Alabang ([alaˈbɐŋ]) is a barangay in Muntinlupa, Philippines. At one time, the area was a farming district and has since grown from a village to a major commercial center, including Filinvest City, Madrigal Business Park, and a transportation hub. It has an area of 8.064 square kilometers (3.114 sq mi).[1] A large portion of Ayala Alabang came from Barangay Alabang.[2] It was the location of the Alabang Stock Farm.[3]
Etymology
According to the translation of the stories of previous generations to the elderly people who are still living in Alabang, the word Alabang comes from two words: Alibangban (after the tree Alibangbang) and Abangan (Filipino for wait).
During the Spanish period, they say that many Alibangbang trees were planted in Alabang, and since people were still rare at that time, the area of the trees was wide, fat and its branches would fall off, which also rises approximately 20 feet (6.1 m). Its leaves were about the size of a palm, and they appear to be twins that spread out during the day and gather spontaneously at night. Its leaves and fruits are also roasted because of its acidity. Also at night, it is crowded with fireflies. Using their torch light on the buttocks, they prey on the insects that land on the tree.[citation needed]
Currently, there are no Alibangbang trees to be found in Alabang.[citation needed]
Barangay Alabang, part of the second district of Muntinlupa, has undergone tremendous growth mainly due to a development boom in the late 1990s. The development of high-end large scale commercial real estate projects; the Filinvest City, changed the landscape of the Alabang where it was once vast fields of cow pasture until the late 1980s, into a district that houses new residential, business, industrial and commercial establishments.[citation needed]
Shopping centers
Festival Alabang is a large shopping mall owned and operated by Filinvest Development Corporation located at Filinvest City in Barangay Alabang, Muntinlupa. The mall opened in the middle of May 1998, and it became Filinvest's flagship project, setting the standard for shopping centers in the south of Metro Manila. The whole Festival Alabang complex has an area of over 30 hectares (74 acres), the biggest mall in south Metro Manila (tied with Ayala Malls Manila Bay).[citation needed]
Festival Alabang is the biggest of all five current malls in city. It is also adjacent to some of the largest malls south of Metro Manila, namely Alabang Town Center, SM Southmall, and other malls like Starmall Alabang (formerly Metropolis Star Alabang), Liana's Alabang, and Ayala Malls South Park.[citation needed]
Starmall Alabang, or formerly known as Metropolis Star Alabang is the first community shopping mall in this city and it is owned by Starmalls, Inc. There are also the South Station, Fastbyte at Northgate, Westgate Center, Commerce Center, South Supermarket The Filinvest Tent Commercial Block, and Alabang Public Market.[citation needed]