Socio-Cultural and political Aspects of Manila

Learning Objectives

At the end of this chapter, the learners are expected to:

a. Familiarize with the political and socio-cultural aspect of Manila.

b. Recognized the contributions of former mayors who contributed a lot to the
growth of Manila throughout time.
c. state the accomplishments of the mayors who give changes on the political
and socio-cultural aspect of Manila.
d. discuss briefly thechanges in political and socio-cultural aspect in the City
of Manila.
e. appreciates the accomplishments of fellow Manileños for the welfare of the
populace

Socio-Cultural Aspect

Manila is also the home of the performing artists in the country. There is
the Philippine Cultural Center, Folk Arts Theater, facing Manila Bay, the
historic Metropolitan Theatre, which is currently being renovated, and an open-
air theatre in Rizal and Paco Parks. The many 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 and national hero José Rizal; and the Kamaynilaan (Manila City)
Library and Museum, which contains valuable carvings, paintings, and
antiquated manuscripts.
 The famous outdoor recreational area of the Manileños is Rizal Park or
Luneta Park (previously known as Bagong Bayan), with a Japanese garden, a
Chinese garden, an open-air theatre, a playground, a grandstand, an Ocean
Park and a long promenade adjacent to Manila Bay. Other areas include the
Manila Zoological and Botanical Gardens, the Mehan Garden, and Paco Park.
Athletic facilities include the Rizal Memorial Stadium and YMCA center both
located in Manila. Annual festivals and carnivals are held in the sunken garden
fronting the City Hall of Manila.

Some Famous Landmarks in Manila

People and Religion

 The natives of Manila were known as Tagalogs, later, inhabitants from
other parts of the archipelago inhabited the city, like the Bicolanos, Visayans,
Ilocanos, Kapampangan, Pangasinan and Moro groups, as well as tribal groups
like the Badjao and Igorot. Today, residents of Manila is called Manileños.
Approximately 94% of the population in Manila is Malay-Indonesian by
ethnicity with some European, Spanish, Chinese or American ancestry. The
rest of the population is Chinese. In fact, The oldest Chinatown in the world is
in Manila. it was established in 1954 at Binondo, Manila. This is historically
where the Spanish allowed converted sangleys (indigenous Filipino wives and
mixed-race descendants) to live. This small town was already the place of
Chinese business before the Spanish arrived in the early 16th century.

The popular language use is Tagalog. However, English is the official

business and educational language. At present, the millennials speak in
bilinguals – taglish (i.e. combination of Tagalog and English).

Many Manileños are employed in call centers and other outsourcing-

related businesses. Others are employed in the city’s industries, such as
textiles, food and tobacco processing, chemical manufacturing and coconut oil
processing. But more Manileños are still unemployed due to lack of education
and the capacity of the local government to provide work opportunities. So, the
less fortunate Manileños work as street vendors, garbage collectors or “padyak”
drivers. Nonetheless, Manileños are happy people, they love shopping and
eating out, street foods are spread all over Ermita, Quiapo and Binondo, and
are extremely hospitable. They are dressed in the latest western fashion,
ordinary t-shirt and walking shorts. Due to the tropical climate, light materials
and shorter clothes are preferred.

Manila is mainly a Christian city and more of them are Catholics. The
city is also composed of people of other faiths and religions. There are several
places of worship for Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus because of the large
number of foreigners both from the east and west who have made the city their
home. Today, Roman Catholics predominate, comprising 93.5%, followed by
Iglesiani Cristo (1.9%), Protestants (1.8%), Buddhists (1.1%), Moslems and
others comprising the remaining 1.4% of Manila’s population. In fact , January
9 is a very especial day for the Filipino Catholic Christian believers in Manila. It
is the feast of the Black Nazarene. Besides, missionaries built schools and
churches, and vestiges are to be found all over the City now. The first priests
were Augustinians and secular priests, followed by Franciscans, Jesuits,
Dominicans and Augustinian Recollects, with many other orders following in
later centuries (Philippine Statistics Authority website, 2015).

The Climate

Manila is very fortunate because it is sheltered from extreme weather

conditions due to the hills of the Sierra Madre which serve as the wall of the
city from typhoons coming from the Pacific, and the mountains of the Bataan
Peninsula. The tropical climate is characterized by a wet season that lasts from
June to November and by a dry season lasting from December to May. The
wettest months are July, August, September and October, when
thunderstorms are common and most storms are strong. In fact, most of
Manila area is submerged underwater during rainy season. The average annual
rainfall totals about 80 inches (about 2,000 mm). There is little monthly
variation from the mean annual temperature, which is in the low 80s F (about
27 °C - www.pagasa.dost.com).

