Restoring Intramuros

Recently I mentioned in one of the earlier blogs how four Mabuhay Guides were involved in showing the Walled City of Intramuros to the entourage of the San Francisco Mayor.

This morning I was pleased to find that that was only the proverbial "tip of the iceberg". As it turns out, the San Francisco-Manila Sister City Committee, served as a liaison to the Global Heritage Fund, a non-profit conservation group that provides assistance to developing countries in preserving their cultural heritage sites, who in turn recently pledged support for the preservation of Intramuros.

This is most welcome news!!! Indeed, as Intramuros is the bastion of Spanish Colonial rule in the Philippines which started as early as 1571, it is a veritable showcase of our introduction to western influence. To say that it was the start of our civilization is a fallacy. The Spaniards upon landing in our shores were surprised to find a civilization so advanced they were in awe of the social set-up among the people. The Spaniards were dazzled by the gold accoutrement of the rulers of the community that welcomed them. Evidence of this is found at the Ayala Museum's pre-Hispanic gold collection.

However, they were in a race with Portugal in establishing the Spanish empire in other lands. Having conquered Rajah Soliman's bastion, they started establishing a fort in the very heart of Rajah Soliman's former home. Fort Santiago was thus born out of its ashes. From there construction began in the farthest colony of Spain who now owned an empire where the sun never sets. The City of Manila was given the title Ever Loyal City. The walls were built to protect it from undesirable encroachments of pirates and other colonials rulers.

Earthquakes, fires, and wars have taken its toll on the Walled City but efforts of the Intramuros Administration and the City of Manila to restore its former glory have been most positive. However, funding for such a grand project is staggering to say the least. The wall does extend 4.5 kilometers all around after all. Not to mention the numerous colonial buildings within it that have borne the wear and tear of time and the enviroment.

The plan of the Global Heritage Fund Mission is to establish Intramuros as a living colonial community much like Williamsburg, Virginia. If you haven't been there well... it's Little House on the Prairie come to life! After a while of taking in the sights, you'd be looking for Laura Ingles hopping around complete with lunch pail and pigtails.

After a year of having guided foreigners around Intramuros, I'm still amazed at guests' reactions to the splendor of our colonial life. Then they get an idea of what makes the Filipinos tick. WE are unique in that our Asian character is spiked with the heat of Latin influences imbibed through centuries of Catholic indoctrination, religious fervor, national pride, indigenous customs and traditions and a deep respect for our land.

It's about time new life was breathed into Intramuros...

Let's Play Ball!!!

I've been having migraine headaches for two days now. But not even a persistent migraine would keep me from watching the UAAP volleyball games on TV this afternoon. Alright, I confess, I was a volleyball player in my youth. Time was when my back was a lot stronger and so was my spirit.I was a competitive young rascal.

Today's games were University of Santo Tomas against Far Eastern University for the Men's Championships and University of Santo Tomas versus the De La Salle squad for the Women's Division. And though I am not an alumnus of any of the competing schools, I am perhaps the BIGGEST volleyball fan there is.

Okay, so UST won the champinships for both games. What a sweep!!! FEU fought its hardest but they just didn't have their game going. They were at best sporadic in their attacks and most of the support was left to chance. They didn't play as cohesively as UST Men's team did. Too bad... it was a galant fight but way in mid-game you knew they weren't gonna cut it.

The Women's game was far more exciting. UST was obviously in their element. They looked like they were having far too much fun in the court as opposed to La Salle whose game lacked luster compared to the elimination rounds. After the second set you kinda got the idea that They OWNED the championship on this round. Tears of joy and yelps of happiness erupted all around after the La Salle team blew the championship point.

