Port Area, Manila

The Port Area, also known as Port District and South Port District, is a district of the city of Manila, Philippines. It is entirely a reclaimed land occupied by Manila South Harbor and Baseco Compound. It is bounded on the north by the Pasig River, facing the districts of Tondo and San Nicolas, on the west by Manila Bay, on the east by Intramuros, separated by Radial Road 1, and on the south by Ermita. Post-war developments at the Manila South Harbor eventually paved the way for the migration of people from the different provinces, making it one of the largest urban poor community in the Philippines.

History
Port Area, historically known as Port District, was built on reclaimed land in the 1890s, toward the end of the Spanish rule, as an expansion of the Port of Manila. In 1914, administrative oversight of the district was transferred to the Insular Collector of Customs (now Bureau of Customs). Subsequently, in 1949, revisions to the Manila city charter resulted in the formal and explicit inclusion of Port Area as part of the newly established 4th district. It was later transferred to the 5th district in 1987, following the restoration of the bicameral Congress.

In the late 1970s, the urban poor were resettled to Baseco Compound, originally a dockyard of the National Shipyard and Steel Corporation (NASSCO) that was acquired by the Romualdez family in 1966, to make space for a potential international seaport. Baseco was declared a barangay in the 1980s. Following the 1986 People Power Revolution, the property was sequestered, leading to further resettlement and its proclamation as a residential site in 2002.

Barangays
The district of Port Area is made up of 5 barangays, numbered 649 to 653. Barangay 649 contains the Engineer's Island, now informally known as the Baseco Compound. The Island is regarded as one of the biggest urban poor communities in the Philippines. All barangays of Port Area belong to Zone 68 of the City of Manila.