Typhoon Rosita (2108) as it passes over the island of Luzon by pagasa.gov.ph

Economy of the City

 Manila is the center of commerce and industry in the Philippines

Manila is the home of various fast food chains like Jollibee and
McDonald and famous restaurants like Max’s Chicken House and Aristocrat
and to add to government coffers, are hotels offering international cuisines.
Besides, Manila is busy with manufacturing activities which include fabric
production, publishing and printing, food and chemical processing. Manila is
also producing lumbers, ropes and soaps. Manufacturing companies are small
and mostly they are located in the crowded areas of Tondo, Binondo and Santa
Cruz, which are near main thoroughfares of the city and railroad and truck
terminals. Heavy industries are located in the districts of Paco, Pandacan, and
Santa Ana.

Manila is also the center of trade and finance in the Philippines. Trade
grows within the metropolitan area and between the city and the provinces and
other countries. Most of the Philippines’ imports and exports pass through the
port of Manila. Financial institutions headquartered in Manila include such
establishments as the Development Bank of the Philippines, Landbank, the
Philippine National Bank, the Philippine Veterans Bank, the Government
Service Insurance System, the Social Security System, and many private
commercial and developmental banks. Private insurance companies and flea
markets also contribute to the mobilization of savings for investment. The two
main contributors to the city’s coffer are Divisoria and Paco markets.

Indeed, the city is the economic, administrative, and social center of the
nation. Manila city generates nearly half the country’s total Gross Domestic
Product (GDP). It has a vital seaport in the country and it has elegant business
districts. However, in spite of affluent people inhabited Manila, there are still
slums and shanty towns. Besides, the economic growth in Manila has brought
with it challenges such as overpopulation, drug use and crime, pollution, and
traffic congestion. Overcrowding in the city has caused other problems such as
inadequate health care, inadequate sanitation and a rise in poverty. The
municipal agencies in Manila struggle to offer public services to the ever
growing population (For more detailed data see appendix F).

City’s Transportation

Public transportation in and around Manila is provided principally by

buses, jeepneys (small buses built on the chassis of jeeps), kuliglig (a hybrid of
a tricycle and mechanical bike), e-trikes, the famous kalesa (hose carriage) and
taxis. Traffic congestion is a big problem, especially during rushed hours at the
bridges and main thoroughfares during the morning and evening, such as, in
Roxas Boulevard, in Rizal and Taft Avenues, Carriedo, Quiapo and Binondo
Bridges, and Quezon Blvd. Adjacent towns serve as dormitory suburbs, and
many people commute to the city, adding to the traffic problem. Bus services
operate routes to northern and southern Luzon.

Railroad services operated by the Philippine National Railways also

connect the city with northern and south-eastern Luzon. An elevated rail line,
linking Caloocan City and the city of Baclaran (to the south of Pasay City), was
completed in 1984. It was the first phase of a transit system, called the Light
Rail Transit. It is connected to Caloocan, Quezon City, Makati City and Pasay
City.
LRT route
 KalesangPinoy by RJ

Transportation in Manila
 Inter-island and international transportation is provided by domestic and
foreign airlines and by shipping. Manila South Harbor, with its enclosed
customhouse, warehouses, and sheds, is sheltered by a low breakwater. There
are no railway lines within the port area, and cargo is transported from the
piers by trucks or barges. The piers and warehouses of Manila North Harbor
are busy with heavy traffic from all ports in the Philippines. In the 1980s
additional port facilities for international shipping were built, partially on
reclaimed land, in the area between the two harbours.

