Spanish colonial era In 1601, some 88 years after the arrival of
Portuguese navigator
Ferdinand Magellan in the Visayas islands, the original lands constituting Muntinlupa could be deduced to have been friar lands administered by the Augustinians, then sold and assigned to the Sanctuary of Guadalupe. In the early 1800s, Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga, an
Augustinian friar, in his two-volume Book: "
Estadismo de las islas Filipinas", described Muntinlupa as a lakeside town composed of 250 tributes (each tribute representing a family of 5 to 7), and was the farthest town of the province of
Tondo (later Manila), itself composed of 14,437 native tributes and 3,528 Spanish Filipino tributes. He recorded the area, which is the present-day
Poblacion, to be known as
La Poblacion que Sigue se Llama Muntinlupa. In 1869, the lands were transferred to the state and large individual landholders. In an effort by the Spanish Government to bring under closer administrative control the people living in the contiguous sitios, as well as those in Alabang, Tunasan, Sucat, and Cupang, the municipality was created upon the recommendation of Don Eduardo de Canizares. On August 6, 1898, the town supported the Philippine Revolution against the Spaniards and formally joined the revolutionary government headed by Gen.
Emilio Aguinaldo.
American occupation at the Muntinlupa–
San Pedro boundary reflecting the former
Laguna–
Rizal provincial boundary; Muntinlupa was part of Rizal from 1901–1903 and from 1905–1975. The
Philippine Commission promulgated
Rizal Province on June 11, 1901, through Act No. 137. Muntinlupa became part of the new province after being a part of the defunct
province of Manila. On October 12, 1903, Muntinlupa, alongside
Taguig, was merged with
Pateros by virtue of Act No. 942. On November 25, 1903, Muntinlupa was incorporated under Act No. 1008 and included within the boundary of the province of
La Laguna under the municipality of
Biñan. Muntinlupa residents protested this Executive Act, and through their town head, Marcelo Fresnedi, filed a formal petition to the Governor for the return of the municipality to the province of Rizal. On March 22, 1905, Act No. 1308 paved the way for Muntinlupa's return to the province of Rizal to then become a part of
Taguig, along with
Pateros. On December 19, 1917, Governor-General
Francis Burton Harrison signed Executive Order 108, which made Muntinlupa an independent municipality, separating it from Taguig. The law took effect on January 1, 1918. Vidal Joaquin, a native of
Alabang, served as the first appointed mayor from 1918 to 1919, followed by Primo Ticman, native of
Poblacion, from 1919 to 1922. Melencio Espeleta became the first elected mayor of Muntinlupa in 1922, serving until 1924.
Japanese occupation On January 22, 1941, the historic
New Bilibid Prison, the national penitentiary, was established in the hills of Muntinlupa. During World War II, the
New Bilibid Prison was used to lock up Filipino political prisoners by the Japanese occupation authorities, but they were set free by
Hunters ROTC guerrillas. Incumbent mayor Francisco de Mesa later won reelection, defeating Argana. On March 18, 1964, de Mesa was assassinated by a gunman, and was succeeded by his vice mayor Demetrio Loresca. On November 7, 1975, Muntinlupa was transferred from the Province of
Rizal to the newly formed
Metropolitan Manila by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 824 issued by then-President
Ferdinand Marcos. On June 13, 1986, following the
EDSA Revolution in February of that year, President
Corazón C. Aquino appointed
Ignacio R. Bunye as Officer-in-Charge of Muntinlupa as part of a nationwide revamp of local government units. In the ratification of the
1987 Constitution, Muntinlupa together with
Las Piñas formed one political district. On January 31, 1988, protesters of the
1988 Muntinlupa election results who barricaded in front of the Muntinlupa town hall the past two days began storming the premises, with supporters of the two leading mayoral candidates confronting each other and causing injury to former mayor Santiago Carlos Jr. and barangay official Florante Torres among others. By February 17, a grenade that failed to explode was found to have been thrown onto the roof of mayor-elect Bunye's house in Alabang. On December 6, 1988, President
Corazon C. Aquino by Proclamation 351 declares December 19 as "Municipality of Muntinlupa Day".
Cityhood On February 16, 1995, House Bill No. 14401, which seeks to convert the municipality of Muntinlupa into a highly urbanized city, was approved by the House of Representatives. On March 1, 1995, Muntinlupa became the 65th city in the Philippines as signed into law by President
Fidel V. Ramos, its conversion into a highly urbanized city by virtue of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 7926. Per Section 62 of R.A. 7926, Muntinlupa and Las Piñas were to constitute separate congressional districts, with each district electing its separate representative in the 1998 elections. This separation was additionally confirmed in the city charter of Las Piñas (R.A. 8251) which was approved by plebiscite on March 26, 1997. Ignacio Bunye, who previously served as mayor of Muntinlupa, was elected in 1998 as the first congressman representing the city. On March 1, 2001, Republic Act No. 9191 was enacted, declaring March 1 of every year as a Special Non-working Holiday in the City of Muntinlupa to be known as "The Muntinlupa City Charter Day".
Contemporary On August 3, 2007, the Muntinlupa City Hall was completely damaged and later abandoned due to a fire. The fire started from a slum area behind the city hall. Almost all files, important documents and other references of Muntinlupa were burned. ==Geography==