If there is one piece of real estate in the metropolis that can be considered the most controversial of all, at least controversial enough to merit national attention, it would be that stretch of land from Dela Rosa Street up to Arnaiz Avenue (the former Pasay Road) in Makati, known as the Mile Long-Sunvar complex.
It is a controversy that had all the elements of a thrilling drama: a lengthy litigation, a struggle between government and a prominent business clan who also happens to own the country’s leading newspaper, and a dogged determination of a president who just hates this family’s guts. But for us to understand the controversy, it is important to learn how the properties and the controversy that came with them, began in the first place.
If there is one facet of Makati that not many people are aware about, it is that it has a vibrant Japanese neighborhood located at the fringe of the main business district. In particular, this Japanese neighborhood can be found along the stretch of Chino Roces Avenue and neighboring streets in the area approximately between … Read more
It was less than a month ago, to be exact on April 15 which was Black Saturday, when news of Alfonso Yuchengco’s death thrust the country’s business community in greater mourning since the passing of Mercury Drug’s founder Mariano Que the previous day.
Alfonso Yuchengco (photo courtesy of Alchetron)
Unlike many of the country’s taipans, Alfonso Yuchengco, known to many as AY, was born to an already prosperous family, thanks to the efforts of his father Enrique Yuchengco, a Fujian-born immigrant who managed to establish some thriving businesses, notably the China Insurance and Surety Company which became the leading non-life insurance company in the country. But to his credit, AY managed to grow the insurance business, evolving into what is now Malayan Insurance and expanding into other businesses such as life insurance with Grepalife (which eventually entered into a partnership with Sun Life to become Sun Life Grepa Financial), banking through Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), and education through his purchase of Mapua Institute of Technology.
In addition to being a businessman, AY also served as a diplomat, having served as ambassador to Japan, Korea, China, and even the United Nations. Not to mention having served as special envoy for a number of diplomatic missions.
Alfonso Yuchengco’s legacy, both positive and negative, is very much visible with the presence of his businesses in different parts of the country. But perhaps what stands out the most as far as his legacy is concerned is the iconic building at the corner of Ayala Avenue and Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue: the RCBC Plaza.
While the Nuestra Señora de Gracia Church is considered as Makati’s oldest structure, it was actually not in that location where the Makati that we know today was born. In fact, during the time the aforementioned church was built, Makati as a settlement had not been established yet and was still considered part of the thriving Santa Ana settlement which used to be the site of the pre-Hispanic Kingdom of Namayan.
The beginnings of Makati can be traced in 1608 (or 1607 as said in the marker), when the Jesuits received a donation of land from Captain Pedro de Brito, a military officer of the Spanish Crown who originally bought what was then a vast hilly swampland along the Pasig River. The Jesuits would proceed to build a Catholic church in the estate, right near the highest point of the newly acquired estate, hoping not only to evangelize the people to the Catholic faith but also to entice people to settle in what was then a barren landscape.