Designs of Houses and Buildings in Manila

During the Spanish period, Manila was called the Paris of Asia because
of the buildings’ architectural designs, but not the homes of ordinary
Manileños, which were made of nipa huts for the less fortunate and
combination of wood and concrete for the middle class family. But government
and private establishments’ architectural styles reflect American, Spanish,
Chinese, and Malay influences. Rizal Park and a number of government
buildings were designed by U.S. architect and city planner Daniel H. Burnham,
the one who designed Baguio City .At present, modern buildings including
multi-storied commercial houses or condominiums are commonly made of
reinforced concrete and hollow cement blocks that can stand even strong
earthquakes. Houses of modern design are common in the districts of
Samplaoc, Ermita, some areas in Tondo and Malate. Spanish-style houses,
with tiled roofs, barred windows, and thick walls, were common before World
War II and have remained popular today. The churches of the city are
American, Spanish, or European in character. The Manila cathedral was
rebuilt in the 1950s and is an important landmark. It succeeds five earlier
cathedrals, the first dating from the mid-16th century that were destroyed
either by earthquakes or during wartime.
(Bottom Pictures from right to left: Inside the National Museum of Fine Arts,
Supreme Court Building and National Museum of Anthropology; Top pictures
from right to left: Manila Cathedral, National Museum of Fine History and
Malacañang Palace)

Manila is a great City and a mystic place for many residents and tourists
alike. Despite its noise and some tragic stories and tales, it remains a home for
many Filipinos who dream of good fortunes and life. Manila is a living witness
of the past centuries.
Political Structure

Manila is divided into 6 congressional districts with 6 congressmen per

district to represent their constituents in the legislative branch of the national
government. However, for administrative convenience, the city is still
subdivided into smallest administrative division known as barangay which is
headed by a chair person called barangay captain and 7 barangay councilors
or “kagawad”. At present there are 897 barangays, 100 zones in16
administrative districts in Manila. The city’s chief administrative is the mayor,
the legal elected person by the people to administer the city. The mayor is
assisted by a vice-mayor who often serve as the head of the city council or
group of elected councilors and may function as chief operating officers. The
other people who directly help the mayor maintain peace and order in the city
are the councilors. The councilors are elected to the local council to represent
their local community. At present there are 6 electedcouncilors per
congressional district(manila.gov.ph).

The current (2017) mayor is former president Joseph Ejercito Estrada

and the vice-mayor is Maria Shiela “Honey” Lacuna-Pangan, a medical
practitioner. (see appendix B for the names of elected officials of Manila 2018
up to the time this book is written).

Post-War Mayors of Manila

Manila was heavily damage after World War II. For one month, from
February 3 to March 3 of 1945, the Japanese and American forces destroyed
the once called “Parish of Asia”- Manila. But, after four years, Manila rose
again from the rubble, removing the garbage left by World War II. Before,
during and after the war, mayors were appointed in the city as administrators
for the good of its citizens and to manage the city. Example, President Manuel
L. Quezon appointed Jorge Vargas as the Mayor of Manila in 1941. Other
appointed mayors of Manila were the following: Arsenio Cruz Herrera (1901-
1905) Félix Roxas (1905-1917) Justo Lukban (1917-1920) Ramón Fernández
(1920-1923) Eulogio A. Rodríguez, Sr. (1923) Miguel Romuáldez (1924-1927)
Tomás Earnshaw (1927-1934) Juan Posadas, Jr. (1934-1940) Eulogio A.
Rodríguez, Sr. (1940-1941) Juan L. Nolasco (1941) Jorge B. Vargas (1941-
1942) León G. Guinto, Sr. (1942-1944) Herminigildo Atienza (1944-1945) Juan
L. Nolasco (1945-1946) ValerianoFugoso (1946-1947) and Manuel de la Fuente
(1948-1951). Manuel de la Fuente was defeated by Arsenio Lacson in 1951 on
the first ever mayoral election in Manila. The other elected mayors of Manila
were Antonio Villegas (1962-1971) Ramón Bagatsing (1972-1986) Mel López
(1986-1987; full term 1988-1992) Gregorio Ejército (1987-1988) Alfredo Lim
(1992-1998; then 2007-2013) Lito Atienza (1998–2007) and Joseph Estrada
(2013-present) (see appendix B for the details).

The First Election in Manila and Marcos Era (1952 to 1965)

The first elected mayor of Manila was Arsenio Lacson in 1951, because
all mayors were being appointed before 1951. The City of Manila during this
period was still recuperating from the effect of World War II. This period was
also considered as “The Golden Age” of the city due to various infrastructure
projects. In fact, the city was called again as the “Pearl of the Orient,” it earned
before the beginning of World War II, but no longer the “Parish of Asia” because
modern structures already replaced the old European designs, except the
“walled city.”

Mayor Lacson’s term was a successful one in the 50’s. Then he was
replaced by Mayor Antonio Villegas as mayor of the city in the 60’s.In the 70’s,
Mayor Ramon Bagatsing succeeded him. Mayor Bagatsing was the longest
serving mayor of the city, for nearly the entire decade of the 70’s until the 1986
Edsa revolution.

