Manila: The land of many opportunities

BY[BY ](https://businessmirror.com.ph/author/leonygarcia/ "View all posts by Leony Garcia")LEONY GARCIA[LEONY GARCIA](https://businessmirror.com.ph/author/leonygarcia/ "View all posts by Leony Garcia")

JUNE 24, 2019

It’s the usual scenario we see on the port, airport or bus terminals, and usually portrayed in movies and television drama series: People from provinces flock to Manila to look for jobs and opportunities.

That’s because being the country’s capital city, and the center of trade and commerce, many investors and business owners put their companies in Manila. Other people also go to Manila to study and, in turn, increase their potential for employment or business ventures. Despite being densely populated, with more and more promdis visiting and staying in the city, the capital is still full of opportunities that are waiting to be discovered.

The country’s center of industrial development, Manila is also the international port of entry on one of the finest sheltered harbors of the Pacific region, about 700 miles (1,100 Kilometers) southeast of Hong Kong. Most of the Philippines’s imports and exports pass through the port of Manila.

Adjacent to the heavily populated districts on the northern shore is the Manila North Harbor. While Manila South Harbor, the main international port, is on the southern shore.

Brief history

History books showed that the late 16th-Century Manila was a walled Muslim settlement whose ruler levied customs and duties on all commerce passing up the Pasig River. When the Spaniards, led by Miguel López de Legazpi (who became the first Spanish governor-general of the Philippines), successfully entered the mouth of the river in 1571, they destroyed the settlement and founded the fortress city of Intramuros. As Spanish colonial rule became established, churches were built near the marketplaces, where the concentration of population was greatest. Manila spread beyond its walls, expanding north, east and south, linking together the market-church complexes as the we see them today and known as town plaza.

At various periods Manila was seriously threatened and occupied by foreign powers. It was invaded by the Chinese in 1574 and raided by the Dutch in the mid-17th Century. In 1762, during the Seven Years’ War, the city was captured and held by the British, but the Treaty of Paris (1763) resulted in its restoration to Spain. It was opened to foreign trade in 1832, and commerce was further stimulated by the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.

Manila led the anti-Spanish sentiment in the 1890s. The execution of Filipino patriot and national hero José Rizal in the city in December 1896 sparked a year-long insurrection.

Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, Manila was declared an open city and was occupied by the Japanese in January 1942. The city was said to suffer little damage during the war but was leveled to the ground, in the fight for its recapture by US forces in 1945.

Architectural design

Manila’s architectural styles, therefore, reflect American, Spanish, Chinese and Malay influences. Rizal Park and several government buildings were designed by US architect and city planner Daniel H. Burnham.

American-made buildings—including multistoried commercial houses, and public and private buildings—were commonly made of reinforced concrete blocks and cement. Sprawling ranch houses with spacious lawns were made and are still common in the districts of Ermita and Malate. Spanish-style houses, with tiled roofs, barred windows, and thick walls, which were common before the Second World War, have also remained popular these days. The churches of the city are American, Spanish, or European in character.

Business and manufacturing

Business areas in Manila are widespread, the districts to the north of the river—especially along the bay and in the city’s west central region—constitute the chief centers of trade and commerce. The diverse manufacturing activities of Manila, which Filipinos from the provinces would like to engage in, including textile production, publishing and printing, food and tobacco processing, and chemical processing. Manila also produces lumber and wood items, rope and cordage, soap and other goods. Factories generally are small and,  mostly, in the congested districts of Tondo, Binondo, and Santa Cruz. while heavy industries are in the districts of Paco, Pandacan and Santa Ana.

With the advent of modern technology and the rise of Business Process Outsourcings, urban migration remain constant as more Filipinos are lured to the contact center and ICT  industries.

Education

It’s every student dream to study in Manila, where more than 100 free public schools, are maintained, in addition to the night vocational and secondary schools and the Manila branch of the University of The Philippines. Educational opportunities are also provided for children with disabilities, orphans of school age and adults.

As the education center of the Philippines, Manila houses many of the major institutions of higher education, including the University of the Philippines (with its main campus in Quezon City), the Philippine Normal College and the Technological University of the Philippines. There are several universities sponsored by religious bodies, including The University of Santo Tomas (founded in 1611) and the Ateneo de Manila University, as well as nonsectarian institutions, such as the University of the East and the Far Eastern University.

