Batasan Hills
Barangay
Batasan Road
Seal
Nicknames:  Batasan, Constitution Hills
Map of Quezon City showing Batasan Hills
Batasan Hills Location of Batasan Hills within Metro Manila
Coordinates: 14°41′4″N 121°5′51″E / 14.68444°N 121.09750°E / 14.68444; 121.09750
Country	Philippines
Region	National Capital Region
City	Quezon City
District	2nd District
Established	February 25, 1983
Government
• Type	Barangay
• Barangay Captain	John Jojo Mercado Abad
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
Postal Code	1126
Area code	2

Batasan Hills is a barangay of Quezon City, Philippines. The barangay was originally planned as the National Government Center of the Philippines. The Batasang Pambansa Complex, which sits atop the Constitution Hill, is the legislative session hall of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. The Sandiganbayan, a special appellate court, is also located here.

The barangay borders the barangays of Commonwealth and Bagong Silangan to the north, Barangay Holy Spirit to the west, Barangay Matandang Balara to the south, and the municipality of San Mateo, Rizal to the east.

Background

Barangay Batasan Hills is a portion of Barangay Matandang Balara separated and constituted into a new barangay through the initiative of Ben Morales/President- Filinvest 1 Homeowners association, Melvin Morallos/Chairman-Tanggol Karapatan Dist.II/August Twenty One Movement and Manolo Taroy/Congressional Staff of Congressman Alberto of Catanduanes who sponsored the bill for the creation of Barangay Batasan Hills, and by virtue of Batas Pambansa Blg. 343 - An Act Creating Barangay Batasan Hills in Quezon City, Metropolitan Manila on February 25, 1983. Section 2 of the act specified the area of the new barangay:

The new barangay shall include the area which is bounded by the National Government Center-Batasan Complex to the boundary line of Barangay Silangan on the north; by the Marikina River on the east; by the Don Mariano Marcos Avenue on the west; and by the Capitol Homes to the Marikina River on the south.

A plebiscite was conducted and ratified by the majority of the votes casts by the residents. In 1986, after the People Power Revolution and 3 years after the approval of Batas Pambansa Blg. 343, the first set of barangay officials were appointed by President Corazon C. Aquino through the (then) Secretary of Interior and Local Government Aquilino Pimentel. Manuel D. Laxina was the first appointed Barangay Chairman, along with 6 Barangay Kagawads (Barangay Counselors).

The barangay was envisioned to be the new home of the National Government Center, an area housing the three branches of the Philippine government (legislative, executive and judicial), because Quezon City was declared the capital of the country in 1948. This government center in Quezon City was originally planned to be at what is now Quezon Memorial Circle, before it was moved north to the area of what is now Batasan Hills. Even as the Batasang Pambansa Complex was being completed, the capital of the country was transferred to Manila in 1976. Before its creation as a barangay, the area was called "Constitution Hill", referring to the hilly area on where the government center was supposed to rise.

Today, most of Batasan Hills is residential. Although it has one of the largest urban poor populations in the country, it is also home to middle and upper class real estate properties like Filinvest 1 and 2, Northview 1 and 2, and Treviso which were developed by real estate firm Filinvest Land.^[1] Other middle and upper class real estate properties include Vista Real Executive Village and Vista Real Classica Subdivision.

Government

The barangay is in the Second Legislative district of Quezon City. The current barangay captain is John "Jojo" M. Abad.^[2] It is home to several important National Government institutions including the House of Representatives of the Philippines at the Batasang Pambansa Complex, the Sandiganbayan, and the Commission on Audit.

Buildings and structures

Notable buildings and structures within the barangay include the Batasang Pambansa Complex which houses the House of Representatives, and the Sandiganbayan Centennial Building, home of the Sandiganbayan which is one of the appellate courts of the Philippine judiciary. Other government agencies in the area include the headquarters of the Civil Service Commission, the Commission on Audit, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Also located within the barangay is Ever Gotesco Commonwealth (a shopping mall), a Convergys office (call center), a branch of Starbucks, Ministop, and St. Peter's Parish along Commonwealth Avenue.

Transportation

Batasan Road, one of the major roads of Batasan Hills.

There are three major roads in Batasan Hills: Commonwealth Avenue (Radial Road 7/N170), Batasan (IBP) Road and the Batasan-San Mateo Road. In the future, Batasan will be served by the Batasan Station of MRT Line 7 located a few meters south of the junction of Commonwealth Avenue and IBP Road near the Sandiganbayan Centennial Building.

Tricycles are a popular form of transportation that ply the neighborhoods of Batasan Hills. The Batasan Tricycle Terminal is located near the Sandiganbayan. It is a popular pick-up/drop-off site for passengers of PUV and UV Express. Tricycle routes serves Filinvest, Talanay, Sitio Taniman and also nearby barangays such as Bagong Silangan and Payatas.

Incidents

• Batasang Pambansa bombing. On November 13, 2007, an explosion occurred on South Wing of the Batasan Complex killing four people including Congressman Wahab Akbar of Basilan and injuring six more including Representatives Luzviminda Ilagan of GABRIELA and Pryde Henry Teves of Negros Oriental.^[4]

References

External links

• Barangay Batasan Hills – official website