So there must be a great celebration on the Espana Campus after the awarding ceremonies. One of the women players disclosed on cam that they'd be rewarded with a trip abroad if both teams won in their respective divisions. And they did! So there's a great school giving a great incentive to their athletes. Granted the title Royal and Pontifical university of Sto Tomas the Catholic University of the Philippines, UST developed into what it is today from humble beginnings in Intramuros. Originally dedicated as a school to develop young Filipino men for service to the religious orders, the Colegio del Nstra Sra. del Santisimo Rosario was renamed after the great Dominican Theologian St. Thomas Aquinas. Then after 1927 to address the growing number of enrollees, the campus was moved from Intramuros to the current 21 hectare lot in Espana Manila where it stands to the present day.

Too bad, i'm not an alumnus, I would have wanted to join in on the fun... it would be nice to have fun with the men's team... wink, wink! Great work girls and guys!

Eating Out in Makati

I had a long leisurely lunch with friends in Makati the other day.

Lunch was hosted by my friend Sarita and she invited Fides, Mama June, Jojo and myself. We ate at Haiku at the second level of Greenbelt 3. It's something we do from time to time especially if we've been too busy with our own personal lives for long stretches. This was one of those times.

The last tiime we all got together was in December of 2009. Since then we've been in touch either through text messages or phone calls. Makati always seems to be the venue most of the time since it's convenient for everybody. It has everything for everybody. The nice restaurants are situated there as well as the pricey stores that cater to every whim you could ever think of.

Far cry from what it used to be before the Ayalas decided to move there from Intramuros and decided to call Makati "home". Originally, Makati was a marshy land area where the Pasig river passed through in the early Spanish colonial days. There are two versions to Makati's monicker: 1) Makati was all marsh and there was a grim concentration of mosquitoes in the area and anyone who went there would inadvertently be the vicitm of many mosquito bites. As a result, they would start itching and scratch. 2) Makati is culled from two words "may" and "kati" meaning there is a tide. Between the two stories the second is the more probable reason.

So, as we Filipinos are wont to do, we started developing Makati into Manila's Financial district of choice. The Nielsen Tower was the very first edifice built in the area. Designed as a flight control tower, the building now stands as the Filipinas Heritage Library under the Ayala Foundation. Ayala Avenue, now the main thoroughfare was once the runway for airplanes that landed in Manila. McKinley was an army reservation for US Armed forces which eventually gave way to the enclaves of the rich and famous: Forbes Park and Dasmarinas Village. The American Memorial Cemetery, once a hilly and rough terrain was ceded to the Americans to bury the dead that gave up their lives for the liberation of Manila and the rest of Asia from the Japanese forces.

Now if you wanna live it up, it's Makati people go to. The planning that went into it has been phenomenal. The area where we ate was a parking lot where the Love Busses were parked while waiting for their trips. There was even an aviary at some point before the old Ayala Museum was torn down. Incidentally, the old Ayala Museum was designed by national artist for architecture Leandro Locsin. The new museum is designed by his son Andy. The pre-hispanic gold collection of the Ayala Muesum is something we can all be proud to show off to foreign guests. All that gold wasn't smelted for nothing...

The price of real estate in Makati back then was P 9.00/ square meter. Now a studio unit for one of the condos costs up to P4.5 M. What's strange is that even if Makati has become a showcase of modernity and avant garde architecture, Binondo's real estate prices far outshine that of Ayala Land's. That's an entirely different story that needs further research...

Hello Summer!!!!

The news this morning was a bit distressing. The rice crops in Cagayan de Oro has all been affected by the drought caused by El Nino. The administration is now considering adding more rice imports to meet with the demand.

This is strange in that we have now become rice importers instead of the top exporters of rice to other countries. What's happened to us? During the Marcos regime we had more than enough rice to feed the growing population. And more! we had a booster supply which we eventually exported to other countries abroad.

This was a direct result in the establishment of the IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) located in Laguna. We had the equipment and the knowledge in producing the best strains of rice varieties and most of Asia turned to us for our expertise. We were the benchmark as far as rice production was concerned.

Before as one is driving along the South Luzon Expressway you could see rice fields as far as your eyes could see... Now, all you see are buildings and subdivisions along the high way... Vegetation has been limited to manicured lawns and trees lining the road.

