Early Spanish period During the
Spanish era, present-day Valenzuela,
Obando, and
Novaliches (now in
Quezon City) were parts of
Bulacan. The areas now covered by Valenzuela included four
haciendas (Malinta, Tala, Piedad, and Maysilo), small political settlements and a Spanish garrison. Collectively, these areas were known as
Polo. The region was bounded by the
Tullahan River to the south and streams branching from the
Río Grande de Pampanga in some areas.
thumb|200px|left| Pueblo de Polo 1623-2023 When
Manila became an
archdiocese in 1595, regular friars who had already established permanent churches in
Meycauayan decided that the
sitio of Polo should be separated from the town and have its own church to cater to its increasing spiritual needs. Through successive efforts of
Franciscan friar Juan Taranco and Don Juan Monsód, the towns of Polo and Catanghalan
(now part of
Obando) were successfully separated from
Meycauayan on November 7, 1621, at the feast day of the town's new patron,
St. Didacus of Alcalá, known locally as
San Diego de Alcalá. The first
cabeza de barangay of Polo was Monsód, while Taranco led the parish in a small tavern, which would become the present-day San Diego de Alcalá church. The separation was then confirmed by
Governor-General Alonso Fajardo de Entenza through a proclamation letter on November 12, 1623. Later, the date of November 12 was adopted as the foundation day of the city, as recommended by the
National Historical Commission of the Philippines in 2012, due to uncertainty about the exact date of creation of the town.
Polo Church The construction of a parochial church dedicated to St.
Didacus of Alcalá began in 1627, under the supervision of José Valencia and Juan Tibay. The first church structure was completed in 1632, but its bell was looted during the Chinese uprising of 1635. At that time, Chinese merchants resided mainly in
Barrio Pariancillo, which was located behind the church. In 1852, the church was repaired and remodeled under the direction of Fr. Vicente. The church was later re-dedicated to another patron, to the
Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Concepción. A convent was also built, followed by a common house (
casa tribunal) that had a rectangular prison cell and a schoolhouse made of stone. On June 3, 1865, a strong earthquake destroyed the belfry of the
San Diego de Alcalá Church, followed by an epidemic that killed thousands of people.
Separation of Obando On May 14, 1753, Governor-General
Francisco Jose de Obando y Solis, Marquis of Brindisi, ordered that a new pueblo be carved out of the north-western area of Polo. The new town was named
Obando, in honor of the governor-general, and was incorporated into
Bulacan. They then proceeded to
Malolos, Bulacan, where they were ambushed by the stationed Spanish soldiers. After the chase, the local population of Polo returned to their homes on May 12, 1763, after days of reconstruction. The day May 12 was commemorated as the feast of
St. Roch, locally known as
San Roque, as another patron saint and as a memorial to those who died in the Seven Years War. In 1854, General Manuel Pavía y Lacy, Marquis de Novaliches, was appointed Governor-General of the Philippine Islands. Upon his arrival in Manila, he was tasked with establishing a penal colony in which prisoners would be granted land to cultivate in exchange for the prospect of eventual release. This settlement became known as Hacienda Tala, derived from the Tagalog word tala (star), reflecting local folklore about the landscape's appearance following deforestation. This hacienda grew into a larger community that eventually merged with the haciendas of Malinta and Piedad to form the independent town of
Novaliches on January 26, 1856. A new road from Polo to Novaliches opened, traversing the barrios of Mabolo, Pasolo, Rincon, Malinta, Masisan, Paso de Blas, Canumay, and Bagbaguin.
Revolutionary period In 1869, Filipino physician and patriot
Pío Valenzuela was born in Polo. He would later be known as one of the key leaders of the
Katipunan, which he joined in 1892 at the age of 23. His admission to the society led to more recruits from Polo, including Ulpiano Fernández, Gregorio Flamenco, Crispiniano Agustines, and Faustino Duque. When Valenzuela was the chief editor, Fernández held a special role in the Katipunan as a printer of the
Ang Kalayaan, the organization's official newspaper. The now-defunct
Manila-Dagupan Railway opened in 1892 and traversed the barrios of Marulas, Caruhatan, Malinta, Dalandanan and Malanday, with the station being in
Dalandanan. A constituted branch of the Katipunan was established in Polo on February 1, 1896. The town joined other revolutionaries when the
Philippine Revolution broke out in August 1896, while Valenzuela availed the amnesty offered by Spanish authorities a few weeks later. Filipino forces under General
Tiburcio de León y Gregorio achieved a tactical victory in an engagement at Bitik and Pasong Balite (Pugad Baboy), temporarily repelling American forces, though American reinforcements subsequently forced Filipino withdrawal. During the revolution, the Spanish massacred many residents, most of them in Malinta. Suspected revolutionaries were hanged and tortured to death. Many were forced to admit guilt or shout innocent names; others were shot without trial.
