Geography

Geography

Caloocan is divided into two areas. Southern Caloocan City lies directly north of the City of Manila and is bounded by Malabon City and Valenzuela City to the north, Navotas to the west, and Quezon City to the east. Northern Caloocan City is the northermost territory of Metro Manila and lies to the east of Valenzuela City, north of Quezon City, and south of San Jose del Monte City in the province of Bulacan.

The city is politically subdivided into two Legislative Districts with 188 barangays.

Controversy

Caloocan once encompassed a much bigger area without being bisected into north and south. During the formation of Quezon City, the districts that are now Balintawak and Novaliches were divvied up and excluded from Caloocan and added to the newly-established Quezon City. Balintawak is a historic district because it was the original site of the "Cry of Pugad Lawin" (Unang Sigaw sa Balintawak) at a location called "Kang-kong" near Tandang Sora's house. Novaliches was an expansive sector with some hillsides that served as meeting places and hideouts for Andres Bonifacio and the Katipunan. Teodoro Agoncillo, a Filipino historian, once qouted in the book authored by another historian and National Artist Nick Joaquin MANILA! MY MANILA! the apportioning of Caloocan: "It is a barbaric act that Balintawak was chopped off from its original matrix.. Kalookan".^{[citation needed]}