BOO! BOO! BOO!

DOUCHE OF THE MONTH: THE HONOLULU ADVERTISER AND RICHARD HALLORAN

Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to present to you perhaps this year's worst article about the Philippines - both in content and it the way it was written. It's an article that is pointlessly denigrating, badly researched, badly written, and badly classified as the local news in the Honolulu Advertiser. Who the hell is this fart Richard Halloran? Why does he think we are in East Asia? Why won't he name the sources of some of his 'quotes'? And why was he given a damn Pulitzer Prize*? Wha? So please, tell me what you think. Click on the article HERE.

And while you are at it, tell him and the Honolulu Advertiser as well.

oranhall@hawaii.rr.com and @honadv

*And seriously, his Pulitzer doesn't say much. Look up another Pulitzer Prize winner named Walter Duranty (above)...

ADDENDUM AGAIN...

I'm even sadder today to lose the house on Madrid Street. It's more historically significant than I first thought. Just today, I received this letter...

Hi Carlos,
Sorry off topic from tours, but just about Casa Vizantina (Byzantine House) or the House on Madrid corner Penarubia. I have not attended your Binondo tour but actually did a partial study of this house (under cultural heritage management at UST Cultural Heritage Studies). Here's a part of my report with some pictures.

Statement of Significance:
The Casa Vizantina, made primarily of local hardwood, is aesthetically significant for being representative of the prevailing late 19th century Floral style bahay na bato in Binondo. The characteristics are evident in the delicate embellishments on the facade, including neo-Byzantine elements like slender colonettes and round wooden arches. The facade is significant for its use of quality Philippine hardwood and the workmanship involved in its creation. The facade and the house, forms part of an aesthetically and architecturally important street scape in San Nicolas, Binondo.

The house is important for its historic association with the development of Binondo as the prosperous center of commerce in 19th century Philippines. Moreover, it is associated with the rise of the principalia as the country opened up extensively to world trade. The house is one of the surviving three-storey structures from the 19th century that was once common in areas like Binondo that still retains most of its original fabric.

Partial History:
The house, along with the facade, built in 1890, was created by Don Lorenzo del Rosario. Don Lorenzo was a native principalia and one of the numerous building contractors in Binondo (De Viana, 2001). In 1886, he won the contract to renovate the Tribunal de Sangleyes. From 1914 to 1919, the house was leased out to Instituto de Manila to hold elementary and high school classes. It was a school until 1919 when the Instituto moved to its own building at Sampaloc and expand to become The University of Manila. Around after the second World War, the house was leased to various tenants.

The facade and the house forms part of the distinctive street scape of San Nicolas during its heyday, that has escaped the ravages of wars. The collective scale of the surviving structures are significant and reveal much about the history of San Nicolas and Binondo as the commercial capital of the country in the 19th century. On a broader scale, the structure reveals the context of the development of the Philippine economy during the later 19th century when the country opened itself to extensive world trade since the galleon trade ended. The cash crop economy presented more opportunities for entrepreneurial inhabitants from various parts of the country to economically prosper. This gave rise to the class of "Principalia", which included the educated Illustrados, who had more opportunities to study and travel. The period also saw the increased influx of foreign people, influences, and objects in the country that are revealed in the architecture of the later 19th century.

The attached pictures are from Instituto de Manila Annual The Golden Leaf.
Manila: Graduating Class, 1918 and 1920.

Sincerely,
Eliza Agabin

BOO! BOO! BOO!

I GIVE UP...

I didn't realize how much this would affect me. My heart is officially broken and I am a sniveling mess. I haven't slept well all week, I haven't left bed all day today, and this morning, I actually shed a tear in frustration (- and mind you, I never shed tears). All I kept thinking to myself was: Mayor Lim, why did you send The City of Manila back into the dark ages? The north side of the Pasig River is once again a crowded, traffic-choked mess since you started ripping out all the marble and pavement and returned asphalt and jeepneys to Rizal Avenue last Saturday. This is definitely not the best way to start your term. I am comletely unimpressed. As a matter of fact, I think I hate you.

I can't believe you changed this (above)...

To this (above)! And all for the motherfu*king jeepneys! I know you are on Erap (da jeepney drayber) Estrada's camp, but there must a better way to alleviate traffic than pandering to these undisciplined smoke belching death traps and wasting all the money we taxpayers spent on this urban renewal project. Please remember it was OUR money that was spent on the pedestrianization of Rizal Avenue - NOT ATIENZA'S! IF you had ever walked (or driven) in the area, you would have noticed that in the past year, the traffic flow had already settled into the new detour system. The newly widened Santa Cruz Plaza and accessway through F. Torres had really addressed the issue of congestion. There was no need to return Rizal Avenue to cars!! Your issues were outdated! That's how out of touch you are! How in heavens name could you possibly think opening up Rizal Avenue would be safer and more civilized for Manilenos!?? How will pedestrians cross the avenue to get from Santa Cruz Church to Quiapo Church now? How? HOW? In between the vehicles or through some overcrowded crossing?? Or should we all learn to fly? Gawd! I wonder how much worse things will be when you allow rallies to block traffic on Mendiola once again!

FYI, you all: My grief and anger for this regression has prompted me to cancel all my North Bank and ChinaTown tours until further notice. The dates you see posted on this blog will be the last that I ever do. I am just too pissed off and frustrated and it's just too painful to see the north side of the Pasig River go back to the medieval state that it was in back in the early nineties under your first term. For the last six years, I have been trying to convince people that Quiapo is a civilized spot for pedestrians/tourists/human beings only to have my efforts reversed by this one unenlightened act. I can't take it anymore.

