By Carla Calleja, MBA, REB
Ask ten people who Forbes Park is named after and a few will guess the famous business magazine. It is a fair guess, but it is wrong. Makati’s most famous village carries the name of an American official who loved one sport above all: polo.
The short answer
Forbes Park is named after William Cameron Forbes, the American Governor-General of the Philippines from 1909 to 1913. Esquire Philippines describes him as “the American Governor-General who brought polo to the country,” and that is exactly why the Ayalas named their premier residential village after him.
Who was W. Cameron Forbes?
- Before becoming Governor-General, he served as Commissioner of Commerce and Police (1904 to 1908) and Vice Governor (1908 to 1909).
- He was a passionate polo player. In 1911, during his time in the Philippines, he wrote a guide to the sport titled As to Polo.
- He founded the Manila Polo Club. According to the club’s own history, it was incorporated on August 18, 1909 and inaugurated on November 27, 1909, on land Forbes bought at the corner of F.B. Harrison and Dewey Boulevard in Pasay.
How the polo club ended up in Makati
After World War II, the Ayala family began building a planned community on their Makati landholdings. Esquire Philippines recounts that ground was broken in 1948, and that by 1949 the village’s roads and lots had taken shape. To anchor the new village, the Ayalas persuaded the Manila Polo Club to leave its Pasay site and move to Makati.
The Manila Polo Club’s history records that it formally opened at its new site in Forbes Park on July 4, 1949. The Manila Golf and Country Club also sits within the village today, along with the Santuario de San Antonio parish church between Forbes Park North and South.
Forbes Park today
- It was the first gated village developed by Ayala.
- McKinley Road divides it into Forbes Park North and Forbes Park South.
- It covers about 2.5 square kilometers and has been called the “Beverly Hills” of Manila because of the families and diplomats who live there.
Why this matters if you own or buy in Makati
Village history is more than trivia. The way the Ayala Master Plan set aside clubs, churches and large residential lots in the late 1940s still shapes how Makati’s villages are zoned, how their associations run, and why their properties hold value. When you buy in a village like Forbes Park, Dasmariñas, Urdaneta, San Lorenzo, Bel-Air or Magallanes, you also buy into its deed restrictions and association rules, so always ask for them before you sign.
Quick checklist before buying in a Makati village
- Get a certified true copy of the title from the Registry of Deeds and check the annotations.
- Ask the village association for its deed restrictions, construction guidelines and dues clearance.
- Check real property tax payments with the Makati City Treasurer’s Office.
- Compare the BIR zonal value with recent asking prices so you understand your taxes.
FAQ
Is Forbes Park named after Forbes magazine?
No. It is named after William Cameron Forbes, Governor-General of the Philippines from 1909 to 1913.
When did Forbes Park start?
Ground was broken in 1948 and its roads and lots took shape in 1949. The Manila Polo Club opened there on July 4, 1949.
Where was the Manila Polo Club before Forbes Park?
In Pasay, at the corner of F.B. Harrison and Dewey Boulevard, from its founding in 1909.
How much did Forbes Park lots cost when it opened?
I am still verifying the original 1949 lot prices with more than one reliable source. I will share them in a future “then vs now” post once confirmed.
Ask Broker Carla
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Image: AI-generated illustration, not an actual photo of Forbes Park.
