Walking By Pasig River, Erstwhile River Of Life

Thursday, 24 June 2010, was declared a special non-working holiday within the City of Manila on the occasion of its foundation. Manila is one of the 17 cities that make up the Metropolitan Manila, also referred to as Manila, a fact that may at first sound confusing to any non-local trying to find his way in and out of the area.

Pasig River of yore (picture from this site)

Manila was born on the eastern banks of Pasig River, or Ilog Pasig. The historic Pasig River bisects the city and for centuries has served as the center of the city's trade, transport and livelihood. It has been said in legends that the Pasig River was the River Of Life, that it was teeming with fish and that one can actually drink the water from the river.

Toilet bowl of Manila? (photo from this site)

The image of Ilog Pasig as the source of life never existed as far as my consciousness is concerned. Before I was born, the river has already succumbed to the crutches of industrialisation. By 1990, the Pasig River was declared biologically dead. Efforts are being made to revive Ilog Pasig throughout the years, with the goal to convert it into a “zero toxic and clean river zone". It is a valiant but enormously daunting task, since the entire Metro Manila, having not figured out still how to dispose of its thousands of tons of trash that it produces daily, continues to dump most of its wastes in the river, as well as in Laguna De Bay and Manila Bay.

Pasig River, houses along the bank, and the high-rise buildings of Makati

Clean-up: Pasig River. At the background are the buildings of the Rockwell compound

A portion of the Pasig River separates Mandaluyong and Makati City, and this part of the river is a 15-minute walk away from where I live. A few days ago I was walking along the banks of Pasig River, imagining it to be as alive as the River Seine, or Thames, or Nile, or one of those well-known rivers that gave rise to most of the great cities in the world. Instead, what I experienced was visual and olfactory assault (as if I did not expect this anyway).

Floaters

I do know that everyone who cares about Manila has to do his share in the revival process. (It shocks me to see people willfully throwing their trash anywhere they please.) There is a lot of work to be done before the Pasig River begins to show signs of life once again. The biggest problem that can be linked to the revival of the Pasig River is definitely urban waste disposal. Unless this major concern is addressed, we can only watch the waters of a once vibrant river dredge into the murky depths of urban decay.

Happy Father's Day

Today is Father's Day and the malls are packing it up as expected.

Right this moment, however, rains are pouring like crazy in the Makati area. Hopefully the rains have not marred much the celebration of families.

To the fathers of the world, Happy Father's Day! Malls or no malls, rains or no rains. :)

Ngayon, Ika-12 ng Hunyo, ay Araw Ng Kalayaan

Ang kalayaan ay isang karapatan.

Philippine Independence Day 2010: June 12 It Shall Be, Not July 4, Not June 14

This Year's upcoming observance of Independence Day is quite unlike what we had the past few years. Yesterday, Senator Benigno Aquino III (known as the only son of the martyr senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. and the first female President of the country Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino) and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay were proclaimed as the new president and vice-president of the Republic. This marks the end of the controversial 9-year tenure of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Yes, at last.

(But not quite, for she won a slot in the congress, which is such a weird thing. A president who ran for a seat in the congress? Only in the Philippines: you can say that again.)

Too bad that the nation has to put up again with another one of these PGMA "oddities". While Philippine Independence day is traditionally celebrated on June 12 of every year, June 14, 2010, a Monday, was declared a national non-working holiday. June 12 falls on a Saturday, and the present government has made it a rule-of-thumb rule of theirs to "move" holidays to the nearest Monday.

“President Arroyo has declared Monday, 14 June, a holiday in celebration of our 112th Philippine Independence Day on Saturday, June 12. PGMA invoked Proclamation 1841 (July, 2009) to implement a law authorizing the moving of holidays to the nearest Monday. Under said law, the President is required to issue a proclamation listing the moved holidays and specific dates declared as non-working days... For this year’s Independence Day celebration, the National Historical Commission lined up activities including a parade highlighting accomplishments of the Arroyo Administration... and providing commuters free rides on MRT and LRT trains... Cultural shows and mini-job fairs will be held at Rizal Park.” (The Philippine Star, May 28)

This annoying penchant of the PGMA government to move holidays to the nearest weekend is part of its "Holiday economics" policy. During her tenure, Arroyo signed Republic Act 9492, “an act rationalizing the celebration of holidays". Except holidays with religious significance, all national holidays that fall on a weekend are moved to the nearest Monday. This law was passed to "maximize" the weekend for government and private employees and was actually geared towards improving local tourism.

Even June 12 was not exempted.

