So many things have been going about these past few days around the metropolis that it is proper to do another edition of the Roamer’s Roundup. This edition is packed with many interesting stories around the city; check them out below for the lowdown.
Manuel Quezon
MLQ in QC: The Quezon Heritage House
Manuel L. Quezon (MLQ) is a figure known by many honors and accolades. For this entry on this month known as Quezon month, we will deal with one such distinction as the “Father of Quezon City,” a city he originally conceived as the capital city of the Philippines before things got screwy and leaving those dreams unfulfilled. (the full story could be found in a previous piece here)
That being said, questions have lingered in the minds of some people over the years as to whether Quezon made residence in the vicinity of the current city named after him. It has been known that the Quezons used to live somewhere in Pasay (back in those pre-reclamation and pre-urban congested days when it was a scenic neighborhood that enjoyed the Manila Bay) as where other prominent families resided as well. Thus it was a pleasant surprise to learn that Quezon and his family did live in what is now Quezon City, in particular in the emerging neighborhood of New Manila.
The residences of New Manila
During the American colonial period in the Philippines, particularly during the 1920’s-1930’s, the country’s capital city Manila was experiencing unprecedented progress and commercial expansion. Along with it came the creeping problems brought about by such progress, though back then, they were as grave as they are today.
For Manila’s upper and middle class families, these changes brought out much stress that they consider moving to Manila’s outskirts or suburbs instead. This was not left unnoticed by the property developers of the time as they scrambled to develop what was then a vast wilderness found a few kilometers outside the city limits.
The soul of Quezon City (part 2): the Quezon Memorial Shrine Museum
While the administration of the Quezon Memorial Circle is handled by the Quezon City Government, the Quezon Memorial Shrine on the other hand is being administered by the National Historical Commission, not only because of the significance of the structure itself, but also because of the heritage it holds inside: a rich throve of memorabilia related to Manuel Quezon.
At the foot of the shrine is a small museum dedicated to Quezon, one of the few examples of a dedicated presidential museum in the country. The best thing about this place is that it is open to the general public for free; rather, it encourages donations from the visiting public as a way to help keep the museum’s maintenance running.