Gone are the lush green stalks of rice that during the summertime turn into golden ears of grain. The same thing has happened to Bulacan. Touted as the "rice granary" of the Philippines, the province has become host to the North Luzon Expressway. Lanes of concrete have all but covered the vast expanse of ricelands.

The rice shortage in the seventies gave us a lesson we didn't need to learn. WE are self-sufficient if we really get to do hard work. I remember buying rice at P7.00 - P10.00/ kilo back then. Now P30.00/kilo of rice is still cheap. But can someone explain to me how we've been reduced to this?



Now everyone's blaming the destruction of the environment. I don't remember summer being any different. As a student, I welcomed the onset of Summer. By around February, we were rounding up on lessons in class, completing projects that needed to be submitted, termpapers were typed and neatly fastened to folders. School was out by March and Summer beckoned. It was hot then, it's still just as hot now.

So I don't see why global warming should be a threat to us. We should've been prepared for all of this... shouldn't we? Back then our main concern was excessive flooding in Bulacan as it destroyed rice production during the monsoon rains. Now we worry if it's raining too hard and we worry if it's not raining at all.

At the height of Ondoy, authorities released water from the dams. Now at the start of summer we're surprised that the water from the dams are at it's lowest level. What gives? Someone ought to put a hose up those technocrats behinds...

See-Food Diet and Nostalgia

I heard Mass at Robinson's Mall at 11:30 am today.

That's the trend nowadays...Malls having their own congregation...

But I suppose it's the more pragmatic thing for malls to do. Since they're open on Sundays anyway. Families go to the malls for some rest and relaxation. They seem to goon autopilot heading for these commercial centers to get some shopping done, roaming around and finding great bargains or just trying to see what the latest trend is like. Oh, and there's free airconditioning too. So it's a Pinoy thing, families and malls...

My obligation completed, I started heading for the fastfood area. I was getting hungry. Okay, so prior to Mass I had gone to the gym. It's a lifestyle choice for me, you know. Keeping fit is like breathing. So I was pretty amazed at the fare they were serving up. I was looking for smart choices... fresh vegies, low calorie meals...

Horrors!!! Everything was greasy, fat-laden, high caloric meat-based dishes. I finally found a stall that had sea food. You'd think I'd eat healthy at this point. Yeah, right. I ordered a cup of rice, laing (taro leaves cooked in coconut milk until it renders coconut oil), a slab of Marlin in garlic and butter, and KILAWIN ( our Filipino version of ceviche). Tuna is filleted and cubed and drenched in a vinegar based concoction of slivered tomatoes, onions, chilli peppers and salt and pepper. and a tall glass of Coke!

That was great. My hunger was sated and had nothing else to do. So I decided to burn off the calories and started roaming all over Robinson's Place Ermita. It's been constructed over the years but recently undergoing reovation to keep up with the development sprouting up in the Malate area. It now has an adjacent condominium on bothe the Adriatico and Padre Faura wings, basement and podium parking, 4 floors of commercial space for lease, 8 cinemas and dozens of stalls for fastfood and other stuff.

It's a far cry from what it used to be. The area was once the enclave of the rich and famous who had started moving out of Intramuros' walls. Eventually, the community grew and became a bohemian center where artists could congregate, mingle, and where the rich patrons were within easy reach.

Historic areas, Ermita and Malate were completely destroyed in the carpet bombing of Manila in 1945. Priests and nuns were martyred. Civilians were tortured and killed. The area was a vast wasteland of rotting corpses and rubble.

But like a phoenix rising out of its ashes, Malate has come alive again! Robinson's Mall was once the Assumption Convent (Herran), The Padre Faura wing was what used to be the Ateneo Campus (where the school transferred to after the Intramuros campus was gutted by fire.) The St. Paul's College is still there, albeit a co-ed school now. Yes, they have accepted male students in some of the courses! The UP PGH is still beiing renovated and new buildings are being built.

