A lawmaker has filed a bill restoring "Montalban" as the name of what is now Rodriguez, Rizal.
Rep. Fidel Nograles of Rizal's Second District said the prevailing sentiment of residents of Rodriguez want to restore the original name of the town, that is still popularly called “Montalban” by residents, visitors and the population at large.
Nograles said that when he was the assistant provincial administrator of Rizal and while on the campaign trail, he was frequently approached by Rodriguez residents who requested him to find a way to restore the name originally given to the town when it was founded in 1909: Montalban.
“It’s fairly common knowledge that everyone still refers to Rodriguez as ‘Montalban,’ but it was only recently that I learned that so many of my constituents really want the municipality to officially reclaim its original name,” said Nograles, a native of Rizal province.
With an area that covers over a fourth of the province of Rizal, Rodriguez is the most populous municipality in the country, with close to 370,000 residents.