Ziggurat ruins

Not as tall as the abandoned building behind Quezon City Hall but in a more prominent location, this terraced eyesore stands on government property at the corner of one of the roads which radiate from the Quezon Memorial Circle. When the land was still empty many years ago, the rumor going around was that Ayala Land was negotiating to lease or buy it so they could build a mall there, which would have been their first in Quezon City. When this terraced structure went up, the rumors became even fiercer. Then construction stopped completely without any explanation, as is quite usual in my country, and the thing's been standing there since. Ayala Land did eventually build a mall in Quezon City and I don't know if there's any truth to the old rumor, but the design of certain parts of Trinoma sure look very similar.

Across another street

A view of the front of the Quezon City Hall compound from inside the Quezon Memorial Circle. I call this 8-lane road the wild, wild west (imagine trying to cross it!) and is the reason why I love Mayor Sonny Belmonte for creating the pedestrian underpass which links city hall with the memorial park. Of course, there's no way to hide that huge eyesore of an unfinished building behind city hall. Architect Reena of Reena's Thoughts said that she heard that the developer has a pending case in court over this building because Quezon City has a law which states that no structure at a given area around the Quezon Memorial should be taller than it. I've looked at the memorial, city hall and the eyesore from afar and I think she's right. City hall's tallest building is shorter than the memorial but the unfinished building is definitely taller than the memorial. Now I want to know who in city hall gave the developer a permit to build in the first place.

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I recently found out that My Manila made it as a finalist in the Best Photo Blog nationwide category of the Philippine Blog Awards! Whether I win or not, I'm just happy to have made it that far, especially considering the fact that many of the finalists are professional photographers or serious hobbyists. For me and my itsy-bitsy camera to be counted among them is a great honor.

I hope you can visit all the finalists but if you only have time for one, then I highly recommend the blog of Dennis Villegas, my favorite among the ten (yes, including mine—if I were a judge, he'd be the winner). I don't know who he is or what he does but his photo essays are an amazing, though very gritty, look at Manila.

A sense of place

It is sometimes tough to get a sense of a place when all you see of it are specific buildings or interiors. So come and join me at Philcoa, a major transportation stop in my part of Quezon City, so called because the landmark government building at the corner of the Quezon Memorial Circle is the Philippine Coconut Authority. The south side of the road, one fork of which leads to the University of the Philippines, has two strip malls. Behind the nearer building is the baratilyo which I love walking through for its bargain clothes.




This is the western end of the strip mall, closest to the Quezon Memorial Circle. Vendors are no longer allowed on the sidewalk, though one still managed to set up her potted plants against the wall. But she's not obstructing pedestrian traffic flow so it's okay. There is a gap between Citimall and another building at the corner, so a few fruit and vegetable vendors have their stalls there.




The green overpass below is where I took the first two pictures from. All these jeepneys are going to northeast Quezon City. GT (Garage to Terminal) Express is another form of public transportation. Mostly Asian utility vehicles (AUVs), they travel fixed routes from one specified station to another specified station and cannot—or should not—load or unload passengers between their two stops. And yes, the guy in the blue shirt inside the jeepney was smiling for me; in fact, he was quite insistent that I include him in my photo.




The gap between Citimall and the corner building is caused by a small creek which runs at the edge of an extremely dense urban poor neighborhood. It used to be choked with garbage, but the community finally learned its lesson when it flooded badly during last year's typhoon Ketsana. It is now relatively clear of solid waste but, unfortunately, not of liquid waste. The stench is still quite bad and, as you can guess from the water's color, the creek is definitely dead.




The street around the corner is lined almost entirely by small enterprises; some are franchises but most are single proprietorships where the seller, repairman, cook or seamstress is the owner. This is also where my tricycle terminal is, so this is where we'll end our walk for now.

And That's My World!

Wild, wild West

The road around Quezon Memorial Circle: eight lanes of trucks, buses, cars, jeepneys and motorcycles weaving in and out of their lanes; coming from the innermost lane to turn right at any of the six avenues radiating from it; coming in from those six avenues and promptly driving onto the innermost lane. It's a good thing I don't drive. When we're caught on that road during rush hour, I always close my eyes.

Ringing for world peace?

The very first World Peace Bell was a gift of the Japanese people to the United Nations in 1954. It was founded with coins donated by delegates to the UN's 13th General Conference in Paris in 1951. It symbolizes the countries' wish for a peaceful world free from wars and the threat posed by nuclear arms. The original is in the UN Headquarters in New York, Japan has five, and fifteen other countries have one each, including the Philippines. Ours, given in 1994, is inside the Quezon Memorial Circle, and it desperately needs some maintenance. The paint is all faded and I don't think it even has a clapper anymore. Sadly, I think it's a reflection of the state of Philippine politics.

Fifteenth

Today, the Republic of the Philippines welcomes its 15th President. Benigno Aquino III, the son of Ninoy and Cory, is more popularly known as Noynoy. Since his victory in the elections earlier this month, he is now also known as P-Noy, a play on our slang word for Filipino, Pinoy. His formal oath-taking and inaugural address will be at the Rizal Park's Quirino Grandstand in the City of Manila. The inaugural reception with other government officials and the diplomatic corps will be in Malacañang Palace, Mr. Aquino's office and home (in a smaller house in the compound) for the next six years. However, his real home is in Quezon City and, after the formal stuff, he will go to the Quezon Memorial Circle for a big street party. The memorial and fountain have been dolled up with colored lights, and I saw them for myself last night from the pedestrian overpass near my jeepney stop and tricycle station. Of course, with evening rains now quite regular again, party-goers are being asked to bring umbrellas, preferably yellow.




Whatever your faith or beliefs, please say a little prayer for Mr. Aquino and my country. Corruption is deeply embedded and widely rampant in our government, and poverty so pervasive and such an overwhelming problem, that he will need all your good wishes and everyone's help. He will have mine.

Elegant underpass

An underground pedestrian tunnel was built a few years ago to allow people to get into the Quezon Memorial Circle without having to risk life and limb crossing the eight-lane road that surrounds the park. Named the Belmonte Underpass after the current mayor, it is well-lit and elegant enough to serve as an exhibition hall. Which is exactly what Quezon City Hall did with its photo exhibit of "Quezon City in the Making." What should have taken me a couple of minutes to cross took half an hour, but I really enjoyed it.