Spanish colonial era According to a local historian named Servando de los Angeles, the first settlers of Marikina are the descendants of Lakan Dula, known as the head of the ruling House of Dula and the pre-hispanic king of the Lakanate of Tondo. It happened when Lakan Dula sent his descendants to far away lands within sea and river routes. The riverbanks of Marikina were then settled by river dwellers or "taga-ilog", these natives were discovered by the Augustinians as they explored along the riverbanks during 1570's. Then during 1630's Jesuits arrived and there is when Christianity spread in Marikina, since the Jesuits have had the ecclesiastical control and supervision over the land.The
Augustinians first to arrived at the valley in the late 16th century, at the spot known as Chorillo in
Barangka. In 1572,
Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish was established. Next came the
Jesuits in 1630, in a place now called Jesús de la Peña (Jesus of the Rocks). Here, the Jesuits established a mission and built a chapel still known today as
Jesús de la Pena Chapel. Fray Pedro de Arce, apostolic ruler of the
Archbishop of Manila at that time, approved transfer of ecclesiastical control and supervision to the
Jesuits, and settled the place as a town. In
1665, an intensity 8 earthquake struck the valley and nearby Manila, and it is related to the activity now known as
Marikina Valley Fault System. Only a Jesuit church experienced great damage and resulting in 19 deaths in the said earthquake. In 1787, the town was called "Mariquina" after
Felix Berenguer de Marquina, who was the
governor-general at that time, and the town was declared a
pueblo under the
Spanish colonial government. Marikina was once the Hacienda Sauza-Berenguer de Marquina, the land and home was formerly owned by Don Santiago Sauza y Delos Rios and his wife Dona Ysabel Berenguer de Marquina y Sumulong. By the 19th century,
Hacienda Mariquina was eventually owned and administered by the Tuason family and had become the largest in the Philippines. The hacienda was declared a
mayorazgo by the Spanish colonial government. Don Juan Gregorio became the first
Alcalde Capitan of Mariquina in 1822. During the
Philippine Revolution in 1896,
Andrés Bonifacio arrived in Mariquina before he and his
Katipuneros proceeded to the caves of
Montalban. Mariquina became the capital of the
Province of Manila in 1898, when the
Philippine Revolution broke out, a period when Philippine
Independence was declared by
Emilio Aguinaldo, the first Philippine
president. Don Vicente Gomez became the first
Alcalde Presidente of Mariquina in 1900.
American colonial era On June 11, 1901, shortly after the United States took possession of the Philippines, its name officially became "Marikina". The province of
Rizal was created by Act No. 137 by the
First Philippine Commission which was acting as the
unicameral legislative body in the island of
Luzon. Marikina and many other towns around
Manila were incorporated into the new province. In 1906, the
Manila Railroad Company completed a steam train line called "Montalban Line", also known as Marikina Line and Rosario-Montalban branch, a branch of
Philippine National Railway in which the train company is currently existing in some parts of Luzon (today, it converted into a road which is known today as Daang Bakal, including Shoe Avenue and other streets following the former old rail tracks of the line). The company also constructed four stations in Marikina including the only surviving station of that structure today, the Mariquina station located near D. Victorino Street, the rest were demolished to give way for roads, houses, or establishments. These stations are connected between Montalban (known today as
Rodriguez, in Rizal Province) to the north and Rosario (known today as Tramo, in
Pasig) to the south. Marikina Bridge, a vital economic link to Manila, was formally opened in 1934. Marikina Airfield was completed and used as a civilian airfield during the train line construction. The runway were subsequently converted into the road known today as E. Santos Street, and the airfield stands today as Paliparan Subdivision. In 1936, the Montalban Line was abandoned. In 1939, the barrios of Balara,
Barranca (Barangka), Jesus de la Peña,
Krus na Ligas, Tañong, and the site of the new
UP Campus were separated from Marikina to form part of the newly established
Quezon City. In 1941, the barrios of lower Barranca and Jesus de la Peña were returned to Marikina.
Japanese occupation In 1942, during the
World War II,
Japanese Imperial forces occupied Marikina. The town was liberated in 1945 by combined United States and
Philippine Commonwealth ground troops, who attacked the
Japanese Imperial Army by artillery from
Quezon City. Almost all of the large buildings, including the church bell tower, were destroyed. In reality, the Japanese had already left the town and retreated to the north. The town saw over 400 civilians casualties by the end of World War II. Local Filipino troops under the pre-war 4th and 42nd Infantry Division of the
Philippine Commonwealth Army entered Marikina and assisted U.S. forces in attacking Japanese troops during the liberation. The general headquarters of the
Philippine Commonwealth Army was rebuilt and stationed in Marikina after the war.
Post-war era In 1956, Marikina was given the title of "Shoe Capital of the Philippines", has re-emerged as a town of
shoemakers after World War II. Honed by years of shoe manufacturing experience, the natives had developed a work ethic that prepared them for the arrival of heavy industries. With the industrial plants came waves of workers who chose to stay, rapidly increasing the population. In November 1959, Osmundo de Guzman was
elected mayor of Marikina. In 1968,
Kapitan Moy's house (now known as Sentrong Pangkultura ng Marikina or Cultural Center of Marikina in English) was declared a national shrine by the town council and the
National Historical Commission. In 1969, Rodriguez Sports Complex, known today as
Marikina Sports Center was completed.
