Last February 6, 2018, the institution known before as San Beda College finally was granted by the Commission on Higher Education the status of being a university. For the San Beda community, it is a culmination of years of hard work to attain such a status.
Thus, it is fitting that the Urban Roamer pays tribute to the newly-christened university the focus in this particular entry as we learn the story of how it rose to become a premier institution in the metropolis and the country in general.
February may be a month of love for many or a time for celebrating the upcoming lunar new year this year. But it is also a month of tragedy as we remember that dark chapter in history that was the Battle of Manila which happened 73 years ago.
The Battle of Manila and the greater historical context that was the period of Japanese occupation in the Philippines from 1942 to 1945 has been considered as a part of history that people would rather forget. Part of that tragic tale is the story of the comfort women, young women in Japanese-controlled areas who were forced by the Japanese soldiers to be their sex slaves.
Last December, in memory of them and other women who suffered during the Japanese occupation, a monument was unveiled at the southern end of the Roxas Boulevard Baywalk. Depicting a blindfolded woman expressing worry and fear as to what will happen to her, the 7-foot bronze monument was seen at first as just another monument and World War II memorial, as with the many Memorare monuments in the city in remembrance of the war.
However, the Japanese Embassy in Manila thought otherwise and took offense that such a thing exists.
Catholics commemorate January 31 as the feast day of the Italian-born saint, St. John (Giovanni) Bosco, or more popularly known as Don Bosco (in which, by the way, the “Don” was more of affectionate title of respect given to priests in Italy). If you are not familiar with the man, you may be familiar through … Read more
Previously, we have discussed the matter of federalism and how it can help address the issue of congestion in Metro Manila for the region to achieve a more meaningful development. But as was pointed out last time, decongestion is just part of the equation to achieve this goal of a meaningful development. The other part of the equation is equally important, and that is governance.
Metro Manila, sadly, presently suffers from an ill-conceived system of government that has often prevented measures that would have enabled meaningful development for the metropolis. The thing is, Metro Manila today is nothing more than a set of 17 little kingdoms that have their own whims with no authority that administers over them, save for the President.
That is because these cities are classified as highly-urbanized cities. And under the 1987 Constitution (Article X, Section 12), highly-urbanized cities are considered as completely independent from the provinces, thus implying that these cities do not have an authority to answer to except to the President. (There’s the case of Pateros which is the only municipality in Metro Manila but being located in Metro Manila it is a de facto independent town in itself.)