The 2007 Philippine Blog Awards: Ivan About Town is Best Travel Blog!

Ivan About Town was named Best Travel Blog at 2007 Philippine Blog Awards! I found out about it from text messages of fellow finalists Bikoy and Karlo who were there at the event. It was depressing not being able to attend since I had wanted to meet fellow bloggers whom I've known only through their blogs. But it was physically impossible for me to travel from Batangas City to Makati in time for the event.

Again, my heartfelt gratitude goes to the organizers, judges, volunteers and fellow bloggers who made this event a great success! Do let me know when the next Pinoy bloggers' gathering is. My appreciation goes as well to all of you who take time to read what I have to say. Let's all travel around the Philippines! It's such a beautiful country! Thanks again!

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Manila: More travel notes from Manila

Today, I was at Intramuros again. I had invited my brod Bikoy Villanueva to join me and my tokayo, Ivan ManDy around Manila. We met up at the Bahay Tsinoy Museum where we got a lecture on Tsinoy History 101. From there, we walked towards the San Agustin Church since I was going to meet with Fr. Pedro Galende, director of the San Agustin Museum, regarding the plans to reconstruct the Second Monastery. It turns out, the San Agustin issue was a false alarm. The photos which circulated among cultural workers on the net are from an old design idea that never became a plan.

I mentioned to Fr. Galende that they should not have displayed those design ideas on the second floor of the museum. Anyway, the blue prints of the current plans are now on display on the first floor, an exterior reconstruction that was approved by UNESCO itself. The current design came about from several technical working group meetings with representatives from the National Museum, NHI, NCCA and IA and HCS members.

Fr. Galende was very receptive. He in fact wants feedback on the current design if there are any and requested me to relay the same to him. I posted the current plans above (there are several panels in San Agustin) for everyone's information.

From San Agustin, we decided to walk towards the Binondo area. While we were on the Jones Bridge, we saw the Pasig River Ferry docked in the Escolta Station and rushed to check it out. The next station, Sta. Ana, was just 30 minutes away so we decided to hop on board. We spent PHP25 each one-way.

There are several proposed stations along the Pasig River from Del Pan Bridge close to the mouth of the river up to Sta. Elena in Marikina. At the moment, four are already operational namely Escolta, Sta. Ana, Hulo and Guadalupe.

We weren't able to take photos during the more scenic part of the ferry ride because of security concerns. I wonder what the paranoia is all about, all these restrictions on taking photos of Malacanang. During my ferry rides in Bangkok and Singapore, I was able to take photos of the Grand Palace and Parliament House respectively. That's why I found this restriction especially absurd since after Malacanang, the river becomes black, the stench of the water becomes unbearable, and from old colonial buildings, you see the Pandacan Oil Depot, warehouses, factories, squatters and garbage among others!

From the Sta. Ana Station, we walked a few meters to the Sta. Ana Church, a national cultural treasure. The retablo is among the best in Metro Manila. In fact, I believe it's the most intact church complex in Manila with its convento and all.

After that brief tour of the church, we rushed back to the station to catch the ferry back to Escolta only to wait for thirty more minutes since the ferry was late. I hope they are able to perfect the arrival and departure times especially when more stations open. We went to the nearest Chinese restaurant along Escolta for dinner. I was craving for hot and sour soup so we ordered a bowl. We also had some siomai, beef spareribs and fried rice.

After dinner, since I was craving for dumplings, we went to Dong Bei to munch on their popular dumplings, pancakes and noodles. While we were eating, we found out our vehicles were locked inside the Bahay Tsinoy. And since they had an alarm system, we couldn't get them until the next day! So all of us had to commute home. Oh well!

Thanks to Bikoy for our photos in San Agustin and the Pasig River Ferry. Check out Bikoy.net for his account of our trip.

Heritage candidate
Val Sandiego, head of the Carcar Heritage Conservation Society, is probably the first candidate ever in the Philippines to run on a heritage-based platform. Sandiego is a candidate for Mayor in Carcar, the most important heritage town in Cebu province. More details here.

