GOVERNMENT

Metro Manila does not have collective political power. The highest political division are the sixteen cities and the Municipality of Pateros which have political power independent from each other. Each is governed by a mayor who belongs to the Metro Manila Mayor's League, which is part of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

¹ Includes barangays disputed between Makati and Taguig cities.

ECONOMY

Metro Manila (statistically designated as the National Capital Region or NCR) is the financial, commercial and industrial center of the Philippines and one of the economic command centers of ASEAN. It accounts for 32% of the Philippines' GDP; around US$124 billion (PPP) in 2007. It has a third of the country's bank offices but over two thirds of its deposits.

Business District

Makati City is the largest financial and economic hub of the metropolitan area. It is one of the major economic centres in Southeast Asia. Now regarded as the city's central business district, several of the Philippines' largest corporations including Ayala, as well as the nation's major banks such as Metrobank, are based here. The Makati area is built around the former Nielsen Air Base, an American installation during World War II, and its runways now form the district's main roads, which cross each other at the Makati Triangle, home of the nation's stock exchange. Different well-known skycrapers in Metro Manila are here like PBCom Tower and G.T. International Tower. Foreign corporations also have their main Philippine hubs here. The traditional business center of the Chinese-Filipino businessmen and the country's CBD prior to the development of the Makati CBD was the Binondo District in the City of Manila.

Ortigas Center is the second most important central business district in Metro Manila. Situated between Mandaluyong and Pasig, it is home to the headquarters of several major Philippine companies such as San Miguel Corporation and Meralco, surrounded by shopping malls and hotels. The international financial institution, Asian Development Bank, also has its headquarters in Ortigas. Ortigas also contains some of Metro Manila's more famous buildings, such as the One San Miguel, BSA Twin Tower, and the Astoria Plaza.

Also posing as a competitor for a vibrant business center are Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, Eastwood City in Quezon City, Manila Bay City Reclamation Area in the cities of Pasay, Parañaque and Las Piñas, and Alabang Estates, Madrigal Business Park & Filinvest in Muntinlupa City. Triangle Park in Quezon City is the latest addition to the commercial business districts in the metropolis. The Ninoy Aquino International Airport or NAIA is scheduled to be closed down by the year 2012 and will instead be converted into another business and commercial district. A new international gateway of the country is currently being built in the existing Diosdado Macapagal International Airport which is said to become one of the world's biggest in terms of terminal size and land area. A fast train will be built to connect the airport to Metro Manila.

Shopping centers

Metro Manila currently has a large number of malls in the Philippines, There are 3 large signature shopping malls which are part of the Top 10 World's Largest Malls in the Metro Manila area. Three of which are owned by Henry Sy, a Chinese-Filipino Businessman and his company, SM Prime Holdings. The current largest is the new SM City North EDSA ( replaced by SM Mall of Asia as the 3rd largest mall in the world ), and the recent largest mall as of 1991 up to 2006, SM Megamall.

Aside from SM Megamall, other shopping centers in Ortigas Center include Robinsons Galleria, Shangri-La Plaza, and The Podium.

Recently opened in Pasig is a new development called Frontera Verde, which currently hosts Tiendesitas, a tiangge-style shopping center; SM Supercenter Pasig, the smallest SM mall to date; and SilverCity AutoMall, the first mall in the Philippines that is dedicated to the automotive market.

In the Central Business District of Makati, the Ayala Center hosts other malls, including Glorietta and the upscale Greenbelt shopping districts. Also in Makati is the Rockwell Center. These places are frequented by members of Metro Manila's upper classes.

In the City of Manila, the largest malls include SM City Manila and Robinsons Place Manila.

Cubao is Quezon City's Central Commercial Area that hosts 5 malls that includes the ultra-modern Gateway Mall. Other malls include various SM chains in the metropolis. Aside from Cubao, there is also Eastwood City, located along Libis; SM City Fairview, in the Novaliches District; and TriNoma, Ayala Land's newest mall, in front of SM City North EDSA.

Metro Manila is also full of palengke, the Filipino-style open-air wet markets. One of these is the Central Market, in Sta. Cruz district of Manila, and Divisoria Market, in Manila. Cloverleaf Market in Balintawak, Quezon City supplies most of Metro Manila's fruit and vegetable products. Navotas Port Market supplies most of Metro Manila's fish products. Other smaller markets include the markets of Cubao Farmers, Nepa-Q Mart, Muñoz, Balingasa, Galas, Santa Mesa, Novaliches Talipapa, Baclaran, Pasay Libertad, and Pasay Cartimar, the latter also being one of the finest pet markets in the Philippines.

Midway between a mall and a market are the Philippine-only tiangges, or airconditioned markets selling goods such as clothes, shoes, accessories, computer parts, mobile phones, CDs, VCDs, MP3s, iPods, and DVDs. Among these can be found in Greenhills Shopping Center in the municipality of San Juan and St. Francis Square in Mandaluyong City.

Muntinlupa City hosts malls like Festival Supermall, Alabang Town Center and Metropolis Star Mall, all in Alabang. And an SM SuperCenter Muntinlupa in Barangay Tunasan.

Las Piñas has the SM City Southmall, the largest based SM Mall south of Metro Manila.

Parañaque City has the SM City Sucat and alongside Pasay City, Duty Free Fiesta Mall, known as the mall of the "Balikbayans" or "back-to-home citizens" here in Metro Manila where most arriving Filipinos pay a visit. It is also the only known Duty Free Mall of the Philippines

Wealth Extremes

Metro Manila is a place of economic extremes. It is stated that 97% of the total GDP in the Philippines is controlled by 15% of the population, the majority of which is in the Metro Manila area. Most of the wealthy and upper-middle class in the country reside within gated communities in places such as Forbes Park and Dasmariñas Village in Makati, Loyola Heights in Quezon City, Greenhills in San Juan, BF Homes Subdivision in Parañaque City and Ayala Alabang Village, founded by the influential Zobel de Ayala family, in Muntinlupa City. Other wealthy families opt to live urban and up-scale lifestyles and instead own large apartments and condominium units such as those in the Rockwell Center in Makati and Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, while some choose to live in bayfront condos/apartments/townhouses along the stretch of Roxas Boulevard. The area is populated by many of the wealthiest people in the country has also driven up the real estate value of the properties in these areas such that they are unmatched anywhere else.

Most of the wealthy, upper-class Filipinos visit upscale recreation places such as Bonifacio High Street and Serendra in Bonifacio Global City, The Greenbelt complex and Rockwell mall in Makati City. Other upscale malls are SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, Trinoma Complex in Quezon City and the Alabang Town Center in Alabang found in Muntinlupa City.