It is ironic that it was during the time of of her father, late President Diosdado Macapagal, that Republic Act No. 4166 was signed. This is the very law that declares June 12 to be the country's Independence Day.

It was on June 12, 1898, that independence from the Spanish rule was proclaimed by Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of the Republic. It was on this day that the Philippine flag that we know now was unfurled for the first time.

Not on July 4, which is also called the "Filipino-American Friendship Day" which is supposed to be the day that Philippines claimed its independence from the United States of America.

And certainly, not on June 14.

By the end of the month we will be having a new president, and essentially, a new government. (Hopefully, I reiterate.) I am by nature pragmatic regarding matters concerning Philippine politics. However, judging on the huge turnout during last May 2010 elections, the zeal of the people to participate in the democratic process, and the cumulative sense of joy that seemed to have pervaded in the halls of the Batasang Pambansa were the proclamation was held last night, things do look quite bright and hopeful this time.

Hope. It seems to be the national byword in these times, in spite of the daunting task to give the Philippine government and economy a make-over. Hope to put an end to "June 14" Independence Day celebrations, among many many other ills.

Mabuhay ang tunay na Araw ng Kalayaan!

*****Photos of Philippine Independence from this site.

A Stroll Somewhere Near The Street Where I Live, 8PM Saturday Night

If you have been reading my posts and are quite familiar with Manila, you may have probably deduced this by now. I live in Makati City, one of the cities in the Metro Manila area (also called the National Capital Region) and known as the financial capital of the Philippines. To many, Makati City conjures images of high-rise buildings, swanky restaurants, traffic, posh shops. The truth is, Makati City has many surprising faces.

The area where I live is part of the original Makati, the so-called "Old Makati". It is a very congenial, relatively quiet residential area nestled in an elevated portion of Barangay Poblacion, and yet the mall, market, bakery, eateries, church, school, and the main streets are just within walking distance. Very convenient.

Yesterday, Saturday night, I went out of the house to buy some bread from the nearby bakery. I deferred going out for the weekend, so it was rather unusual for me to be walking around the Makati Avenue, P. Burgos Street, and Polaris Street at 8 o'clock in the evening.

The night was young, very young. How many times have I heard this observation? Many major Asian cities sleep very late, if at all. Makati City, probably one of the cities in Metro Manila with the most dynamic nightlife, is definitely no exception. Eight o'clock in the evening is too early for the night creatures.

Anyway, let me show you around the area.

For purposes of simplicity, I start my stroll here. Senator Gil Puyat Avenue, better known as Buendia Avenue, is one of the major roads of Makati City. This is the intersection of Buendia and Makati Avenue.

McDonald's, Makati Avenue, corner Jupiter Street. Hamburger culture is alive and well this part of Asia. This particular branch is open 24 hours.

Jollibee, Makati Avenue. The biggest selling hamburger fastfood chain in the Philippines. The biggest-selling fastfood chain in the Philippines, for that matter. McDonald's biggest headache. Where there is Jollibee, expect a McDonald's a few steps away. And vice versa.

Mang Inasal, Makati Avenue corner Jupiter Street, across McDonald's. A relatively young but fast-growing fastfood chain. Mang Inasal serves chicken inasal (a highly debatable term, some quarters define " chicken inasal" as chicken that is cooked over direct fire) and this is one place that I always see to be full, any time of the day.

Green mango pushcart vendor, Makati Avenue. One of the many streetfood-vending carts that can be found in Manila. While they may be bought unpeeled, the green, or unripe, mangoes are sold peeled and sliced, and are usually eated with salt or shrimp paste.

Matrix Bar, P. Burgos Street. For some folks, nightlife starts early. I have never seen the front of this bar empty. Most of the patrons are expatriates enjoying their beer or coffee.

There is a part of P. Burgos Street that has earned a rather notorious reputation of being the new red-light district area. Are they or are they not? For purposes of protection, the faces of the ladies have been digitized.

Another food-vending pushcart along P. Burgos Street. This one sells rice porridge, or "lugaw".

Wang Market, Polaris Street. A Korean grocery. This area of Makati has seen the rapid proliferation of Koreans these past few years.

Heckle and Jeckle Bar, Polaris Street. This is a rather popular joint among the expats. It is one of the bars in the area that show rugby matches, football games, and other sports events. This place actually overflows during a football match, and with the World Cup just around the corner, Heckle and Jeckle will be really really lively soon. Goooooaaaaalllll! Yeeeeeessss!

I end our little stroll here, hopefully this gave you some idea on how it is like in my area on an early weekend evening. More road trips in the posts to come.