HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
THE BEGINNING
On January 24,1948, the late President Manuel A. Roxas directed the Philippine Homesite Housing Corporation (PHHC) to undertake the construction of a low-cost housing project in Roxas District. The funds used for the projects was an allocation of Two Million Pesos (P2,000,000) from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO)
Although it was the smallest of all housing projects undertaken so far, its construction at that time was a very timely answer to the acute shortage of housing in Manila and the suburbs specially just after World War II.
The housing project features a site for a school house, a school playground, a site for a church , a market place and commercial lots.
Roxas District is then composed of 3 areas;A,B and C consisting of 1,013 housing units made up of single and duplex type of buildings. There are 27 streets all named after Philippine flowers.
AFTER THE WAR
Quezon City was left in ruins when the American forces led by General Douglas MacArthur regained the country from the Japanese in 1945.Moreover, the city's coffers were virtually empty.The government could only spare P30,014.58 for the city's rehabilitation. Within a year, the city earned P171,392.41, though it still would not suffice. When Manuel A. Roxas,former Secretary of Finance in the Quezon administration, became the first President of the Second Philippine Republic as a result of the national election held on April 23,1946, the city began to breathe new life. On Christmas Eve of the same year,President Roxas appointed Ponciano Bernardo to succeed Morato as Mayor of Quezon City. Being a civil engineer by profession,Bernardo's top agenda in the administration of the city was public works. He allotted the entire city budget for repairs of highways,schools,markets, and construction of the City Hall.In July 1947, construction of the first Quezon City Hall Building was started. It was built on the site of Marikina Heights Hospital in the corner of what is now Aurora Boulevard. In February 1948, the South Market Building, a pre-war establishment, was demolished to make way for the transfer of the City Hall along the street that is now Alejandro Roces Avenue. It was during Bernardo's administration that president Quezon's grand vision for the city was achieved. The historic day was on July 17,1948 when President Elpidio Quirino, succeeding as Chief Executive after President Roxas' unexpected death,signed Republic Act. No. 333 declaring Quezon City as the Republic's Capital. The selection of the capital was an urgent matter as the American government had offered a grant of P21,000,000 under the United States War Damage Act which contains a provision that "unless the site is chosen by 1950, the appropriation will be reverted to the United States" With the Manila then badly ravaged by the last war and considered no longer and a desirable national capital, Quezon City was clearly the better option. Sadly for mayor Bernardo, he did not live to see the fruits of this momentous accomplishment as he died in an ambush were Doña Aurora Aragon Quezon, her daughter Maria Aurora, and son-in-law Philip Buencamino. In an acting capacity,Nicanor A. Roxas was sworn in as Mayor of Quezon City on May 4,1949. While acting as Mayor of the city,Roxas was also Assistant Executive Secretary to President Quirino and concurrently Undersecretary of Interior. Though he served as Mayor for only 246 days, Roxas was able to accomplish significant projects such as the start of the construction of the Roxas Homesite (originally called Project No.1), the finalization of the transfer of the University of the Philippines to Diliman, and most importantly the inauguration of the National Capital of the Philippines on Oct.22,1949, which was highlighted by the groundbreaking rites for the Welcome Arch at the boundary of Quezon City and Manila.