Marcos dictatorship The beginning months of the 1970s marked a period of turmoil in the Philippines, and in Marikina specifically. During his
bid to be the first Philippine president to be re-elected for a second term, Ferdinand Marcos launched an unprecedented number of foreign debt-funded public works projects. This caused the Philippine economy took a sudden downwards turn known as the
1969 Philippine balance of payments crisis, which in turn led to a period of economic difficulty and a significant rise of social unrest. Many young people in the poorer barangays of Marikina, particularly
Barangka, joined protest activities and activist organizations. With only a year left in his last constitutionally allowed term as president Ferdinand Marcos placed the Philippines under
Martial Law in September 1972 and thus retained the position for fourteen more years. This period in Philippine history is remembered for the Marcos administration's record of
human rights abuses, particularly targeting political opponents, student activists, journalists, religious workers, farmers, and others who fought against the Marcos dictatorship. Victims were often tortured and killed and came to be known as "salvage" victims. The bridges across the Marikina river became a frequent area for such bodies to be discarded, with a notable example being that of University of the Philippines Literature Professor Valerio "Lerry" Nofuente, who was killed and left dead in his Volkswagen vehicle at the foot of one of the rivers, having just visited friends who were workers of Fortune Tobacco in Barangay Fortune.
Late 20th century Since as early as 1937, Marikina had suffered flooding, which was caused by the swelling of the
Marikina River. by
Typhoon Ruby (
Unsang); flooding and seriously damaged the Marikina Valley, among others, particularly in Provident Subdivision in Santo Niño where water reportedly reached high. Low voter turnout was observed as the plebiscite was marred by reports of disenfranchised voters, as well as disinformation campaign which prevented residents to vote, with five individuals apprehended; Meanwhile, a delay of counting of ballots due to lack of
Commission on Elections personnel led to some 200 teachers abandoning their posts, taking with them canvassing sheets and less than 16,000 unvalidated ballots. The counting proceeded with some employees of the local government treasury assisted in validation of votes. Despite the turnout yet the majority ratified the cityhood, the following day, the COMELEC eventually declared the municipality as a
highly urbanized city, citing that the unvalidated ballots does not affect those counted already.
Contemporary due to
TS Ondoy in 2009 In 2006, under
RA No. 9364 signed by
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Marikina was divided into
two congressional districts, being served by two representatives since 2007. Fortune and Tumana, two
sitios in
barangays Parang and Concepcion Uno respectively, were converted into independent
barangays, the city's newest (15th and 16th), in 2007. On September 26, 2009, Marikina was severely affected by
Tropical Storm Ketsana (
Ondoy), which submerged majority of Metro Manila, with
Marikina River reaching a record high, more than 21 meters, and half of its
barangays flooded, particularly in Tumana (also the hardest-hit by the 2012 rains); Almost the same scenario occurred in the city upon being hit by
Tropical Storm Meari (
Falcon) in June and
Typhoon Nesat (
Pedring) in November 2011;
the monsoon rains (habagat) of August 2012;
Tropical Depression Josie in July and
Tropical Storm Karding in August of 2018. On November 12, 2020, the river water level rose to another record high at 22 meters during
Typhoon Vamco (
Ulysses), which killed 25 people. In 2016, first district congressman
Marcelino Teodoro, a former councilor and publisher, won the
mayoral election against incumbent
Liberal mayor
Del de Guzman. In May 2017, he joined the
PDP-Laban party, taking his oath before Senate President
Koko Pimentel. Teodoro's mayorship has been cited for its effective leadership and enhanced governmental services which kept Marikina's informal status as a "model city", with Teodoro himself acknowledging that his policy is to retain or build on the legacy programs of
Bayani Fernando and other predecessors. In November 2019, after Metro Manila was chosen to be the pilot area for the
Duterte administration's Safe Philippines
surveillance project, Teodoro signed a memorandum of agreement with
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año that made Marikina the first LGU to launch the program, which planned the installation of 200
Huawei-made surveillance cameras around the city to help prevent crime; the nationwide project was later scrapped in May 2022. By late 2020, a feud emerged between mayor Teodoro and then-congressman Fernando when Teodoro alleged Fernando's Marikina River reclamation project to have contributed to floods during
Typhoon Ulysses (internationally known as Typhoon Vamco). Due to the feud, Fernando attempted to run for mayor against Teodoro in the
2022 elections, but was eventually defeated. On March 25, 2025, mayor Teodoro was preventively suspended for six months by the
Ombudsman alongside vice mayor
Marion Andres, 13 councilors and other government officials due to the agency's ongoing investigation into the alleged misallocation of
PhilHealth funds in Marikina. The allegation is based on a complaint filed by public servant and college professor Sofronio Dulay in August 2024. A day later, on March 26, twin councilors Rommel Acuña of the 1st district and Ronnie Acuña of the 2nd district were sworn in as acting mayor and vice mayor respectively, with both brothers currently allied with 2nd district congresswoman
Stella Quimbo, a mayoral candidate in the
2025 elections. ==Geography==