圣马特奥 城镇

San Mateo, officially the Municipality of San Mateo (Tagalog: Bayan ng San Mateo), is a municipality in the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 276,449 people.

Conurbated to the urban agglomeration of the Greater Manila Area, San Mateo is one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Rizal Province, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Provincial Government of Rizal. It is a commuter hub to Metro Manila.

San Mateo is the home of the miraculous image of Our Lady of Aranzazu (Nuestra Señora de Aranzazu).

History

Spanish Colonial Era

In his book Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas, Father Gaspar de San Agustín records what is now San Mateo in 1572 to be a satellite settlement of Pasig. He described the inhabitants being “fierce but friendly and of quiet disposition.” Father Juan de Medina, in his account Relación de los Conventos Y Pueblos Fundados por los PP. Agustinos likewise put 1572 as the year the Parish of San Mateo was established. However, according to Miguel López de Legazpi, the first governor-general of the Philippines from 1571 to 1572, it was his nephew Juan de Salcedo who arrived at the site of the town during an expedition to Manila from Cebu. Accounts say that two years prior, Legazpi sent Salcedo along with 150 soldiers to prepare the inauguration of the City of Manila. It must have been Salcedo who discovered the town before Legazpi inaugurated Manila on 24 June 1571.

Still, another account was that of a certain Augustinian named Father Cavada, who said that the first chapel in the islands with Saint Matthew as patron was built by the riverside in 1596 south of the present Población of the town, which was then only a Barrio of Tondo. Saint Matthew thus gave the town his name as the chapel was built on his feast day.

What may be gleaned from the above accounts somehow is that San Mateo was discovered sometime in 1571, while its first church was built in 1596. It may be true, too, that the Parish of San Mateo was erected in 1572.

Aside from the disagreement over the town's precise foundation date, there is uncertainty as to how San Mateo acquired its name. According to one account, when the Spaniards made a reconnaissance of Manila's environs, they saw the San Mateo floodplains and were enamored by the natural beauty of the place. They decided to found a community there and one day, a Spanish scribe happened to stand on a mound with a book in one hand and a pen in the other. His statuesque pose prompted a companion to laugh and comment how the scribe resembled Saint Matthew, referring to the usual manner the evangelist is depicted in art. In the midst of their banter and merriment, they decided to call the place “San Mateo”.

Another account says that San Mateo was named for its geographical resemblance to another town in Spain of the same name.

Japanese Occupation Era

During the Japanese occupation, the Imperial Japanese Army occupied San Mateo, but no battle transpired between Japanese and Filipino forces.

Geography

The town lies in the Marikina Valley. The Marikina River runs through the western portion of the municipality, while the Nangka River runs through the south, bounded by Marikina. San Mateo has lush trees in other high areas. Most of the municipality is composed of residential areas, whereas the eastern side is composed of high plateaus and foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains.

San Mateo is bordered by Quezon City to the west, Marikina and Antipolo to the south, and by the Municipality of Rodriguez (Montalban) to the north. San Mateo is approximately 24 kilometers (15 mi) east of Manila and 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) north of Antipolo, the provincial capital of Rizal.

Demographics

Barangays

San Mateo is politically subdivided into 15 barangays, as indicated in the matrix below and the image herein.  Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

In the 2024 census, the population of San Mateo, Rizal, was 276,449 people, with a density of 5,000 inhabitants per square kilometer or 13,000 inhabitants per square mile.

Economy

Industries

The industrial establishments found in San Mateo are classified as light to medium industries. Welding shops and motor pool are among the predominant industries found within the municipality. Other industrial establishments are relatively small scale, like leather craft and kiskisan. Moreover, agri-business establishments which include poultry and piggery do exist within the municipality.

