Last Saturday was the 446th foundation day of the city of Manila, the country’s capital.
Any city would love to have the many unique historical attractions that Manila has because of its unrivaled past. To name just a few, Manila has Malacañan Palace, the seat of government and the official residence and workplace of the President of the Philippines. It has Intramuros and Rizal or Luneta Park, which have both seen so many significant moments in Philippine history.
It has neoclassical architectural wonders like the Old Congress Building (now the National Museum), the Department of Tourism Building, the Manila Post Office and the Manila City Hall. It has Manila Bay, with its world-famous golden sunset, and old districts like Quiapo, Binondo, Santa Cruz, Malate, Ermita and Escolta, as well as a good section of riverfront facing the Pasig River. There’s also Malate Church, one of the oldest churches outside Intramuros, and, beside it, Rajah Sulayman Park, one of the first and most beautiful plazas in Manila.
Manileños would be the first to admit that their beloved city today is a far cry from that during its heyday. Many of its once vibrant attractions have become dirty, dark and somewhat even dangerous at times.
The city has become overcrowded. Manila is the most densely populated city in the country with 42,628 people residing in a square kilometer of land, according to 2015 data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. Many of its 1.78 residents live in slums. There are large concentrations of poverty in its districts and, of course, with it, are also problems with sanitation, crime, prostitution and general disorder.
Foreign visitors taking tours in any of the famous sites we mentioned will not likely miss Manila’s blighted neighborhoods, shantytowns and dilapidated buildings. Even in the tourist belt of Malate, including the Manila Baywalk, they would see hordes of homeless people sleeping on pavements.
Perhaps after seeing the booming commercial hubs of Makati and Bonifacio Global City, or after being victimized by its criminal elements, these tourists might even wonder why Manila was made the country’s capital, a city once bestowed such prestigious titles, like “Pearl of the Orient” and “Paris of the East”.
Manila may well be in decay, its sorry state definitely hurting both the spirit and the economic state of its citizens, but Manileños would also be the first to tell you that all the grumbling about Manila and the volume of complaints about it can only add to its character.
Manileños may have seen a worsening of the quality of life in their beloved city, and this has tormented them surely, but it has not quite eroded their pride and love for it.
More than a few of them are working for a renaissance that could reverse its runaway decay and make it the city it was hoped to be and was once was—not only a mecca for tourists but a city where people really like to live and which residents can truly, proudly proclaim as their own.
From preserving old heritage structures and preventing them from being torn, to raising money for their upkeep, renovation and rehabilitation, Manila’s citizens and private businesses are working to restore the former glory of Manila knowing there is so much to treasure.
We truly hope that Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada’s administration could muster the political and financial resources that are needed to help in Manila’s renaissance. Together, both citizens and their city government can implement a real and doable agenda for urban revival—one that could reduce crime, congestion, poverty and unemployment in the city—and solve other pressing problems, like failing and overcrowded schools, inadequate public services and diminishing parks and open spaces.
“…Age after age, its lovers have hailed its rebirth or bewailed its perishing…” as one of its native sons and, certainly, its foremost chronicler, the late Nick “Quijano De Manila” Joaquin, wrote in his book “Manila, My Manila”.
Here’s hoping people would soon be revising their opinions about Manila and fall in love with the city all over again.