Three Neighboring Churches

In SSS Village, there are 3 churches that are all right beside each other.  Only walls separate the lots of these three churches.

Adhering to the standard architecture of their facades, a mid-sized Iglesia ni Cristo church is located along Sapphire St. 

To its left is St. Paul of the Cross Parish.  This Catholic church has been established in 1975 and caters to thousands of Catholic families within SSS Village and Rancho.  The lot used by the parish is the biggest of the three churches.   Originally run by Passionists Priests, it was turned over to the Diocese of Antipolo.  

And adjacent to both of these churches is Christ's Beloved Community (CBC). Inside their compound is where the Marikina Christian Integrated School (MCIS) is also located.  Their Sunday worship services start at 9:00am.

You could imagine that on Sundays, this area becomes heavily populated as church-goers visit and attend mass in their respective churches.

Marikina Population and Voter Stats

I recently visited the National Statistical Coordination Board website,  searched for Marikina and got some interesting stats.

As of August  2007, the Marikina City population is a bit over 420,000 with nearly 200,000 registered voters (figures on registered voters are partial data from Commission on Elections (COMELEC).).   I didn't realize that I lived in a city with almost half a million residents.

Marikina Sports Building

There's a new building in Marikina City and it's right at the corner of the Marikina Sports Center.

Aptly called, Marikina Sports Building, it's an 8 storey building established to cater to different sports per floor.  The exterior of the building facing the Marikina City Hall has labels of each sport per floor.

A golf driving range is located on the 3rd floor with boxing, muay thai, tae-kwon-do, martial arts and a gymnast/fitness center from the 4th floor till the top floor respectively.

The building is covered in steel fences instead of walls and windows so the building is pretty much transparent.

It's not open to the public as of yet but looks like it's almost ready for the sporting residents of Marikina.

Marcos Highway Roots and Routes

Marcos Highway is a long stretch starting at Katipunan Road in Quezon City and connects the end of Aurora Blvd.  It passes through Marikina City and Antipolo City.  The highway intersects with another highway, namely Sumulong Highway at Masinag, Antipolo.  From hereonforth, the highway passes through Cogeo, Buso-Buso and mountainous landscape with winding roads and a scenic route of the Sierra Madre until it reaches the town of Tanay in Rizal.  The end of the highway eventually leads east to Infanta, Quezon, which is why in the 1970's, Marcos Highway was also known as the Marikina-Infanta Highway.

Melbeth Enterprise

Recently, a new store has opened along Katipunan Road.  Adjacent to the Marikina Badminton Center is Melbeth Enterprise.  From the looks of their display room, they're selling furniture.   They invited a priest last week with guests to formally bless the store's opening.

Melbeth Enterprise is located beside Brenx internet cafe along Katipunan Road near the corner Tangerine and Velvet streets and across the Dental Clinic.

Celebrities In Marikina

A handful of celebrities use to live in Marikina.  Some grew up here long before they'd be a celebrity. Here's a few:

• Christopher de Leon used to live somewhere in Paliparan several decades ago.  
  
• Sylvia La Torre used to own a house along Gen. Ordonez St when it was formerly known as Molave.  The lot where the current BPI Gen. Ordonez branch is used to be where her house was.
• The late Helen Bela with Princess Punzalan and the rest of her family also lived in Marikina.
• Zeny Zabala, a veteran contrabida actress used to live in Bayan
• The late Dindo Fernando also lived in Marikina in the '80's.  I wonder if he's related to Bayani Fernando and the Fernando clan.
• Boots Anson Roa also resided in Marikina in the past.
• Jericho Rosales grew up in Marikina Heights and even worked at Concepcion market as a kid.
• Jeffrey Hidalgo, singer formerly of Smokey Mountain, and now solo artist still lives in Marikina.  I see him once in a while at Starbucks Bluewave Marquinton.
• Sonny Parsons, a member of the '70's rock group Hagibis resides in SSS Village and ran for the Marikina Mayoral position but lost

If you know more celebrities who live or used to live in Marikina, feel free to add to the list.

Marikina Inaugurates the Ka-Angkan Family History Center

In celebration of Marikina's 379th founding anniversary today, April 16, 2009, the city of Marikina also inaugurates the Ka-Angkan Family History Center.   What used to be the Marikina Library located at the corner of Shoe Avenue and W. Paz streets in Sta. Elena, just across Freedom Park and Marikina City Hall is now where the Ka-Angkan Family History Center resides.  It was inaugurated at 9:00am earlier this morning.

This family history center aims to collect and ensure the preservation and accessibility of genealogical, biographical, and historical information on ancestors, lineage and family trees over clans who lived in Marikina from generation to generation.   Over 40 clans' histories dating back to the 1900's are documented and archived in the form of personal and family papers, photos, and microfilm records.

The uniqueness of this Family History Center is derived from the Ka-Angkan Festival, a homegrown festivity spearheaded by former Mayor Bayani Fernando in 1998, which also makes the facility to be the first of its kind among local government units in the Philippines.

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Marikina Grand Mass Wedding

For those who wish to get married without worrying over the wedding costs, the city of Marikina will be conducting a Grand Mass Wedding on May 9, 2009 at 3:00pm at the Freedom Park.   

No other than Marikina Mayor Marides Fernando will be officiating the rites.  This is also a community service of Councilor Sam Ferriol.  The mass wedding was originally scheduled for May 2, 2009, but that day will now be used for rehearsals.  The actual wedding rites will be on May 9, 2009.  For more details, contact 645-4164 or 0928-6110612.