Arts and culture

The center of the performing arts in the country is the Philippine Cultural Center. There is also the Folk Arts Theater facing Manila Bay; the historic Metropolitan Theater with its on-and-off renovation; and an open-air theater at Rizal Park. Libraries and museums include the National Library and the National Museum known for its anthropological and archaeological exhibits; the National Institute of Science and Technology with a scientific reference library and large collections of plants and animals; the geological museum of the Bureau of Mines and Geosciences; the Planetarium; Fort Santiago, which houses original works of the Philippine patriot José Rizal; and the Manila city library and museum, which contains valuable carvings, paintings, and archives.

The foremost outdoor recreational area is Rizal Park, with a Japanese garden, a Chinese garden, an open-air theater, a playground, a grandstand, and a long promenade adjacent to the Manila Bay. Other areas include the Manila Zoological and Botanical Gardens, the Mehan Garden, and Paco Park.

Health

Health facilities in Manila are among the best in the region. The city government maintains numerous health centers, as well as the Philippine General Hospital, San Lazaro Hospital, Fabella Hospital and Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital, where patients are treated free of charge. There are also many missionaries and private hospitals in the city.

Revitalization of new Manila

The city has undergone rapid economic development since its destruction in the Second World War and its subsequent rebuilding. It has remained vibrant through the years, progressing by leaps and bounds—thanks to many businesses and property developers coming to Manila.

The city stands to benefit with the current administration’s Build, Build, Build (BBB) project. For instance, the Metro Manila Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Line 1 project is a fully segregated 12.3-kilometer highway with 16 stations starting from the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City and ending at the Manila City Hall. Passengers will be conveyed by 280 buses.

The BRT Line 2, on the other hand, is a 48.6-kilometer track divided into 63 terminals, to be traversed by a total of 1,151 buses. According to the BBB web site, the system consists of four corridors, including the main corridor along Edsa, and corridors along Ayala Avenue to the World Trade Center, Ortigas to Bonifacio Global City and the three Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminals.

However, like many cities in the world, Manila is now plagued with the familiar urban problems of pollution, traffic congestion, overpopulation and housing shortage.

Residential buildings in Manila now include the high-rise condominiums dotting even the highly congested Divisoria and Taft Avenue. This is aside from single-family dwelling, the duplex, large-family compound, and apartment units, which most families still prefer.

Unfortunately, the barong-barong, a makeshift shack built of salvaged materials (scrap lumber, and wrought iron, cartons or billboards) has also become a common fixture in the city, especially in poor areas.

The disparity between the rich and the poor, which is right before our eyes, the condo and the makeshift shack standing side by side makes Manila a city of contrasts.

New hope, new leadership

Speaking before a gathering of dignitaries, businessmen, investors and seafaring Filipinos, Manila mayor-elect Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso promised a different Manila in the next 12 months.

“I cannot promise to bring and to see you all on the new horizon. But this one thing I assure you, there will be a new Manila in one year time,” the former show-businessheartthrob said.

Domagoso ran on the platform of the restoration of the “deteriorating Manila.” He vowed to revitalize the city’s physical development by building more green projects and more breathing spaces. He said he intends to pattern his development plan for Manila from Singapore’s hybrid-city perspectives, without consuming too much space. This will be part of Domagoso’s 10-year infrastructure plan intended to boost jobs, health care and tourism.

At the business opening of WMOC, a maritime company which facilitates necessary documents, maritime licenses and endorsements for seafarers joining various flag states, like Panama and Marshall Islands, on June 15, Domagoso also encouraged the private sector to do business in Manila. “If you want Manila to be the face of the country, help me because I cannot do it alone. We all want a clean, revitalized vibrant  Manila, the city that we all love,” he said.

He likened himself to be the rudder, or steering wheel (timon), with the city policy as the captain of the boat and the citizens as crew members (tripulante) of the ship. “We should all work together in the direction that we want to be. Help me, I beg of you,” he added.

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Source: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/06/24/manila-the-land-of-many-opportunities/