If you hop into a Grab or hail a jeepney in Metro Manila and ask to be dropped off at "Bicutan," the driver will likely ask you a clarifying question: “Sa SM (Parañaque side) o sa DOST (Taguig side)?”
To the modern commuter, Bicutan feels like a single, massive, bustling urban junction split down the middle by the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX). However, if you look at an official political map of Metro Manila, you will find a curious quirk: there is no such thing as Barangay Bicutan in Parañaque. Politically, the entire historical territory of Bicutan belongs exclusively to the City of Taguig.
The fact that a major chunk of Parañaque is universally referred to as "Bicutan" is a fascinating tale of geographical evolution, military history, highway engineering, and commercial branding that blurred city lines forever.
History of Bicutan: The Deep Roots
Long before the concrete of SLEX was poured, the geography of Bicutan was defined by its strategic elevation. Positioned on the rolling hills inland of Laguna de Bay, this vast, forested plateau naturally stood higher than the marshy lakeside shores of Taguig and the coastal plains of Parañaque.
This specific geography directly shaped its historical name:
The area was originally recorded as "Pamucutan," derived from the Tagalog root word pukot, which refers to a type of large dragnet fishing net.
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| Pasasalamat in BGC |
Early Taguig settlers were primarily fisherfolk harvesting from nearby Laguna de Bay. While they lived and fished near the shore, they used the high, dry, and heavily forested inland grounds of Pamucutan to weave, repair, and dry their massive nets away from the lakeside floods.
Over generations of colloquial use, and as the land transitioned under Spanish rule, the morphophonemic shift from pang- + pukot + an eventually softened into Bicutan.
From American Military Base to Post-War Relocation
In 1901, following the Philippine-American War, the United States government expropriated a massive swath of land stretching across Taguig, Pasig, and Parañaque to establish Fort William McKinley (which later became Fort Bonifacio). Bicutan was absorbed into this vast military reservation, keeping it largely undeveloped and forested for the first half of the 20th century.
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| Construction of Tenement Taguig (old photo) |
By the 1960s, the national government began reclaiming sections of the military reservation for civilian relocation. Under President Diosdado Macapagal, Bicutan’s vast open terrain was designated as a major social housing site for thousands of families displaced from informal settlements across Manila (such as Tondo and Intramuros). To accommodate this massive demographic shift, the iconic, multi-story Fort Bonifacio Tenement House was constructed in 1963, anchoring Bicutan as a dense residential hub.
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Camp Bagong Diwa and Martial Law
Bicutan’s identity shifted dramatically in the 1970s under the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. A portion of the territory was carved out to establish Camp General Mariano Castañeda—which the public now knows as Camp Bagong Diwa.
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| BJMP in Camp Bagong Diwa |
During the Martial Law era, the Bicutan Rehabilitation Center inside the camp became notorious. Far from being a medical rehab facility, it served as a high-security detention center for prominent political prisoners, dissidents, journalists, labor leaders, and student activists who opposed the regime. Because it held key historical figures of the resistance, the word "Bicutan" became a heavy, solemn symbol of political struggle and human rights issues during this era.
Modern Geography: Splitting into Four Bicutan Barangay
As Taguig urbanized rapidly through the late 20th century, Bicutan's population exploded. To manage the sheer size, density, and diverse socio-economic needs of the area, the original, single political unit of Bicutan was progressively divided into three distinct barangays:
- Upper Bicutan: The elevated, highly populated western section stretching toward the hills. Camp Bagong Diwa, DOST Complex (Department of Science and Technology).
- Lower Bicutan: The eastern side sloping down toward the flat shores of Laguna de Bay. Taguig City University, Lakeshore Hall, traditional residential zones.
- Western Bicutan: The flat, massive economic powerhouse bounding the westernmost edge of the city. FTI (Food Terminal Inc.) area, Arca South development.
In 2008, Lower Bicutan was divided into two, the other one to be known as Barangay New Lower Bicutan. Parts of Upper Bicutan became under the jurisdiction of a new barangay Central Bicutan.
Western Bicutan was divided into three barangays, Fort Bonifacio, Pinagsama and Western Bicutan (originating barangay).
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| The famous Bonifacio Global City or BGC is part of Brgy. Fort Bonifacio |
SLEX and the Parañaque Spillover
Until the late 1960s, the border between Western Bicutan (Taguig) and Parañaque was an uninterrupted, open landscape of grass, farmland, and military borders. That changed permanently with the construction of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX).
SLEX acted as a massive concrete scalpel, physically slicing right through the region. To prevent the highway from completely cutting off local trade and travel between the two towns, the government constructed a major overpass junction: the Bicutan Interchange.
PARAÑAQUE SIDEBarangay Don Bosco(Better Living Subdivision)Doña Soledad AveSLEX InterchangeGen. Santos AveTAGUIG SIDEUpper Bicutan(DOST / FTI / Arca South)
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| SLEX Bicutan Interchange approaching DOST |
The interchange became a critical chokepoint:
- Exiting East dropped commuters straight into Taguig (heading toward General Santos Avenue and the scientific research facilities of the DOST complex).
- Exiting West poured traffic directly into Doña Soledad Avenue, the main arterial road leading into Parañaque’s sprawling Better Living Subdivision (under the jurisdiction of Barangay Don Bosco and Barangay Sun Valley).
Because the exit was officially christened the "Bicutan Interchange," transit routes, jeepney drivers, and daily commuters on both sides of the highway began using "Bicutan" as their universal geographic landmark.
The SM Effect: Cementing the Identity
For decades, the Parañaque side of the exit was colloquially called "Bicutan" purely for transport convenience. The final, permanent cementing of this identity occurred in 2002, courtesy of retail giant SM Prime Holdings.
When the company constructed a major mall on the western side of the interchange, they named it SM City Bicutan.
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| SM City Bicutan |
Structurally and legally, the land SM City Bicutan sits on falls entirely within the borders of Barangay Don Bosco, Parañaque. Property taxes for the mall go to the Parañaque city hall, and local ordinances are enforced by Parañaque authorities. However, because the mall serves as the hyper-visible anchor of the interchange and the primary transit hub for residents of both cities, the name stuck permanently.
Summary: A Shared Regional Identity
Today, the "Bicutan area" is a testament to how modern infrastructure and history reshape local geography. While historians and mapmakers know that Bicutan's true heritage is rooted in the net-weaving traditions of Taguig's lakeside ancestors, the realities of highway exits, government complexes, and mega-malls have turned it into a shared regional identity.
Whether you are standing by the high-tech laboratories of the DOST in Taguig or shopping inside the air-conditioned halls of SM in Parañaque, you are, for all practical purposes, in Bicutan.
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