When the Japanese occupied Manila in January 1942, they took control of the then-newly established campus of University of Santo Tomas in the city’s Sampaloc district. With such a large tract of property and the large structures there that were already standing by that time, notably the UST Main Building and the old Education Building, (now occupied by the UST Hospital) the Japanese decided to convert the campus into an the Santo Tomas Internment Camp. The Japanese rounded up about 4,000 foreign individuals, mostly American and British nationals who were deemed as “hostile aliens” by the Japanese and isolated them in the different buildings in the campus, most notably the Main Building.…
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Legarda Elementary School: Manila’s Heritage School
There was a time when public schools in Manila, and in the Philippines as a whole, were regarded highly for two things: quality education (which at that time surpasses that of private schools) and their architectural quality were landmarks to behold. Today, public education is going through some tough times as it is being hounded with lack of resources and a growing student population that not many schools could accommodate. In the midst of all these, there is the Legarda Elementary School.
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The Vatican’s Manila Outpost
In the current flurry of activity in the papal visit of Pope Francis, one spot that has been getting much of the attention in the media and in the public at this time is the place where he is staying, the Apostolic Nunciature to the Philippines in Manila. In fact, the Nunciature also played home to the previous papal visits of Paul VI and John Paul II, following a standard procedure that visiting pontiffs would usually stay at the apostolic nunciature of the country they visit if there is such. Unfortunately, there is not much documentation, text or photos, of the Apostolic Nunciature here as the structure is obscured by high…
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The Saga of MLQU
Firstly, a disclosure: the Urban Roamer is an alumnus of the Manuel L. Quezon University. Technically, I only studied there for 2 1/2 years as a transfer student (long story) but considering this is the school from which I graduated, I suppose the MLQU aspect of my college education should weigh a bit more. Thus, my interest gets piqued with any news that comes my way about my alma mater, like the one I will be sharing later on in this post. But before we go further, I suppose this is a good opportunity as well to talk about this underrated institution in the heart of Manila.