Capital of the Philippines in the context of "Philippines"

Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 1,902,590 people. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on the island of Luzon, it is classified as a highly urbanized city. With 43,611.5 inhabitants per square kilometer (112,953/sq mi), Manila is one of the world's most densely populated cities proper.

Manila was the first chartered city in the country, designated by Philippine Commission Act No. 183 on July 31, 1901. It became autonomous with the passage of Republic Act No. 409, "The Revised Charter of the City of Manila", on June 18, 1949. Manila is considered to be part of the world's original set of global cities because its commercial networks were the first to extend across the Pacific Ocean and connect Asia with the Spanish Americas through the galleon trade. This marked the first time an uninterrupted chain of trade routes circling the planet had been established.

Quezon City (UK: /ˈkeɪzɒn/, US: /ˈkeɪsɒn/; Filipino: Lungsod Quezon [luŋˈsod ˈkɛson] ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino as Kyusi), is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 3,084,270 people. It was founded on October 12, 1939, and was named after Manuel L. Quezon, the second president of the Philippines. Quezon City served as the capital of the Philippines from 1948 until 1976, when the designation was returned to Manila.

The city was intended to be the national capital of the Philippines that would replace Manila, as the latter was suffering from overcrowding, lack of housing, poor sanitation, and traffic congestion. To create Quezon City, several barrios were carved out from the towns of Caloocan, Marikina, San Juan and Pasig, in addition to the eight vast estates the Philippine government purchased for this purpose. It was officially proclaimed the national capital on October 12, 1949, and several government departments and institutions moved out of Manila and settled into the new capital city. This necessitated the expansion of the city northward, carving out Novaliches from Caloocan which divided it into two non-contiguous parts. Several barrios were also taken from San Mateo and parts of Montalban. However, on June 24, 1976, Presidential Decree No. 940 was enacted, which reverted national capital status to Manila while the whole of Metro Manila was designated as the seat of government. The city was also chosen as the regional center of Southern Tagalog, which was created in 1965, along with the provinces of Quezon and Aurora, the birthplace of Manuel L. Quezon; however, its status of regional center became ineffective when the region was divided into Calabarzon and Mimaropa, through the effect of Executive Order No. 103 in May 2002 under the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and Aurora was transferred to the authority of Central Luzon, with Southern Tagalog limited to being a cultural-geographic region.

Metropolitan Manila (Filipino: Kalakhang Maynila [kalakˌhaŋ maɪˈnilaʔ]), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; Filipino: Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region and largest metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay, the region lies between the Central Luzon and Calabarzon regions. Encompassing an area of 636.00 km (245.56 sq mi) and with a population of 13,484,462 as of 2020, it consists of sixteen highly urbanized cities: Manila—the capital city—Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig, and Valenzuela, along with one independent municipality, Pateros. As the second most populous and the most densely populated region in the Philippines, it ranks as the 7th most populous metropolitan area in Asia and the 6th most populous urban area in the world.

The region is the center of culture (including arts and entertainment), economy, education, and the government. Designated as a global power city, the region exerts a significant impact on commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment both locally and internationally. It is home to all embassies in the Philippines, making it an important center for international diplomacy in the country. Its economic power establishes the region as the country's premier center for finance and commerce. The region accounts for 36% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Philippines. Greater Manila is the fourth largest ASEAN country subdivision by GDP, after Singapore, and the Jakarta, and Bangkok metropolitan regions.

Cebu (/sɛˈbuː/ seb-OO; Cebuano: Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu (Cebuano: Lalawigan sa Sugbo; Filipino: Lalawigan ng Cebu), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas (Region VII) region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a site of highest marine biodiversity importance in the Coral Triangle.

Its capital and largest city is Cebu City, nicknamed "the Queen (Catholic) City of the South" having the Second Cardinal, the oldest city and first capital of the Philippines, which is politically independent from the provincial government along with Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu City. The Cebu Metropolitan Area or Metro Cebu is the third largest metropolitan area in the Philippines (after Metro Manila and Metro Davao) with Cebu City as the main center of commerce, trade, education and industry in the Visayas as well as the regional center of Central Visayas. Being one of the most developed provinces in the Philippines, in a decade it has transformed into a global hub for business processing services, tourism, shipping, furniture-making, and heavy industry. Mactan–Cebu International Airport, located on Mactan Island, is the second busiest airport in the Philippines.