Barangay San Antonio, Makati City

INTRODUCTION

Barangay San Antonio is one of the seven (7) barangays comprising the Westside Cluster or Cluster 2. It has a land area of 0.8958 square kilometers which occupies 3.3% of the City’s total land area. Based on the 2010 census of population released by the National Statistics Office, San Antonio has a percentage share of 2.2% or 11,443 versus the City’s population with a density of 13 persons per 1,000 square meters.

 

San Antonio is bounded Barangay La Paz in the north, Barangays Pio Del Pilar and San Lorenzo in the south, Barangays Sta. Cruz and Bel-Air in the east, and Barangay Palanan in the west.

 

Barangay San Antonio once housed the Makati Polytechnic University or Pamantasan ng Makati before it was relocated to Brgy. West Rembo and converted to now University of Makati. Other recognized structures located in the barangay include the San Antonio National High School,  San Antonio Elementary School, National Shrine of the Sacred Heart, and St. Paul the Apostle Sanctuary and ST. PAULS - an international Catholic religious congregation composed of priests and brothers. Moreover, the most notable personality residing in Barangay San Antonio is Vice President Jejomar C. Binay and his family.

 

Predominant land use of Barangay San Antonio is commercial and can be seen through the wide array of business establishments ranging from banks, restaurants, shipping companies, wine/liquor stores, recruitment agencies and condominiums/apartelles among others. 

 

 

HISTORY

There was once a story about the origin of San Antonio Village. The story goes that in 1952, a Roman Catholic Church was built in this place. It was called Pasong Tamo Church and had a traditional cemetery beside it. The officiating priest was one Father Fernandez who possessed great occult power that he was said to be able to say mass in his native Holland, only an hour or so after he said mass in Pasong Tamo Church in Camachile on Sunday mornings. He was also said to be keeping something which was originally of the Lord Christ himself. Somehow, the priest came to be known as no other than Saint Antonio De Padua. Because of his miraculous identity, the people of Camachile here were moved to decide as one to claim him as patron saint.

 
Only a few knew that before San Antonio Village became known as such, it was called Barrio Camachile. At present, the name Camachile is confined to the street where most of the original settlers such as the Ibañezes and Alzonas chose to establish themselves. As the population of Barrio Camachile grew, its inhabitants petitioned in 1958 that it be declared an independent barrio, separate from barrio Pio Del Pilar (formerly known as Barrio Culi-Culi). They proposed the name San Antonio Village after San Antonio de Padua, the barrio's patron saint. In the following year, 1959, Barangay San Antonio was declared independent by the Municipal Council of Makati and thus began to live its legal life, showing itself today as not only alive and kicking but with a promise of greatness in the youth of its leaders.