The origin of the name "Muntinlupa" came from at least three versions.

First, it's being

associated with the thin top soil in the area, thus the name munting lupa. It was also
believed that Muntinlupa was given such name because of the town's hills and rolling
terrain. Lastly, according to to oral folklore, Muntinlupa derived it's name from an incident
during the Spanish time, when a Spaniard asked a group of native Filipinos playing card
games about the name of the place. The Filipinos answered "Monte sa Lupa" thinking they
were asked what tey are doing. Later, the versions of "munting lupa" and "monte sa lupa"
settled to Muntinlupa through either spelling or mispronunciation.

Muntinlupa City
History

The name "Muntinlupa" came from at least three versions. First, its association with the thin topsoil
in the area. Second, residents, purportedly replying to a question by Spaniards in the 16th century
what the name of their place was, said "Monte sa Lupa” apparently mistaking the question for what
card game they were playing. Third, the topographical nature of the area, where the term

Monte or mountain was expanded to Muntinlupa or mountain land.

Some documents suggest that the first and third versions of Muntinlupa and Monte sa Lupa
respectively eventually became Muntinlupa either through misspelling or mispronunciation. But no
record to date can firmly establish which of the three versions is historically correct.
Muntinlupa is an old term, which refers to a village now known as the Poblacion. As early as 1800, the
Catholic priest Father Joaquin de Zuñiga chronicled it as la poblacion que sigue se llama

MUNTINLUPA CITY is known before as a sleepy, agricultural community and a city that is famous
for its national penitentiary, National Bilibid Prison, where the country’s most dangerous criminals
are imprisoned, is now a full developed and progressive city. The place is located southernmost part
in Metro Manila. It is bordered by Taguig City (north), Parañaque City (northwest), Las Pi ñas City
(west), Bacoor Cavite (southwest), and San Pedro Laguna to the east side. The city is dubbed as the
“Emerald City of the Philippines”.

Currently, the City of Muntinlupa is a premiere residential, such as the Ayala Alabang Village, where
many of the wealthy and famous live; commercial establishments and recreational area serving as
the bridge connecting the metropolis with other towns in the CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna,
Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) areas.

HISTORY
The origin of the name “Muntinlupa” came from three accounts: First, due to its thin top soil in the
area; Second, as rumor has it, some residents replied to a Spaniards questioning them in the 16th
century as to what the name of the place was and their answer was “Monte sa Lupa”; third, the
place has mountainous land, thus the term “Monte” or mountain became Muntinlupa. However,
these said versions cannot be established as correct for there are no records or archives to prove it
otherwise.