Battle of Wawa Dam

Wawa Dam, also known as Montalban Dam, is a gravity dam constructed over the Marikina River in the municipality of Rodriguez, Rizal, Philippines. The slightly arched dam is situated in the 360-metre (1,180 ft) high Montalban Gorge or Wawa Gorge, a water gap in the Sierra Madre Mountains, east of Manila. Construction of the dam began in 1904, and it became operational in 1909, during the American colonial era, to provide the water needs for Manila. During World War II, Wawa Dam became the focal point of the battle between the US Army's XI Corps and the Imperial Japanese Army's Shimbu Group. The engagement, also known as the Battle of Wawa Dam saw the opposing sides in a seesaw battle along the Montalban-Antipolo hills from March to May 1945. Wawa Dam used to be the only source of water for Manila until Angat Dam was built and Wawa was abandoned in 1968. Due to insufficiency of water supply for Metro Manila, there was a strong clamor to reuse the dam. The dam and surrounding area is currently protected as part of the Pamitinan Protected Landscape. In July 2024, the impounding process of the PhP26.5 billion Upper Wawa Dam project, in San Rafael, Rodriguez, Rizal is undertaken by the Prime Infra and WawaJVCo contructors. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is tasked to protect the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape. As part of the Wawa Pumped Storage Water Project, it creates a 400-hectare artificial lake for adequate water supply with a 600-megawatt.

Pamitinan Cave is a limestone cave in the foothills of the Sierra Madre mountain range near Wawa Dam in Rizal, the Philippines. It is located in the Pamitinan Protected Landscape, in the barangay of San Rafael, municipality of Rodriguez. The cave was formerly known as the '"Cave of Bernardo Carpio"'. Its former name was derived from Bernardo Carpio, a figure in Philippine mythology who was rebuked by the gods because of his insolence. Legend states that he was chained forever in the Montalban gorge, cursed to keep two mountains from colliding with each other. On April 12, 1895, Andres Bonifacio along with eight other katipuneros declared the Philippines independence from the Spanish empire inside of this cave. The walls still bear inscriptions of "Viva la Independencia Filipina" from the time of the Philippine Revolution. On June 21, 1996, Pamitinan cave was declared a historic site by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. During World War II, Japanese soldiers occupied the cave and used it as a camp.

The Pamitinan Protected Landscape is a Philippine protected area of approximately 608 hectares (1,500 acres) in the Sierra Madre mountain range, just 34 kilometres (21 mi) northeast of Manila. It contains and protects the Montalban Gorge formed by the Marikina River that separates Mount Pamitinan and Mount Binacayan in the municipality of Rodriguez in Rizal. Established in 1996 through Proclamation No. 901 issued by President Fidel Ramos, the park is originally a component of the Mariquina Reserve founded in 1904 to protect the watershed of the Marikina River that supplied water to the city of Manila from the Wawa Dam located just above the Montalban Gorge in the early 1900s. The park is visited for its scenic views, as well as for recreational activities as hiking, mountain climbing, spelunking and historical sightseeing. It includes the Pamitinan Cave which played a role during the Philippine Revolution and was the focal point of the longest running battle during the Liberation of the Philippines during World War II, and is the setting of a popular local legend called Bernardo Carpio. The picturesque Montalban Gorge was declared a National Geological Monument and reserved area in 1983 by the National Committee on Geological Sciences of the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The Upper Wawa Dam is a concrete dam over the Marikina River, located in San Rafael, Rodriguez, Rizal, Philippines. It is constructed between 2021 and 2025.

Avilon Zoo is a 7.5-hectare (19-acre) zoo located in Barrio San Isidro, Rodriguez, Rizal, Philippines. It is operated by the Avilon Wildlife Conservation Foundation, which also operated the Ark Avilon Zoo in Pasig.

The Ynares Center II, also called Ynares Center Montalban, is an indoor arena located in Rodriguez (Montalban), Rizal, Philippines. The arena opened in 2025 and is the second arena to bear the Ynares Center name, after the arena in Antipolo. The arena hosts Philippine Basketball Association games and is also home to the Rizal Golden Coolers of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).