Malate Church, which was built by the Augustinians as a Visita has it's own Catholic School run by RVM Sisters (originally established from Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo's Cofradia) and the Nstra. Senora de los Remedios is now administered by the Columbans mostly of Irish priests who were running the Malate Catholic School during the American period until after the Liberation of Manila up to the present.

Times have changed. Along with it the physical makeup of the place. Too bad we had no concept of heritage then. We would have kept the memories of Malate's and Ermita's glorious past even in the old colonial buildings and mansions that were rebuilt after the war. Everything is so modern now. Condos and shopping malls are sprouting up like mushrooms and in its place our Pinoy take on the contemporary touch...

Ladies Who Lunch

I was informed of my tour assignment by Ms Goya last Tuesday, 16 February, 2010. It seemed so soon right after I had done the tour wth David Celdran. I thought that was odd. But then, I wasn't going to complain after all, I was going to be hired for my services as a Mabuhay Guide.

I recieved the name of the contact person and made the necessary arrangements. My tour was scehduled for the morning of Thursday, 18 February, 2010. Party of 6-8 pax all ladies. All of them happened to be Ms Goya's friends and classmates from St Scholastica's College.

I had arranged to meet them at the Hulo Station of the Pasig River Ferry Cruise. Even told them to arrive early so we could catch the 9:15 downstream trip to Escolta. Was I in for a surprise! Three of them had arrived earlier than I. Though I was still early for the trip I didn't count on them being that early. I was at the station around half past eight and Ms Mayette was there with two other friends. They were from Seattle and New York.

It was Ms. Mayette who had informed me that the nine o'clock trip had been cancelled. I was shocked! I hadn't counted on them cancelling on the day of my tour. So despite calls me made with the help of the staff at Hulo Station, there was no way we could take the 9:00 a.m. trip as it had been reserved for the Coast Guard. Noone had informed me that there was a prior reservation as I had been calling for the trip schedules. So right there and then I decided to go surface to Escolta. Do the tour from Binondo to Ongpin then after the tour we take the Ferry back to Hulo Station.

Ms Mayette had to make the necessary calls to the rest of the party that had not arrived. It was all set. We would convoy to Escolta ad start the tour there. Thankfully our driver was able to maneuver through traffic in record time and we were at Escolta by nine a.m. By the time we were at Escolta, the group had swelled to 12 pax. I made sure that they had a ferry back so the group could experience the Pasig Ferry ride. I was told that the trips back were 12:15 and 1:45 and 3:45 pm.

I started the tour at Polland Cafe.I had asked the party to wait for me there as I needed to inquire from the station. They needed a comfort room break anyway. While at the cafe, I suggested they try the Kuchay which they readily did. They liked it. Thus, the shopping spree had begun. One had ordered two boxes for take-away. the other had ordered a box. Bottles of water were bought as well as buchi and hopia. But since it was just the start of the tour, we decided to ask the cafe to hold them for us till we returned after the tour was completed.

Then we proceeded to do the Escolta walk. All my commentaries were peppered with their own input. Apparently, all of them had had their own experiences of Escolta in their younger days. Either their dads worked in one of the offices along the block or they had spent their free time shopping and just gallivanting in the area in their youth. I made sure that my information was correct. It was interesting because their experience was solely on watching movies and shopping in Escolta. They knew very little of the architecture. Who'd care about that when you're a kid, right?

Along the way there was the constant chatter and merry-making among the ladies. they were having a rollicking good time. As we entered the Ongpin Arch, they had begun to show signs of fatigue. They were walking slower. They tried the Sugar cane juice at one of the stops and found it good. The Chinese Temple was of interest to them as well. They went inside and took photos of the interiors as well. There's an excavation in Kipuja and they meandered along the alleyway as well.

I showed them Ling Nam. I guess they had gotten hungry. they decided to have lunch there. They were ordering so much food aside form the noodles. I had to spoil it a bit by telling them there's more food stops to come and they listened. Someone had already ordered a special siopao the size of a saucer.I informed them that they had an hour and forty five minutes to conclude the tour if they were to cathc the ferry back. They were all in agreement not to rush back as this gathering did not happen often. The consensus was they would go for the 3:45 trip.