Manila: Quiapo, heart of Manila

I just came from the book launching of Quiapo: Heart of Manila. The back cover of the book reads: "Quiapo district in the City of Manila is more than the Nazarene and Quezon Boulevard. It has excelled in painting, music, cooking and the arts. It harbors landmarks which are unique in the world. It is also neighborhoods in charming 1900s settings. In revitalizing the metropolis, Manila's centuries-old districts deserve as much care as the suburbs."

The welcome message of Dr. Fernando N. Zialcita, anthropologist and professor at the Ateneo de Manila University, really set the tone for the book and Quiapo as a unique district. And it would be a pity if I did not feature excerpts here since it was very informative and at times, intriguing. Here are some interesting parts of his speech:

"If Quiapo were in Melbourne, the rich and famous would be scrambling to live in it." These are the words of Dr. Trevor Hogan, an Australian sociologist who taught some courses in urbanism at the Far Eastern University over five years ago and who loved the streets, alleys and corners of Quiapo. I run the Bahay Nakpil-Bautista center for culture in Quiapo. We get visitors from the different embassies, like the Spanish and French embassies, who come on their own. Employees in the Department of Tourism tell us that they now get many requests for information on Quiapo.

But why Quiapo? Isn't it dirty, polluted and crime-ridden? Why do foreigners enjoy exploring the side-streets?

The heart of major cities abroad is not the shopping mall, not the gated communities but districts like Quiapo, where the rich, the middle class and the poor mix together, where your place of work is close to where you live, where the streets are lively throughout the day, and where there are beautiful historical landmarks.

In addition, there are experiences unique to Quiapo. Calle Hidalgo may now be disorderly; but it still points like an arrow to San Sebastian Church. "The street is like a stage-set" exclaimed a young Italian architect. Calle San Sebastian may be a small winding street. But it has beautiful 1920s mansions over which San Sebastian rises. On special days, the entire church is lit up. If you walk around the district, you will find inspiring scenes. For instance, between the accesorias decorated with ornate balusters and grilles, you will find patios where neighbors exchange stories while sharing steaming arroz caldo.

Quiapo is where different cultures meet. The bells of Quiapo Church alternate with the sacred call to prayer at the Golden Mosque. On another street, the Ocampo Pagoda shows off Japanese icons: carp for strength, a turtle for long-life, a dragon for Imperial majesty. You can enjoy this mixed experience only in Quiapo, the heart of Manila which is the heart of the Philippines. One of the many reasons we wrote the book was to show that if Quiapo were more orderly, it will be a showpiece.

Indeed, Quiapo is a showpiece. I finally got to walk along Hidalgo Street which Butch Zialcita had always been telling us about. For the longest time, there had been plans to revitalize the street as a heritage district which was supposed to be spearheaded by the Manuel L. Quezon University (MLQU) located along the street. But that was ages ago.

Several years have passed. The fabled and historic Enriquez Mansion, the birthplace of the UP School of Fine Arts which was housed there from 1909 to 1926, had already been ripped out of the heritage street and transferred to that property in Bagac, Bataan leaving a large empty space in what would have been the centerpiece of the heritage street. But there is still hope if we act fast. And I hope the professors there get their acts together and start working to rehabilitate their area the same way that the Far Eastern University made a great effort to clean up and prepare a rehabilitation plan for Nicanor Reyes Street and its environs.

I missed the program at the Bahay Nakpil-Bautista along Bautista (formerly Barbosa) Street where an exhibit on Juan Nakpil, national artist for architecture, was opened. The house was designed by equally renowned architect Juan Arellano for Dr. Ariston Bautista and his in-laws, the Nakpil family. I came just in time to catch the group which included Butch, restoration architect Mico Manalo, Manila streetwalker Ivan ManDy, and bloggers Sidney Snoeck, Eric Isaac, Tito Basa among many others out of the heritage house, down Hidalgo Street (which was formerly known as Calle San Sebastian) towards the current Calle San Sebastian where the book launching was going to be held.

