Northern Quezon City

Commonwealth Avenue is Quezon City's second major thoroughfare, with its notorious traffic and contrasting areas, with a mix of opulence and poverty. Lying to the north of the Commonwealth Area is Fairview and Lagro areas, both mid-class communities to the north, centered on three malls facing each other along Quirino Highway. This article also covers Pasong Putik, and the Balintawak, Novaliches, Project 8, and Project 9 areas in northwestern Quezon City.

Understand

Commonwealth Avenue area covers the Commonwealth Proper, one of the most densely district in the city. The area includes the areas of Riverside, Manggahan, and Litex. Urban sprawl dominates the area with few business centers, primarily located along the Commonwealth Wet Market.

Meanwhile to the north of Commonwealth Proper, Fairview is consists of the Baranggays of Greater Fairview, and North Fairview. The area is well-known for mid-range restaurants and malls. Most of neighborhood in the area are mid-class communities. Lagro is located to the north of Fairview, is also an extension of mid-class neighborhood with some small business centers.

Northwestern Quezon City is the birthplace of the Philippine Revolution. Today it is a busy commercial district, with Balintawak's bustling public market, the up-and-coming Cloverleaf mixed-use development nearby, and the many restaurants along Congressional Avenue.

This part of the city is sprawling. With a mix of car-dependent subdivisions in Fairview-Lagro area, noisy slums in the Commonwealth Proper, and the district's main artery, Commonwealth Avenue, known for its cacophony and high accident record mitigated by a 60-kilometer-per-hour (37 mph) speed limit and pedestrian overpasses, is more catered for travel by bus, jeepney or car. Walking in the areas is more of a strenuous activity that exposes you to the dangers of the city's heat and the district's criminal den. Shopping options are rather far apart, with just only one mall, some supermarkets, and non-air conditioned public markets.

Fairview is more of a mid-class neighborhood, but it is just as sprawling as the Commonwealth area. There are few places to visit, like its commercial district dominated by three malls, mid-range restaurants, and the La Mesa Ecopark. The MRT Line 7 project will mostly boost the district's growth by providing a faster connection to the rest of the city, but the line is not expected to open until around 2023.

Get in

The wide Commonwealth Avenue, a 6 to 18-lane highway, also the namesake for the area and a barangay along it, is the main thoroughfare for this district. Travel is quite a breeze with many bus and jeepney routes plying it, and the wide carriageways that makes it look more of a superhighway, yet you must watch out for many quirky local driving habits if you're going to drive through it.

See

• 1 Iglesia Ni Cristo Templo Central, 1 Central Avenue, New Era (Travel northwest on Commonwealth Avenue toward and past Quezon Memorial Circle), ☏ +63 907 583 1440. Daily 8AM to 5PM. Central Temple of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ). The Central Complex includes the Central Temple, which is an 8,000-seat church with one of the largest pipe organs in the Philippines; the Iglesia Ni Cristo Museum, which showcases the history of the Church in exhibits and artifacts from all over the world, marking its global expansion; the Tabernacle, a large multi-purpose meeting and presentation hall; and the New Era University and College of Evangelical Ministry, which are the flagship educational campuses of the Iglesia Ni Cristo, established in 1979. (updated Feb 2017)
• 2 La Mesa Eco Park. A beautiful 5-hectare eco park on the outskirts of Quezon city. A haven for people who'd like to get away from the heat and dust of the city. Quite hard to find though, and there is little public transport going there. (updated Feb 2017)
• 3 Payatas Dumpsite. Clearly not for the normal traveller easily shocked by the stench and the poverty, this dumpsite, which receives a third of Metro Manila's waste, is one of the district's local landmarks. This was once an empty ravine until it was converted into a landfill to replace Tondo's Smokey Mountain. Though touring the facility requires advance permission, you can see the life of Payatas's poorer families from roads surrounding this fenced-off pit. There is a monument erected to the northeast, dedicated to the victims of a garbage landslide that killed over 300 on July 10, 2000. (updated Jan 2019)
• 4 Tandang Sora National Shrine, Banlat Road. A national monument and memorial park dedicated to Filipino revolutionary and centenarian, Melchora Aquino. It covers an area of 1,000 m² and features a 10.67-m bronze sculpture. An art gallery is also hosted within shrine grounds which features paintings and other sculptures dedicated to Aquino. It also has a pavilion and stage for events, and a mini-museum dedicated to Melchora Aquino. It was completed in 2008. (updated Jul 2024)