So as we went to the Shanghai Fried Siopao store they bought 2 pieces and divided it among those who were interested to taste it. Yup, it was good enough for them to buy a few dozen pieces. Ooops, more bags for them to carry...These women were prepared. Recyclable shopping bags were popping out from nowhere. I should have known...



Bags of chestnuts were bought. Two of them bought sharpening blocks for knives from a street peddler. On our stop at New Victory Wedding Store, two mah-jong sets were purchased. This was probably the only tour i had conducted with people buying so much stuff it was taking longer to manage the time. At Diao Eng Chai, boxes of chicken pie were bagged for take-out. By the time we had reached Dong Bei Dumplings, it was nearly one thirty p.m. They tried the dumplings and fried pancakes. Alright, so it was good enough for them to take out too. But the dumplings had to be cooked so it won't spoil by the time they got home. That took longer. Three dozen for this lady please and a dozen friend pancakes... for the one on the far end, two dozen please...

At Carvajal, more chestnuts were bought. Kiatkiat as well. Then finally, New Po Heng Lumpia House. They bought three pieces, had them divided amongst themselves and decided to have a few pieces wrapped and taken home as well. I had to ask them to start walking back to the Ferry Station. Ms Becky's party had walked ahead as she was supposed to meet her mother at Savory. I didn't realize they were going to order food there as well. The rest of us had walked back to Polland to collect the Kuchay we left behind.

I checked for the departure and was told that the 4:00 pm was cancelled (yet again)so that the departure was at 3:15 instead of the 3:45. Panic button! There was a party still eating at Savory. I had to rush to Savory and glad that they had recieved the call though they had already finished. What a harrowing experience!
The Ferry back was smooth. There was little commentary as the DVD playing on board was The Transformers. Too much noise but I managed o squeeze in informaion at the quiet parts. We all disembarked at Hulo Station and parted ways there.

Miercoles de Ceniza

Today is officially the start of the Lenten Season in the Philippines.

I woke up really early to attend Mass and have my forehead marked with the traditional sign of the cross out of soot from the burned Palm fronds from last year.

Symbolically we accept the fact that we are human and that we eventually return to dust. For forty days, we commemorate Christ's suffering and we try to emulate his sacrifice to the best of our ability by fasting and penance.

In the provinces, there are more stringent practices. Penitensiya is tantamount to self-flagellation and carrying of wooden crosses. The reading of Pabasa, the recounting of Christ's passion in song is also customary. Monggo beans and Galunggong is the usual viand for meals. Abstinence rules!

In my childhood, me and my cousins dreaded Holy Week. My strict grandmother would not allow us out of the house. No playing, no singing, no unnecessary noise... NOTHING!!! We'd go around the house with sullen faces. Rosary and Mass were compulsory. All the santos in the church were covered in purple cloth. All you could hear on the radio was static. TV stations were closed for the week. All malls are closed.

Now that's penitensiya!



Needless to say, times have indeed changed. Now just about the time Holy Week comes along I never go out of town anymore. The beaches are full! Boracay is over-crowded. So are Batangas, Puerto Gallera, Pagudpud, Palawan, CamSur, Davao, Mactan.

Resorts are booked weeks in advance. No sense trying your luck as a chance passenger in any airline. Swimsuits are all sold out. Sunblock is a premium. Everybody who's anybody who wants to be seen will be all decked out in designer resort wear. doing the beach scene.

Not to be out done, all sorts of coonsumer products cash in on the yearly exodus from Manila. Sodas, Energy drinks, beer, sunblock, facial wash, whitening lotion - you name it! Their banners and tarps keep fluttering in the beach.

If you ask me, Holy Week is the perfect time to be in Manila. Everything's quiet. There's no traffic. Malls are still open. And you can enjoy your own perfect spot on Roxas Boulevard while waiting for Manila's famed sunset.