TAYTAY, Rizal—This densely populated town, some 28 kms east of Manila, has become a nerve center for garments in the metropolis and the surrounding towns overlooking Laguna de Bay, the country’s largest inland lake.
It is considered one of the “Next Wave Cities” for Outsourcing Firms and Call Centers, 10th place out of 10 cities and the only town.
The National Competitiveness Council has named Taytay as the 2nd Most Competitive Municipality in the first and second class category this year, from being 10th place in 2014 and third place last year.
But old hands say the town’s “Tiangge” has made the municipality known—with almost 320,000 population—not only in the whole of Rizal but across the country, which has a population of 105 million people.
Officials said the “Tiangge” —also known as street bargain market among tourists and nearby residents—is strategically located beside the New Taytay Public Market, at the entrance arc of Club Manila East Road.
Local and foreign tourists find along the road a succession of different stores selling different kinds of fabrics, different varieties of ready-to-wear or RTW clothes, curtains and others hawked at affordable prices with their high quality.
Some sources have said most of the retail shops in Divisoria in Manila, the Tiendesitas in Pasig and Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan City continue to patronize and buy products at the “Tiangge.”
At the same time, Taytay lives up to its moniker as the “woodworks and garments capital” of the Philippines with its high quality manufacturers of wooden architecture products.
These include doors, windows, jambs, stair components, lattices, moldings and other made-to-order wooden products.
Officials said Taytay is one of the major suppliers of wood products like furniture for home, sala set and wood carvings both sold for local clients and those residing overseas.
Rising to its commitment of being a business-friendly community, the local government has encouraged the establishment of new partnership for progress with investors.
The town also offers a memorable dining experience, with native and local cuisines in home-grown restaurants—with tourists savoring the taste of the Taytay-brand lauya, talibubu, barutak, biñabasan, budbod, and hibok-hibok.
Those on a spiritual pilgrimage can take a tour at the Spanish-inspired facade of St. John the Baptist Church, founded in 1579 and completed in 1630.
Franciscan missionaries first arrived to establish a parish in Taytay in 1579 and built a chapel made of light materials near the shores of Laguna de Bay named “Visita de Sta. Ana de Sapa,” dedicated to its patron saint.
Jesuit missionaries took over the administration of the parish in 1591, with Fr. Pedro Chirino becoming the parish priest, under whose administration the parish was relocated from the flood-prone shores of Laguna de Bay to a hill called San Juan del Monte.
Residents tell tourists to experience the warm ambiance and serenity of what they call the “Church in the sky” while enjoying the sight of the Tungtong River, first classified as a “creek” in the government records of the municipality of Taytay.
This river is located in and around the area of the Beverly Hills Subdivision in This town, stretching for 15 kms and is connected to the Pasig River by means of the Manggahan floodway.