Do

• 1 Tivoli Royale Country Club, Inc., Tivoli Royale Subdivision, Yakal Street, ☏ +63 9177081445. 7AM–10PM. (updated Sep 2023)
• 2 Royal Ace Driving Range, ☏ +63 289510171. 6AM–8PM. Golf driving range. (updated Sep 2023)
• 3 Payatas Bike Park, Visayas Road. 5AM–6PM. (updated Sep 2023)

Buy

• 1 Litex Market, Commonwealth Avenue (At the corner with IBP Road.). Open 24 hours.. The wet and dry market frequented by residents of the surrounding slum areas. It is also a metonym for the surrounding area. (updated Feb 2020)
• 2 Ayala Malls Fairview Terraces, Quirino Highway corner Regalado Highway. 10AM–9PM. (updated Sep 2023)
• 3 Ever Gotesco Mall Commonwealth Center, Commonwealth Avenue, Barangay Holy Spirit. 10AM–9PM. The last Ever Mall. (updated Sep 2023)
• 4 SM City Fairview, #2 Quirino Highway. 10AM–9PM. (updated Sep 2023)
• 5 S&R Membership Shopping - Commonwealth, #170 Commonwealth Avenue corner Quirino Hwy. 9AM–9PM. (updated Sep 2023)
• 6 Robinsons Novaliches, Quirino Highway, ☏ +63 284617540. 10 AM–9 PM. (updated Sep 2023)

Sleep

• 1 Pacific Park Hotel, 35 Regalado Avenue, Fairview, ☏ +63 2 8929 6204. Glassy edifice in the midst of cacophony and concrete with a bathtub type pool. Jollibee's just down the road. ₱1,365. (updated Dec 2018)
• 2 Butler's BnB @ Trees Residences, Bldg 7, Trees Residences Quirino Hi-Way, ☏ +63 956 563 0300. An AirBnB place inside a condominium complex with access to an outdoor pool terrace for PHP 150 extra. Accommodation has hot water, Netflix, high speed internet, and kitchen facilities. ₱1201. (updated Dec 2020)
• 3 OYO 108 Spiral Suites, 69 Fairlane, Novaliches, ☏ +63 917 835 3825. Lodging includes on-site restaurant and has a/c, wifi, TV, security system, and kitchen area, though what's probably best is the rooftop patio and the views. ₱529. (updated Dec 2020)
• 4 OYO 136 Regal Residences, 13 Regalado, ☏ +63 917 837 6656. A lot like the other OYO property with an outdoor rooftop sitting area, a/c, and wifi, but a little noisier due to its location on a busy road. ₱866. (updated Dec 2020)
• 5 Swiss-Belexpress Fairview, Regalado Avenue. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: noon. (updated Sep 2023)

Stay safe

Street inside barangay Commonwealth.

The area around barangay Commonwealth is the seediest corner of Quezon City, notorious for almost everything: slums, fires, thugs and drugs, you heard it. Illegal drugs are rampant, especially involving shabu (crystal methamphetamine), and police and drug enforcement agents occur almost daily. Residential fires often occur, most commonly triggered by illegal electricity connections. Exercise caution when walking as a stroll may lead you to slums; drug addicts, pickpockets, holduppers, hypnotists robbers (budol-budol) and drunk thugs might be just waiting to commit their dirty business if they sight you. If you don't have a good reason to visit the slum, don't go there or ask a resident.