IT is believed that the name Pasig came from the legendary tale of Virgilio and Paz who customarily spent their evening together in a banca along the river. As fate would have it, the banca capsized and the current carried away Virgilio who did not know how to swim. His repeated shouts of “Paz, sigue me” could be heard from a distance and until finally he could only say “Paz sig.” From then on, the river was named Pasig and the land along the river was likewise referred to as Pasig.
Pasig is one of the oldest towns in the Philippines. The Agustinians created it in 1572. On July 2, 1572, the missionparish of Pasig was inaugurated on the Feast of the Visitation, the first Marian town in the Philippines and probably in Asia. From then on, Pasig Day has been celebrated on this date.
In June 1901, Act No. 137 of the Philippine Commission incorporated Pasig in the newly created Province of Rizal. It became the capital of the Provincial Capitol of Rizal until 1975 when the Metro Manila Commission was created under Presidential Decree No. 824 and Pasig became part of Metro Manila. On July 26, 1994, Congress enacted Republic Act 7829, converting the Municipality of Pasig into a highly urbanized city. And on December 8, 1994, President Fidel V. Ramos signed the Act into law, which was ratified through a plebiscite by the people of Pasig on January 21, 1995.
Today, Pasig City has a healthy combination of residential, commercial, institutional, industrial, and recreational areas. Pasig City has definitely become a major contributor to the country’s development as one of the most urbanized local government units.
We congratulate the City of Pasig headed by Mayor Vicente P. Eusebio, its officials and constituents on the occasion of their Anniversary.
