Navotas

About Navotas

Navotas, officially the City of Navotas (Filipino: Lungsod ng Navotas), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 252,878 people.

It was formerly part of the Province of Rizal in southern Luzon. It comprises what is known as the CAMANAVA area along with the cities of Caloocan, Malabon, and Valenzuela.

It is known as the Commercial Fishing Hub of the Philippines, for the city has the third largest fish port in Asia and the largest in Southeast Asia. Although it was established on February 16, 1859, Navotas celebrates its foundation day every January 16, the day in 1906 when it finally separated from Malabon. Navotas became a highly urbanized city on June 24, 2007.

Navotas was once part of Malabon. According to one legend, the long and narrow delta extended unbroken from north to south along the seashore. The strip of land between the former district of Tondo, Manila and this town was eaten away by the sea until an opening was made. Water began to flow through the opening. The geographical change prompted the people to refer to the place as "butas", "nayon ng butas", or "nabutas",...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.