Based on the 1954 journal
History and Cultural Life of Montalban and its Barrios, what would then be the town of Montalban was formerly the
barrio of
Balite under the jurisdiction of
San Mateo during the Spanish period. The town was then headed by its first parish priest Fr. Eustaquio Infante of
Pasig, who led the dedication of the Most Holy Rosary parish church on June 2, 1871, in the term of Gregorio Melitón Martínez as
Archbishop of Manila. Additionally, an 1882 Spanish map indicates that the northeastern areas of the present-day municipality were once claimed as part of
Bulacan. The municipality was then incorporated to the newly created province of Rizal on June 11, 1901, by virtue of
Philippine Commission Act No. 137, after having been a part of the defunct province of
Manila.
Proposed cityhood As early as 2018, the town's Sangguniang Bayan approved Resolution No. 60, Series of 2018 requesting the Senate of the Philippines through its
president,
Vicente Sotto III and the
House of Representatives through its
speaker,
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to co-sponsor a bill for Rodriguez's conversion into a city.
Proposed reversion of town name to Montalban In mid-to-late 2019, before a formal ruling could be enacted, the municipal government under the term of Mayor
Dennis Hernandez began referring to the town as "Montalban". Notable examples were dropping "Rodriguez" in official documents, office names and correspondences, and the municipal government using a municipal seal with the name "Montalban". In February 2020, another municipal seal that bears the year 1871 as the date of establishment was used. In April 2020, the municipality celebrated its 149th Foundation Day (
Araw ng Montalban); in the previous year April 2019, at the time when 1909 was still the recognized date of establishment, the municipality celebrated its 110th founding anniversary. In the Senate hearing of the Committee on Local Government on January 21, 2022, the
National Historical Commission of the Philippines did not pose any objection on the proposed measure and clarified that the proposed change will only apply to the municipality's name; structures and other features such as buildings, schools in the municipality dedicated in memory of Rodriguez are not covered by the proposed bill and should be retained. With further minor amendments, the bill was approved on third and final reading on January 31. The
House adopted the Senate amendment and the bill was submitted to the
President for his signature. On June 2, 2022, Republic Act No. 11812, the act reverting the town's name to Montalban and repealing Batas Pambansa Blg. 275 had lapsed into law. A
plebiscite, having no set date, is to be supervised by the
Commission on Elections. ==Geography==