Recently, the Urban Roamer came across an interesting news item through one of Facebook groups dealing with Philippine heritage news and issues. The news item was actually part of a series of reports broadcasted on CNN Philippines last February that talked about the “restoration” of the old Ayuntamiento de Manila building to become the new home of the Bureau of the Treasury. It would have been an interesting read, had not it been for the maliciously anti-heritage slant put forth by the report of Fiona Nicolas, which put the restoration as “costly” and that the Php 1.188B spent on this project would have been better spent elsewhere like poverty alleviations,…
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Ideas Immortalized: Telling the Story of the University of the Philippines
The University of the Philippines is one institution that needs no introduction. Just mention UP and people express their awe to show how much they look up to this university, the country’s premier university where many of the country’s brightest minds sprang from. UP’s status and prestige today makes one overlook how far it has come ever since it was established more than a century ago. Then again, not many know the story of the university’s early years, the struggles and the triumphs it encountered during that pioneering period in UP’s history. That was, until the Museum of a History of Ideas opened in UP’s Manila campus last October 22, 2014.
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A Visit to the First United Building Community Museum
So much has been said about Escolta Street and its glory days as a premier center of commerce in Manila, its eventual fall from grace after World War II, and the current efforts to revitalize commercial activity here again. With the state of things in the city these days, such efforts are admittedly a tall order. Nevertheless, the work continues with much vigor and passion, thanks to the various groups and individuals with their unceasing love for Escolta and their common dream to see it reclaim its glory as Manila’s “queen of streets.” One of those stakeholders happen to be the owners of the First United Building, the Syliantengs whose have been deeply rooted in Escolta…
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The Arches of Manila Chinatown
The last Araw ng Maynila was an occasion to formally inaugurate the new Manila Chinatown arch located in Plaza Moraga at the foot of Jones Bridge in Binondo, Manila. It is said to be the world’s largest Chinatown arch at 63.8 feet high and 74 feet wide (1.62 meters high and 1.88 meters wide if you prefer the metric system) and was installed as part of an effort for tourism and the revitalization of Chinatown and the city in general, which has been the cornerstone of the administration of former president turned city mayor Joseph Estrada. Nevertheless, not everyone is thrilled to have it, even the Filipino-Chinese community in the city,…