Various products are being manufactured in San Mateo. In fact, a group of different factories is found along Kambal Road, Barangay Guitnang Bayan 2. This includes San Mateo Rubber Corp. (Nikon and Durawalk Slippers), Jolly Food Corp., First Win Corp. (Slippers), and Golden Union Footwear Inc. (Evans Shoes). A Coca-Cola warehouse is also situated at Patiis Road corner GSIS Street (Daang Tubo) in Barangay Dulong Bayan 2. San Mateo also primarily manufactures gravel and sand aggregates together with other construction supplies that are found in hardware shops distributed all over the municipality.

Commerce and trade

The Central Business District is strategically located amidst the concentration of settlements. A major commercial area starts from the vicinity of the public market, bounded by the national road going to Rodriguez (Montalban) and Street of Daang Bakal in Barangay Guitnang Bayan 2. This commercial zone is a conglomeration of financial institutions, a public market, restaurants/small eateries, retail stores and the like.

Another area, which may be considered as major commercial area, is within the vicinity of De los Santos Street corner Gen. Luna Avenue, in Barangay Ampid 1. Other commercial areas extending to St. Mattheus Medical Hospital near the boundary of San Mateo and Marikina are located near Puregold San Mateo (formerly the Producer's Market) at Barangay Banaba and another at the corner of Patiis Road and Gen. Luna Avenue, in Barangay Malanday.

SM City San Mateo along Gen. Luna Avenue in Barangay Ampid 1 adds to the list of major commercial centers of San Mateo. This SM Supermall and the very first full-service mall of San Mateo opens on May 15, 2015, serving local residents and from neighboring areas. Further boost in San Mateo's economy is expected with the mall.

Landmarks

Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Aranzazu (Nuestra Señora de Aranzazu)

Our Lady of Mediatrix Shrine (in Brgy. Silangan)

Festivals

These are some of the notable events in San Mateo:

Infrastructure

Transportation

San Mateo has a variety of conveyances that provide the residents with ready means of transportation. These are public utility jeepneys, buses, tricycles, pedicabs and UV Express Service are operating in the town. These facilitate the movement of people and goods to Metro Manila and nearby towns of Rizal.

There are six jeepney terminals in San Mateo: San Mateo Plaza, Barangay Pintong Bukawe, Barangay Banaba (Puregold), Barangay Silangan (AFP Housing & Tierra Monte) and Barangay Santo Niño (Modesta).

Transportation routes passing San Mateo, are Montalban-Cubao (jeepneys), Montalban-San Mateo (jeepneys), Montalban-Marikina (jeepneys) and Commonwealth, Philcoa-San Mateo (jeepneys) thru the San Mateo-Batasan Bridge. These routes traverses Quezon City, Marikina, San Mateo and Rodriguez (Montalban). The only way to get through Pintong Bukawe is through Marcos Hi-way, Cabading & Sapinit Roads in Antipolo.

Long before the LRT 2 opened its services in Santolan in the Pasig-Marikina border in the early 2000s, steam train services had once served those places in the past, even before World War II.

There is a proposed San Mateo Railway that might traverse municipalities of Rodriguez (Montalban), San Mateo in Rizal and Marikina City in National Capital Region and connect them to LRT 2.

In Marikina, there is a street named "Daangbakal", also called by the names of "Shoe Avenue Extension", "Munding Avenue" and "Bagong Silang". There is also a similar "Daangbakal" in the San Mateo-Montalban (Rodriguez) area, and on the maps one can notice that the two roads should have been connected with each other. In fact, as the name suggests in Tagalog, these streets were once a single railway line. The two sides of the "Daangbakal" roads were once connected by a bridge in the San Mateo-Marikina border. However, as the railroad tracks have been largely ignored after the Japanese Occupation and was transformed into separate highways, the railway connection was abandoned.

The old railroad tracks, called the Marikina Line, was connected from Tutuban station in Manila, passing through Tramo (Barangay Rosario, Pasig) coming all the way to the town of Marikina up to Montalban. On the northern end of the "Daangbakal" road in Montalban is a basketball court.

Power

Power services in the town are provided by the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), except in the mountain barangay of Pintong Bukawe.