The street actually has several American-era houses, among them the Yturralde House, which Butch mentioned was once used as the consulate of Monaco.

Sadly, from a cultural event, it had turned into a campaign rally of the Lord Mayor of Manila. Students from the Unibersidad de Manila were there in full force serving as Lito Atienza's overacting cheering squad. Every time his name was mentioned, or when Atienza referred to the kabataan ng Maynila (youth of Manila) or UDM students in his speech, they would erupt in a choreographed applause and shout out the name of Atienza in chorus. After the program, I found out why they were there: students were scrambling to sign attendance forms! Poor kids, being used for political purposes. It was funny because the real guests, those who would have gone even if they weren't forced to attend, just sat silently every time the group of students would erupt in applause. So who did the mayor's "spin doctors" fool? Definitely not me.

Anyway, I hope that while he is not busy campaigning for his son, the mayor reads the copy of the book which Butch had given him so he would know what real heritage conservation is all about. After I got Butch to sign my book, I left in a rush since I had to catch a family dinner in Libis. Now I’m home preparing for my finals week next week. Time for me to get back to my school work.

Check out my interview on the Philippine Blog Awards in The Four-eyed Journal.

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New book relives old Quiapo
Enriquez antique mansion goes kaput!

Heritage watch
Palawan wildlife trade: an alarming issue

SSEAYP 2007
Application for SSEAYP 2007 is ongoing. This is open to all Filipino citizens, 18 to 30 years old on April 1, 2007. Download the forms here. Deadline for application is April 30, 2007.

Finalists of the Philippine Blog Awards 2007

I got a pleasant surprise when I woke up this morning from my brod Bikoy Villanueva who informed me that both our blogs were named finalists in our respective categories at the Philippine Blog Awards. This blog is one of five finalists for the travel category. Wow! I also found out that Karlo de Leon made it too as one of the finalists for the photo blog category.

Looking back, this blog has indeed brought me places, both literally and figuratively. For me, being named a finalist is recognition enough! My appreciation goes to the panel for considering this blog and to all of you who visit and take time to read it. Good luck to all the finalists!

Read about my latest roadtrip here.

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I just found out while bloghopping tonight that this blog is also one of the finalists of the Blog - Personal category of the DigitalFilipino.com Web Awards. To the DigitalFilipino.com Club, thank you very much!

Manila: The Intramuros controversies continue

There's a new controversy in Intramuros. And it's about the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Metro Manila, the San Agustin Church. Do you want to find out what they plan to construct beside Fr. Blanco's Garden? The Manila Times column of Rene Martel says it all. Check out Random Jottings: God and mammon join hands at Intramuros.

There are actually some inaccuracies in the column. The new seminary won't be built in the garden itself. I actually asked Fr. Galende about this via e-mail and he assured me that the new seminary will be built on the original footprint of the former Second Monastery. I think what many people are uncomfortable about is the exterior design since I was told many have opposed it from the very beginning but to no avail. I would have to agree with the observations of Pinoy_ako in the SkyscraperCity Forums.

I am personally not against the construction of a new seminary. In fact, I am for it especially since we want to keep Intramuros alive (the Augustinians are the last order that remain in the walled city). At the same time there used to be a structure where the proposed seminary will built. However, I am also uncomfortable with the exterior design which many argue is not proper for a UNESCO World Heritage Site like San Agustin.

I would be all praises if they built the new seminary as a faithful exterior restoration of the Second Monastery with up-to-date interiors such as that mock-up of the Augustinian Provincialate built just across the street. It would even be great if they can rebuild that bridge which used to connect the two buildings.

On the sports complex issue, it was on the front page of the Manila Times yesterday. Several articles came out:
Ugly side of Tourism Authority revealed
Former PTA heads want Gen. Mgr. Barbers charged
What is behind Barbers’ insistence on this project?

The good news is that Archt. Toti Villalon's column is back! Check out Pride of Place: Monumental Legacy. Don't forget to read my other posts on the Intramuros controversies: Protect the walls of Intramuros! and Inside the walls of Intramuros.