Up and About at Uptown Bonifacio

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With the core of the commercial district of Fort Bonifacio (AKA the Bonifacio Global City) now almost fully developed, development activities have started to go beyond the core and pretty much develop every corner of the vast former military complex. For developer Megaworld, it concentrated on developing the northern part of Fort Bonifacio into one of their townships called Uptown Bonifacio.

At this time of writing, development is in full swing as residential and commercial buildings are being built in the area. But if there is one thing going for it, it’s that it will directly benefit with the planned bridge that will connect Fort Bonifacio to Ortigas Center, which is expected to be completed by 2020.

For the meantime, the key components of Uptown Bonifacio have been completed in 2016: Uptown Parade and its bigger twin Uptown Mall.

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The Messy Saga of the Mile Long-Sunvar Complex

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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.

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A reflection on my 8th year

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Eight years ago today, I started this humble venture out of a great deal of interest and passion to write about the metropolis I was born and raised in. Normally I would reminisce at this time as to how far this venture has come, with so much happening in the blogging realm and in my personal life, let me also take this opportunity to be in a more reflective mood, to the say the least.

image by ryomaandres | CC-BY-SA 3.0

Thus, I can’t help but look back to where I was 8 years ago. At that time, I was wandering aimlessly in the blogosphere, having started and eventually abandoned 2 blogs as the passion to continue them died out. At the same time, I was starting to feel dissatisfied with my career in that crazy BPO environment where I was at the time. I needed a diversion from it all, where I can be more loose and free to talk about the things I’ve long been interested in that few, if at all, seem to share in one way or another.

Given the state of affairs I was in at the time, I found it an opportune time to revive an old idea that I had, though it was originally intended to be some sort of a TV show that I actually went as far as pitching it to Probe Productions. Yeah, I was young and foolish, more so back then. But I learned my lesson at that point: if you want to do things right as they should, you have to do it yourself, somehow in some way.

After much thought and deliberation, I finally got around into working on the site, albeit with that lingering feeling of uncertainty if my passion for this project will be enough for me to stick around longer as a blogger. And the rest, they say, is history.

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Makati’s Little Tokyo

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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