In the shadows of an ancient cathedral in the Philippine capital, wilting horses attached to carriages shelter from the tropical sun as their drivers try to interest the few tourists milling around.
Hawkers exhibit sombreros, fans and rosaries on the pavement nearby but few buyers are in sight — a depressingly familiar scenario for Manila’s historic tourist district centered on the colonial Spanish walled city of Intramuros.
Tourists generally skip old Manila in their rush to Boracay and some of the nation’s other tropical islands, but the new government of Philippine President Benigno Aquino is hoping to entice them to linger a little longer.
PHOTO: AFP
“Intramuros should be the top tourist attraction in Manila,” Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim, who has been in the post since June, said in a recent interview.
“We should build museums, we have so many beautiful artefacts that are sitting in warehouses, it’s almost criminal that they’re going to waste and that they’re deteriorating,” he said.
The archipelago’s cultural history includes three centuries as a Spanish colony that ended in 1898, followed by nearly half a century under US rule.
But Manila, which was once dubbed the “Pearl of the Orient”, is now better known for its sprawling slums and widespread poverty than its architectural and cultural riches.
Much of the architecture that made it one of Asia’s most intriguing cities was destroyed during World War II, when US bombs rained down to oust the occupying Japanese forces.
Efforts by post-war architects to rebuild Manila’s ruined churches were not a success because they lacked experience and technology, said Paulo Alcazaren, architect and founder of the Heritage Conservation Society.
“The conservation during that period was pretty primitive. They tried to replicate the original stone with concrete blocks and cement,” he said.
Nevertheless, nuggets of historical gold can still be found in old Manila.
Among them is the shell of Intramuros, built by the Spanish rulers as their walled enclave and where they executed Philippine revolutionary hero Jose Rizal.
Another is the Romanesque-Byzantine Manila Cathedral, which was originally constructed in 1581 and then rebuilt six times after being destroyed by earthquakes, fires and bombing.
Nearby the Spanish-era San Augustin Cathedral is guarded at the entrance by Chinese lion statues, a legacy of the Philippines’ long history of immigrants from China.
For Carlos Celdran, whose theatrical tours of the churches and nearby Intramuros are a must-see for any visitor, tourists who skip old Manila miss an opportunity to explore a historical melting pot of cultures unique in Asia.
“Our Hispanic past is unique for the region ... for a Korean tourist a Catholic church is really exotic,” Celdran said.
When tourists do stay in the Philippine capital before hitting the island resorts, many of them end up staying in hotels in the swanky Makati area, which was built on the site of a former airport after World War II.
Makati is now Manila’s financial heart, as well as an expat-haven with designer shopping malls, international hotels, chic bars and up-market restaurants.
But Celdran said old Manila was more authentic.
“Makati will always show you what the Philippines wants to be ... glitzy, shiny, new, controlled, instead of showing you what we really are ... unbridled and gloriously chaotic,” he said.
Celdran and Alcazaren see potential for Manila’s old quarter, but believe it should be redeveloped as part of a broader project encompassing the port area of Manila Bay.
Manila Bay is renowned for its golden sunsets, which can be enjoyed over a cocktail on the terrace of the Manila Hotel, a US colonial-era building that once included the Beatles among its celebrity guests.
Celdran said Manila’s port area, with its palm-tree-lined boardwalk, had the potential to be the Philippines’ version of Miami in the US.
Yet for the time being, visitors seeking a sunset vista are more likely to encounter half-naked street children scavenging along the litter-strewn beach with a putrid smell of pollution wafting off the sea.
EVOLVING SITUATION: Of the latest cases, 23 percent were found to be asymptomatic, but the coronavirus strain in Da Nang is more contagious, authorities said A COVID-19 outbreak that began in the Vietnamese city of Da Nang more than a week ago has spread to at least four city factories with a combined workforce of about 3,700, state media reported yesterday. Four cases were found at the plants in different industrial parks in the central city that collectively employ 77,000 people, the Lao Dong newspaper said. Vietnam, praised widely for its decisive measures to combat the novel coronavirus since it first appeared in late January, is battling new clusters of infection having gone for more than three months without detecting any domestic transmissions. Authorities yesterday reported one new
‘COVIDIOTS’: Politicians condemned the protest that came amid surging infections in the country, while a marcher said government-induced fear weakened the body Loudly chanting their opposition to masks and vaccines, thousands of people on Saturday gathered in Berlin to protest against COVID-19 restrictions before being dispersed by police. Police put turnout at about 20,000 — well below the 500,000 organizers had announced as they urged a “day of freedom” from months of virus curbs. Despite Germany’s comparatively low toll, authorities are concerned at a rise in infections over the past few weeks and politicians took to social media to criticize the rally as irresponsible. “We are the second wave,” shouted the crowd, a mixture of hard left and right and conspiracy theorists, as they converged
The Australian government yesterday said that it plans to give Google and Facebook three months to negotiate with media businesses fair pay for news content. In releasing a draft of a mandatory code of conduct, Canberra aims to succeed where other nations have failed in making tech firms pay for news siphoned from commercial media companies. Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said that Google and Facebook would be the first platforms targeted by the proposed legislation, but others could follow. “It’s about a fair go for Australian news media businesses, it’s about ensuring that we have increased competition, increased consumer protection and a sustainable
SURGE CONTINUES: India recorded its steepest spike of more than 57,000 new virus cases in 24 hours, as Vietnam went from no virus deaths to reporting three South Korean prosecutors yesterday arrested the elderly leader of a secretive religious sect as part of an investigation into allegations that the church hampered the government’s COVID-19 response after thousands of worshipers were infected in February and March. Prosecutors in the central city of Suwon have been questioning 88-year-old Lee Man-hee, chairman of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, over charges that the church hid some members and underreported gatherings to avoid broader quarantines. The Suwon District Court granted prosecutors’ request to arrest Lee over concerns that he could temper with evidence. Lee and his church have steadfastly denied the accusations, saying they are
RSS