THE VIEW FROM RIZAL

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”

As Antipolo marks the 26th anniversary of its conversion into a component city of the Province of Rizal tomorrow, April 4, we take inspiration from an excerpt from the Bible, the 14th verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Saint Matthew.

The biblical excerpt reminds us, Antipoleños, that, for us, cityhood is not a mere status nor just a strategy for socio-economic growth. It is a symbolic role our city plays. That role is to serve as a reminder and inspiration to local communities that when people and government work together, when private and public sectors collaborate, they can achieve what others may call a near-impossible feat.

What was that near-impossible feat?

Here is that little story we had told a number of times as part of our role as a “city on a hill.”

For decades – for more than a century, actually – Antipolo was a pilgrimage destination. As we said before, it was just a sleepy, rural neighbor of the affluent cities of Metro Manila. People flocked to Antipolo once or twice a year, mostly to pay homage to Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, or to join the Holy Thursday trek with other devotees called the “Alay Lakad.”

Others came to visit to enjoy the cool summer breeze and take a dip in the waters of Hinulugang Taktak.

It appeared Antipolo was set to be consigned to this role forever. Its fate seemed to have been sealed as the Rizal was reduced in size in the mid-70s, as its most prosperous towns and cities were separated from the province and were put together into what is now called the National Capital Region.

However, a “city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”

Pretty soon, families, businesses and investors “rediscovered” Antipolo.

In recent years, its population has grown by an average of 20 percent per year.

The number of Antipoleños was less than half a million at the start of the millennium. The population count was close to 950,000 at the end of 2023. It is projected to exceed one million two years from now.

The rapid population growth may have to do with the unique features of Antipolo. It is close to Metro Manila’s business and commercial hubs while offering some semblance of traditional, laid-back community life. The basic services families require are now present and, thanks to private sector support, they are of high quality. These include water and sanitation, education, and health.

Families who choose to build their future in Antipolo also require high standards of governance. A clear indication of the ability to meet these standards is a city’s capacity to attract investors and to be a preferred destination for private sector investments. The city did not fail them. Based on the standards set by the National Competitiveness Council, Antipolo has met and even exceeded the bar.

In 2013, Antipolo was ranked 26th in the list of the country’s Most Competitive Component Cities. It quickly rose the ladder, landing at the number one spot three times in the last 10 years.

Antipolo is leading all other component cities in the country in the following categories: education infrastructure, ease of getting business permits, compliance with the anti-red tape act, online payment systems, use of information communication technology, and early disaster warning systems.

Last year, Antipolo City also cemented its place in the spiritual lives of our countrymen as the city’s Cathedral – the home of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage – was declared an International Shrine. The visual evidence of this role was the huge number of pilgrims who went by foot to Our Lady’s Shrine at the top of the hill last Holy Thursday.

The once-sleepy town which used to come alive a few times a year is now a vibrant city.

It has overcome the odds and has achieved the near-impossible.

As Antipolo marks the 26th anniversary of its conversion into a component city of the Province of Rizal, we honor four Rizaleño leaders who paved the way for this to happen.

Antipoleños express their gratitude to former Rizal province congressmen Emigdio Tanjuatco, Jr. and Gilberto “Bibit” Duavit, former Rizal Governor Ito Ynares, former Local Government Undersecretary Victor Sumulong and former Mayor Daniel Garcia who both served as mayors of Antipolo. As we said in past columns, these five Rizaleño leaders were the “midwives” who nurtured the conception of the idea of Antipolo as a component city of Rizal. They envisioned Antipolo as the proverbial “city on a hill,” serving as an inspiration and magnet for social and economic opportunities. ([email protected])

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