Truth be told, I am this close to just throwing the towel in and fuc*king migrating to somewhere fricking else than here because of what Mayor Lim has done. See more heart wrenching pictures here on Senor Enrique's blog.

BOO! BOO! BOO!

BABOO ZOO!

Okay, just when I thought I heard the worst of it when it came to government development plans in the heart of downtown Manila, I stumble upon this. If the government's permission to construct a hideous sports complex in Intramuros, an inappropriate oceanarium in Rizal Park, and a high rise condominium in Adriatico circle seemed like the height of administrative chutzpah/neglect/idiocy, how about these current plans to destroy the Manila Zoo? Just yesterday, I read about the newly elected officials of Manila City Hall charmed by the idea of selling off Manila Zoo to developers for a basketball coliseum (and from what I hear from insiders in city hall, a luxury condominium complex too - someone please confirm). All with the blessings of vice-Mayor-elect Iskho Moreno and Rep. Amado Bagatsing. What the hell? I mean - yeah, I totally agree that the place should have been shut down years ago and all the remaining animals sent off to the much more humane Avilon Zoo in Rizal. But really, a condo and basketball coliseum? Think of the parking problem. And what about those gorgeous trees inside the zoo?

How about this as a better idea? Let's ship off all the animals to Avilon for some fresh air, let's tear down the concrete walls, open up the space to the public and convert the zoo into the Manila Botanical Gardens. Wouldn't that be lovely? Let's even get Mayor Lim's favorite charity, The Winner's Foundation to oversee the conversion. And as a complement, let's convince the Martels of Harrison Plaza (above) to take out a massive loan and redevelop their shopping complex next door so that it takes full advantage of the bayview across and mini forest. Let's tell them to ask the Ayalas for some advice. It would be great to see something like Greenbelt or Serendra overlooking the Manila Zoo trees and South China Sea sunset, donchatink? And, hey - there is even enough room for a luxury condominium too! Because I mean, c'mon, Martels, what the hay? Even the Ortigases and the Aranetas have redeveloped their properties. You are the last to get on board. You own the fricking Philippine Tatler for crissake and your flagship real estate is, well... gross and unbefitting for the "cream" of Philippine society. By the looks of the place, you guys might as well own Tempo. Sorry. My apologies to Tempo.

Thank you ajanem for the photo.

BOO! BOO! BOO!

Wanna buy bad architecture? If you are looking for what could possibly be the worst planned residential/commercial condominium development and the most blatant example of false advertising ever, look no further than the Malate Bay View Condominiums now pre-selling near Remedios Circle in Malate (above).

Planned by a certain Mr. Tanlymco of Malate Bay View Mansions Development Corp in Binondo, the same developer who brought you the stunningly garish and still pretty unsold Malate Royal Apartments (above) at the corner of squatter paradise San Andres Street and Adriatico, this proposed structure will rise 38 storeys (yes, you read right – THIRTY EIGHT storeys) upon the site currently occupied by “The Library”, “Fab” and “Korea House”.

And aside from it’s fugly and inappropriate design by a certain Eduard Co Tan (note difference between actual location (above) from the background drawing(top), the oversized, overpriced Malate Bay View (around Php5million for 79sq.m) comes WITHOUT coordinated sewage planning with the government, WITHOUT thoughtful consideration for the environment around it, and WITHOUT an assured bayview at all to boot (the property faces EAST, not west - and any building can be built to block the view of the water since the developers DO NOT own the adjoining lot).

But that aside, what concerns me most is Mr. Tanlymco’s intentions to squish almost 40 concrete stories on a footprint area that is less than 1,600 square meters in a neighborhood unprepared for the pressures it will create. In comparison, think of a building roughly the height of Essensa in Fort Bonifacio being stuffed into an area a little over the size of a professional soccer field and a half in an area designed to have the density of a suburban subdivision. Now, I might be a bit alarmist. But doesn’t that sound like bad planning and engineering to you too? Moreover, it is being built on soft sandy soil by Manila Bay. It just doesn't seem smart. My fearless forecast: CLICK HERE.

And aside from destroying the low rise quaint character of Adriatico Circle, imagine the logistic nightmare it will impose upon the neighborhood. On a street that less than 40 meters wide and an alley measuring even LESS than that, Mr. Tanlymco plans to pack a building that will house a minimum of 600 residential units, 200 cars, and more than 1000 residents flushing their refuse down a minimum of 700 toilets into an inadequately designed century old sewage system. Adriatico Street will run with sh** no doubt. And if you think that weekend night traffic along that street is bad enough already, think what it will be like when their multi storey commercial area (without accompanying parking I’m sure) attracts even more cars and people to their corner of the world. And in order to maintain structural stability, I assume that they would have to dig at least six storeys under Malate’s soft surface. One can only imagine the structural damage it will do to the charming Malate Pensionne and Café Adriatico next door – as well as revenue lost by the construction noise and pollution compromising their outdoor seating. But most of all - and this I cannot overemphasize, the building is way too tall for it’s tight location. PERIOD.

So if anyone out there is concerned, do what I did and call MBMDC at 5360333 or 5362355 and tell them how shortsighted and greedy they are for attempting to pack a 38-storey building on a lot/street way to small to accommodate it. Tell them I sent you. Let's hope they'll change their mind and shorten the building to a decent ten storeys. Either that, or let's fly this by Manila City Hall. Maybe Mayor Lim would be the best guy to consult regarding this matter.