Colegio de Montalban (CdM; formerly as the Pamantasan ng Montalban) is a government-funded university in Kasiglahan Village, Rodriguez, Rizal, Philippines. It was established on September 25, 2003 by virtue of Municipal Ordinance No. 03-24, and approved by the Sangguniang Bayan ng Rodriguez to provide vocational-technical and higher education to help alleviate poverty. From July 2004 to July 2010, CdM was under the administration of Mayor Pedro S. Cuerpo, who was subsequently succeeded by Mayor Cecilio C. Hernandez since July 2010. On July 7, 2014, by virtue of Sangguniang Bayan ng Rodriguez Ordinance No. 14-15, Pamantasan ng Montalban was renamed Colegio de Montalban.

Manila Waldorf School is the first Waldorf school in the Philippines. The school was founded in 1994 as a kindergarten, and currently has over 200 students from kindergarten up to Grade 12. The Manila Waldorf School, Inc. (MWSI) is a private non-stock, non-profit educational foundation recognized by the Department of Education since 1994. MWSI is part of the non-traditional educational movement. Its philosophy is based on the teachings of the Austrian philosopher Dr. Rudolf Steiner on the development stages of childhood and adolescence. MWSI is recognized by the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland as an authentic Waldorf or Steiner school. MWSI offers Parent-Toddler (Paslitan); Kindergarten (Palaruan); Grade School (Paaralan); and High School (Kawayan). MWSI is located in Timberland Heights, San Mateo, Rizal just 15 minutes away from the Batansang Pambansa in Quezon City. It also has a satellite kindergarten school situated in E. Rodriguez, Quezon City.

The Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape is a protected area in the Province of Rizal in the Philippines, which forms the upper area of the drainage basin of the Marikina River. The term "Marikina Watershed" is sometimes used to specifically refer to this protected area, but is also generally to the river's entire drainage basin, from the Sierra Madre Mountains of Rizal Province all the way to the Napindan area in Pasig, where its mouth empties into the Pasig River. The Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape had been named the Marikina Watershed Reservation until November, 2011, when President Benigno S. Aquino III upgraded its status from "reservation" to "protected landscape."

Rodriguez, officially the Municipality of Rodriguez (Tagalog: Bayan ng Rodriguez), formerly known (and still commonly called) as Montalban, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 443,954 people  making it the most populous municipality in the country. Pending an affirmation through plebiscite, Republic Act No. 11812 repealed Batas Pambansa Blg. 275 and intend to revert to its original municipal name, Montalban. It is the northernmost town in the province and comes after San Mateo, Rizal, and Quezon City coming from Metro Manila. The town is located on the slopes of the Sierra Madre mountain range and it is the largest town in Rizal province with an area of 312.70 square kilometers (120.73 square miles). It is also the location of the Montalban Gorge that is associated with the Legend of Bernardo Carpio. The gorge forms part of a protected area known as the Pamitinan Protected Landscape. The municipality borders San Mateo and Antipolo, Rizal on the south, Norzagaray and San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan on the north, Quezon City and Caloocan on the west and General Nakar, Quezon on the east. It is one of the richest municipalities in the Philippines, ranking third in 2016 with an income of ₱691 million.

San Mateo, officially the Municipality of San Mateo (Tagalog: Bayan ng San Mateo), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 273,306. It is bordered by Quezon City to the west, Marikina and Antipolo to the south, and by the Municipality of Rodriguez to the north. San Mateo is approximately 24 kilometers (15 mi) east of Manila and 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) north of Antipolo, the provincial capital of Rizal. Conurbated to the urban agglomeration of the Greater Manila Area, San Mateo is one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Rizal Province, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Provincial Government of Rizal. It is a commuter hub to Metro Manila. San Mateo is the home of the miraculous image of Our Lady of Aranzazu (Nuestra Señora de Aranzazu).

San Mateo National High School (SMNHS) is a government-funded secondary educational institution located in the Municipality of San Mateo, Rizal in the Philippines.