When President Manuel L. Quezon said, "I prefer a country run like hell by Filipinos to a country run like heaven by Americans." I'm sure he never thought that his wish would come true quite literally.
Senator Alfredo Lim was right when he berated the City Government of Manila for its greed. Two educational institutions in Tondo, both integral parts of Manila's heritage, and providers of free education to no less than 10,000 students in Tondo, will soon give way to shopping malls. Oh how Atienzic!
And the good senator and former mayor could not have said it better: "These two lands, inseparably identified with institutions devoted to education and imbued with memories of the Manileños’ past, having existed for decades as public schools, accommodating no less than 10,000 poor students of Tondo, for free, the Rajah Sulayman High School and Jose Abad Santos High School, are awaiting their unexpected and dreaded demise, as their death certificates have been signed by no less than the City Council, with the death sentence struck - with a thumb-up sign, by its City Mayor. As heralded, from the schools’ burial sites will rise luxurious malls: the stereotypical symbols of the modern care-free lifestyle – luxurious wares, expensive foods, entertainment centers, fully air-conditioned establishments."
He adds, "Without a doubt, this is the voice of gold, the whisper of wealth, heard and heeded by ears of avarice and greed."
The article Lust for silver triumphs over Filipino heritage was published in two part in Malaya on November 15 and 16.
OT: I updated my Multiply site and added some background music. Did you know that the instrument used in the Lonely Planet theme is the kubing, a jaw harp from the Philippines?
Manila is in great need of additional shopping malls! :-(
ReplyDeleteYup, Atienza is indeed right... Manila is in need of more shopping malls! Sigh!
ReplyDeleteLooks like their earnings are not enough. Haha!
And let me add... Atienza is really on a roll!
ReplyDeleteHe allowed the demolition the YMCA designed by Architect William Parsons and replaced it with SM City Manila; ordered the demolition of the Art Deco Jai Alai Building designed by renowned architect Welton Beckett and replaced it with nothing, now a vacant lot; allowed the demolition of the San Lazaro Hippodrome, former home of the Manila Jockey Club, the first racing club in Asia, and replaced it with SM City San Lazaro; chopped trees in Manila's last lung, the Arroceros Forest Park, and replaced it with some DepEd building which could have been built elsewhere; built a park and ride facility on one of Manila's richest archaeological sites, the Mehan Gardens; nearly demolished the charming Paco Railroad Station leaving an empty shell, where another shopping mall is being built right beside it; allowed the demolition of the Avenue Theater designed by National Artist Juan Nakpil, one of the few structures in Avenida which survived WWII, so that it could be converted into a parking lot... indeed, Atienza's Patayin ang MayniLA program is on a roll!
Gosh! Thanks for those info. Kala ko OK si Atienza, yun pala taga-sira sya ng landmarks ng Maynila. Shame on him!
ReplyDeleteOh my god... how can he do that? Some politician! I hope he doesn't get re-elected this coming election. Poor children... education is the greatest wealth, can they not appreciate that?
ReplyDeleteis there nothing someone, anyone, can do? how can we just keep our eyes closed on such callous disregard of our heritage...and our future?
ReplyDeletemagtutuloy-tuloy pa yan if nothing is done soon. i hope no other city/place is experiencing this kind of slaughter. something must be done.
No wonder Manila is like a person without a soul - a man not knowing his past.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen most people in Manila today,they look like lost sheeps,because their quickly loosing their identity as a people belonging to a mall culture,which is actually empty culture.Thanks very much,Mayor Atienza!And Alas,the next mayor will probably be another Atienza.Hurray!NOT!!!
ReplyDeleteyour allie,
alex etcuban