EXPLAINED: Metro Manila vs NCR (Are they different or the same?)

Is NCR (National Capital Region) the same with Metro Manila and vice versa?

I was surprised to know that there are still many Filipinos, even those who are residing in the cities in Philippine's capital region, don't really know or are confused with Metro Manila and NCR.

A comment on Taguigeño's Facebook post got my attention when that person claimed that, "Metro Manila is different from NCR".

I was a little shocked to see a comment like this for the first time in a very long time.

I even told some of my friends about it and to my surprise, one of them asked me back, "di ba magkaiba naman talaga yun?"

Wait, what??

So I googled it and typed "NCR", then guess what I've got?

The screenshot above clearly stated that, "Metro Manila is officially the National Capital Region or NCR in short."

So, to answer the question if NCR is Metro Manila, yes, it is!

WHAT IS METRO MANILA?

According to Wikipedia:

Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; Tagalog: Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR), is the seat of government and one of three defined metropolitan areas in the Philippines.

It is composed of 16 cities: the city of Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, San Juan, Taguig, and Valenzuela, as well as the municipality of Pateros.

I lived and grew in this region and I can attest to that statement. I even remember how it was taught in the school during my elementary days (and high school, too). There should be no confusion about it at all.

But if you are pertaining to Manila (officially known as City of Manila), yes, it is different from NCR because Manila is not a region but a city in the said region. In other words, the City of Manila is one of the cities in Metro Manila AKA NCR.

ATTRACTIONS TO SEE IN MANILA

Do not get confused, Metro Manila is NCR and vice versa.

What to read next: List of Cities & Municipalities in Metro Manila (NCR)