Quezon City

Quezon City (/ˈkeɪzɒn/ KAY-zon;Filipino: Lungsod Quezon Tagalog pronunciation: [ˈkeːson]), also known to Filipinos by its initials as QC) is the most populous city in the Philippines. It is one of the cities that make up Metro Manila, the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Quezon City was named after Manuel L. Quezon, second President of the Philippines, who founded the city and developed it to replace the City of Manila as the national capital for 28 years from 1948 to 1976. Quezon City is not located in and should not be confused with Quezon Province, which was also named after the president. It is the largest city in Metro Manila in terms of land area and most populated local government unit in the country.

Having been the national capital for almost three decades, Quezon City is the site of many government offices, including the Batasang Pambansa Complex, which is the seat of the House of Representatives (the lower chamber of the Philippine Congress). Quezon City also holds the University of the Philippines Diliman, the national university, and Ateneo de Manila University.

Quezon

Quezon (Tagalog pronunciation: [ˈkɛson]) is a province of the Philippines in the CALABARZON region of Luzon island. The province was named after Manuel L. Quezon, the second President of the Philippines, and its capital is Lucena City.

Quezon is southeast of Metro Manila and is bordered by the provinces of Aurora to the north, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Batangas to the west and the provinces of Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur to the east. Part of Quezon lies on an isthmus connecting the Bicol Peninsula to the main part of Luzon. The province also includes the Polillo Islands in the Philippine Sea.

A major tourism draw to the province is Mount Banahaw. The mountain is surrounded by spiritual mysticism with many cults and religious organizations staying on the mountain. Numerous pilgrims visit the mountain especially during Holy Week.

History

Originally, what now forms Quezon was divided among the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, and Nueva Ecija. The first European to explore the area was Juan de Salcedo in 1571-1572, during his expedition from Laguna to Camarines provinces.

Seat of local government

In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre, (in the UK or Australia) a guildhall, a Rathaus (German), or (more rarely) a municipal building, is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city or town council, its associated departments, and their employees. It also usually functions as the base of the mayor of a city, town, borough, or county / shire.

By convention, until the mid 19th-century, a single large open chamber (or 'hall') formed an integral part of the building housing the council. The hall may be used for council meetings and other significant events. This large chamber, the 'town hall', (and its later variant 'city hall') has become synonymous with the whole building, and with the administrative body housed in it. The terms 'council chambers', 'municipal building' or variants may be used locally in preference to 'town hall' if no such large hall is present within the building.

The local government may endeavor to use the town hall building to promote and enhance the quality of life of the community. In many cases, "'town halls' serve not only as buildings for government functions, but also have facilities for various civic and cultural activities. These may include art shows, stage performances, exhibits and festivals. Modern town halls or "civic centres" are often designed with a great variety and flexibility of purpose in mind.

City

A city is a large and permanent human settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town in general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.

Cities generally have complex systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, housing, and transportation. The concentration of development greatly facilitates interaction between people and businesses, benefiting both parties in the process, but it also presents challenges to managing urban growth.

A big city or metropolis usually has associated suburbs and exurbs. Such cities are usually associated with metropolitan areas and urban areas, creating numerous business commuters traveling to urban centers for employment. Once a city expands far enough to reach another city, this region can be deemed a conurbation or megalopolis. In terms of population, the largest city proper is Shanghai, while the fastest-growing is Dubai.

Origins

There is not enough evidence to assert what conditions gave rise to the first cities. Some theorists have speculated on what they consider suitable pre-conditions and basic mechanisms that might have been important driving forces.

Post office

A post office is a customer service facility forming part of a national postal system. Post offices offer mail-related services such as acceptance of letters and parcels; provision of post office boxes; and sale of postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. In addition, many post offices offer additional services: providing and accepting government forms (such as passport applications), processing government services and fees (such as road tax), and banking services (such as savings accounts and money orders). The chief administrator of a post office is a postmaster.

Prior to the advent of postal and ZIP codes, postal systems would route items to a specific post office for receipt or delivery. In 19th-century America, this often led to smaller communities being renamed after their post offices, particularly after the Post Office Department ceased to permit duplicate station names within a state.

Name

The term "post office" or "post-office" has been in use since the 1650s, shortly after the legalisation of private mail service in England in 1635. In early Modern England, post riders – mounted couriers – were placed ("posted") every few hours along post roads at "posting houses" or "post houses" between major cities ("post towns"). These stables or inns permitted important correspondence to travel without delay. In early America, post offices were also known as "stations". This term and "post house" fell from use as horse and coach service was replaced by railways, aircraft, and automobiles.