Post-war years and the martial law era (1945-1986)[edit]

Rizal Avenue in the 1970s before the construction of Line 1

In 1948, President Elpidio Quirino moved the seat of government of the Philippines to Quezon City,
a new capital in the suburbs and fields northeast of Manila, created in 1939 during the administration
of President Manuel L. Quezon.[73] The move ended any implementation of the Burnham Plan's intent
for the government centre to be at Luneta.
With the Visayan-born Arsenio Lacson as its first elected mayor in 1952 (all mayors were appointed
before this), Manila underwent The Golden Age,[74] once again earning its status as the "Pearl of the
Orient", a moniker it earned before the Second World War. After Lacson's term in the 1950s, Manila
was led by Antonio Villegas for most of the 1960s. Ramon Bagatsing (an Indian-Filipino) was mayor
for nearly the entire 1970s until the 1986 People Power Revolution. Mayors Lacson, Villegas, and
Bagatsing are collectively known as the "Big Three of Manila" for their contribution to the
development of the city and their lasting legacy in improving the quality of life and welfare of the
people of Manila.
During the administration of Ferdinand Marcos, the region of Metro Manila was created as an
integrated unit with the enactment of Presidential Decree No. 824 on November 7, 1975. The area
encompassed four cities and thirteen adjoining towns, as a separate regional unit of government.
[75]
 On the 405th anniversary of the city's foundation on June 24, 1976, Manila was reinstated by
President Marcos as the capital of the Philippines for its historical significance as the seat of
government since the Spanish Period. Presidential Decree No. 940 states that Manila has always
been to the Filipino people and in the eyes of the world, the premier city of the Philippines being the
center of trade, commerce, education and culture. [76] Concurrent with the reinstatement of Manila as
the capital, Ferdinand Marcos designated his wife, Imelda Marcos, as the first governor of Metro
Manila. She started the rejuvenation of the city as she re-branded Manila as the "City of Man".[77]