American invasion period , a Filipino revolutionary who was born in Polo in 1869. The Americans imposed a military government when they acquired the Philippine Islands from Spain as part of the
peace treaty of the
Spanish–American War. They appointed Pío Valenzuela as the first municipal president of Polo on September 6, 1899, to suppress aggressive leadership in the area. He resigned in February 1901 to become the head of the military division, and an election was held. Later that year, the government proclaimed Rufino Valenzuela, a relative of Pío, as the second president and first elected municipal president of the town. When the
Philippine–American War broke out in early 1899, the Americans were directed to capture
Emilio Aguinaldo, who was escaping to
Malolos, Bulacan. Polo was one of the towns where Aguinaldo retreated; thus, it received heavy casualties in the first stages of the war. On February 22, 1899, General
Antonio Luna camped at Polo after an unsuccessful engagement with the American forces in Caloocan. A bloody battle on March 26, 1899, happened near the barrio chapel of Malinta. The Filipino forces had to retreat with the arrival of American reinforcements after being initially successful in defending Malinta and killing Colonel
Harry Egbert. On October 8, 1903, the adjacent town of
Obando merged with Polo by virtue of Act No. 932. It was later separated from Polo, effective August 10, 1907, by virtue of Act No. 1588 dated January 25, 1907. , built by the Americans in 1910, serves as the boundary marker to the old town of Polo. In 1910, a stone arch was built at its municipal boundary with
Malabon,
Rizal, along Calle Real (modern-day Marcelo H. Del Pilar Street). In 1928,
Manila North Road (Highway 3) opened and became the new gateway. The once-agricultural town slowly shifted to an industrial one. Businesses soon put up factories, the most famous of which is the Japanese venture Balintawak Beer Brewery that opened in 1938.
Japanese occupation period The
entrance of the Japanese into Polo during the
Second World War was met with almost no resistance. However, there were still many murders committed. The place became a centre of
Makapili and spies. It was found that the Balintawak Beer Brewery became a front for manufacturing ammunition for the
Japanese forces. The old church of San Diego de Alcalá was used by the Japanese forces as a torture chamber. On December 10, 1944, Japanese forces massacred more than a hundred men in both towns. From about 1:00am until dawn, cries could be heard from the municipal building where men were being tortured to death. Mayor Feliciano Ponciano was killed along with other municipal officials. During the
1945 liberation campaign, Allied forces (Filipino and American) conducted bombing and artillery bombardment operations against Japanese positions in Valenzuela. These operations resulted in significant civilian damage, including harm to the 17th-century San Diego de Alcalá Church, which was subsequently damaged by shellfire. Polo comprised the northern barangays of Wawang Pulo, Población, Palasan, Arkong Bato, Pariancillo Villa, Balangkas, Mabolo, Coloong, Malanday, Bisig, Tagalag, Rincon, Pasolo,
Punturin,
Bignay, Viente Reales, and Dalandanan. Valenzuela, on the other hand, comprised the southern barangays of Karuhatan, Marulas, Malinta, Ugong, Mapulang Lupa, Canumay, Maysan, Parada, Paso de Blas, Bagbaguin and Torres Bugallón (now Gen. T. de Leon). A provisional town hall was built across today's SM City Valenzuela, until a permanent town hall was built near the intersection of MacArthur Highway and the old Polo-Novaliches Road. The division soon proved to be detrimental to economic growth in each town, so Bulacan
Second district Representative to the
Fifth Congress, Rogaciano Mercado, and
Senator Francisco Soc Rodrigo filed a bill that sought the reunification of the two towns. On September 11, 1963, President
Diosdado Macapagal signed Executive Order No. 46, which reunified Valenzuela and Polo, adopting
Valenzuela as the name of the resulting town. In 1967, Mayor
Ignacio Santiago Sr. purchased lots in Karuhatan in which the new municipal hall would be built. Misinterpretation of property surveys and tax appropriation issues sparked the debate on which
barangay the municipal hall belonged to: Karuhatan, Malinta, or Maysan. To resolve the issue, Santiago ordered the creation of a new barangay, which was called Poblacion II, a reference to the old Poblacion barangay.
Incorporation of Metro Manila On November 7, 1975, jurisdiction over Valenzuela was moved from the province of Bulacan to Metro Manila. Metro Manila was then headed by
First Lady Imelda Marcos as its
governor. Due to this, Valenzuela is the only area in the modern National Capital Region that was neither part of Spanish colonial-era
Manila,
Rizal province, nor the wartime
City of Greater Manila. In 1968, the North Diversion Road (now
North Luzon Expressway) was opened. Rail transport to the city ceased in 1988 with the closure of the
Philippine National Railway's North Line.
Cityhood The passage of the Local Government Code in 1991 provided local governments with autonomy, which has allowed them to develop into self-reliant communities. On February 14, 1998, President
Fidel V. Ramos signed Republic Act No. 8526, which converted the municipality of Valenzuela into a highly urbanized chartered city. The law also ordered the division of the newly created city into two
legislative districts.
Contemporary In 2002, President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo proclaimed July 11 every year as
Valenzuela Day, which was an official holiday in the city that commemorates the birth date of Pío Valenzuela. On December 9, 2002, the
National Capital Region Police Office announced that they had discovered the largest illegal drug factory in the country within a Chinese-owned warehouse in
Lawang Bato after a fire broke out in the building, achieving the largest methamphetamine drug bust at the time with over worth of drugs seized. On May 13, 2015, a
fire broke out in the Kentex Manufacturing factory in Barangay Ugong, killing 74 people in the incident. In 2016, the
Ombudsman ordered the dismissal of Mayor
Rex Gatchalian and other city officials due to grave misconduct and negligence of duty during the incident. This is dubbed as the third worst fire incident in the country. ==Geography==