.58 million inhabitants in 2000.
The name “Manila” has a special meaning. The original name was "MayNilad". It was the name of the pre-colonial Moslem settlement. Already before the Spaniards came to May Nilad, the place was a small but prosperous trading port. The name means:"where the blossoming water plants grow".
Soon after the Spaniards conquered May Nilad, they decided to build a fortified settlement to protect their trade in the Orient. Spanish style house, monasteries, churches and schools were built within walls. Seven gates were the connection with “the outside world”. Though the Japanese army ruined 90 percent of the urban area, there are still some remnants of the medieval walled city of Intramuros.
Metro Manila first spread along an area south of the Pasig River and flat coastal lands between Manila Bay and the Marikina Valley. A large portion of the Manila Bay was reclaimed to the west in the 1980’s to cover a wider urbanized area. Metro Manila’s transformation began with the period of reconstruction immediately after the Second World War, and with the great immigration of the 60s. Migrants from all over the country poured into Manila, overflowing onto its once quit suburbs and spawning bustling communities. In search of better opportunities, these migrants inordinately swelled the ranks of the NCR’s population straining carrying capacities and creating problems resulting from unregulated growth.
Since 1975, Metro Manila has been designated the National Capital Region. At present, 16 cities and 1 municipality comprise the NCR. Its 16 cities and 1 municipality are as follows: Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, Marikina, Quezon City, Pasig, Taguig, Manila, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Makati, Muntinlupa, Las Pinas, Paranaque, Pasay and the Municipality of Pateros. Of the 17 cities and municipality, Quezon City has the biggest land area of 161.12 sq. km constituting one-fourth of the total land area of NCR. The smallest area is the Municipality of Pateros with a total land area of only 2.10 sq. kms. (Table 1)
The metropolitan area lies entirely on a swampy isthmus with an average elevation of 10 meters. Manila Bay lies to the west and Laguna de Bay to the south-east. It is bordered by the provinces of Bulacan to the north, Rizal to the east, Cavite to the south-west and Laguna to the south.
Each of the 16 cities and 1 municipality in Metro Manila is governed by a Mayor who all belong to the Metro Manila Mayor’s League.