Lacson, Villegas, and Bagatsing are most often referred to as “the Big
Three of Manila” for their long services as mayors (continuously for over three
decades, from 1952–1986).But more importantly, for their great contributions
to the development and progress of the Cityand,over and above, their lasting
contributions in uplifting the quality of life and welfare of the people of Manila.
During the Marcos Era, from 1965 to 1986, Manila became a Metropolitan.

The Big Three of Manila

1. Arsenio Lacson(1552 – 1662) He was the first Manila

mayor to be re-elected to three terms. A lawyer by
profession and an alumnus of the University of Santo
Tomas. He joined the law office of Senator Vicente
Francisco, and later, the Department of Justice as an
assistant attorney. Lacson also worked as a sportswriter
before the outbreak of World War II. A tough reformist
mayor who fought the corrupt employees of the city,
saved the city’s coffer from bankruptcy and ran after the
criminals in the city. He died on April 15, 1962 due to
stroke.

2. Antonio Villegas (1962 – 1971) A writer of many

books, as mayor he provided free education and books
to students, constructed the Ospital ng Maynila, made
Manila as a non-smoking city, solved the traffic problem
 in Manila, built public parks and planted trees along the streets of Manila.
He died on November 16,1984 at Reno, Nevada, U.S.A.

3. Ramon Bagatsing (1971 – 1986) An Indian-

Filipino and a person with disability, who served the
country as a lawyer, policeman congressman, cabinet
member, a soldier and a lay minister. He was known as
“The Incorruptible” for his clean record in public service
and for his unwavering anti-graft and corruption
stance. He was a victim of the “Plaza Miranda Bombing”
incident. He loved the poor of Manila, established
cooperatives, built schools, day-care centers and
hospitals. He was so loved by his city workers.

Manila under the Fifth Republic

When President Ferdinand Marcos was ousted in

February 25,1986 because of the People Power Revolution,
Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, the widow of Ninoy Aquino, was
installed as the first president of the fifth republic. Under the
Aquino administration, Manila witnessed eight
unsuccessful coup attempts, the most serious
attempt was in December 1989. And during this period,
Germiliano “Mel” Lopez Jr. was the OIC (officer-in-charged) of
the city appointed by Corazon Aquino, a former
BatasangPambansa Assemblyman from 1984 – 1986, and
chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission. But in 1988
he won in the mayoral election in Manila and served up to 1992.
 In the 1992 National and local election, Alfredo Lim, the strong ally of the
Aquino administration and Director of the National Bureau of Investigation,
became the mayor of Manila. Lim defeated Mel Lopez, and became the 5th
elected city mayor. His slogan was “Magalingnalider, disiplinado.” Lim was
known for his tough stance against drug syndicates, other criminals and
prostitution. He also founded the City College of Manila
which is known today as Univesidad De Manila or UDM.
When Lim ran for the presidency in 1998 presidential
election, his vice mayorLito Atienza was elected as city
mayor.

Mayor Lito Atienza, as an architecture graduate from UST

was known for renovating most of the city’s plaza, and projects
that would benefit the populace. However, he was also known
for selling public school campuses to private entities. The Lucky
Chinatown Mall and City Place Condo (Megaworld Corporation)
now stands used to be the site of two heritage schools: Jose
Abad Santos High School and Rajah Soliman High School. It was demolished
despite protests from teachers and local activist.He was the Mayor of Manila for
3 terms (9 years the maximum terms of service).

In 2007 local election, Lim ran against the son of the

incumbent mayor, and Lim defeated Ali Atienza. Lim’s Slogan
was “Linisin, Ikarangal (ang) Maynila” (Clean, Dignify Manila,
hence the acronym LIM). When he became the mayor he
immediately reversed all of Atienza’s projects claiming the
projects made little contribution to the improvements of the
city. On July 17, 2008, councilor Dennis Alcoreza filed
human rights complaints before the Commission on Human Rights, against
Lim, and other Manila officials. Twenty-four Manila officials also resigned
because of the maltreatment of Lim’s police forces. The relationship of both
parties turned bitter when the two, Lim and Lito Atienza, met again during the
2010 city elections in which Lim won against Atienza.

One of the cases that ruined the refutation of Mayor

Lim was the bloody resolution of the Manila hostage crisis,
one of the deadliest hostage crisis in the Philippines and,
graft and corruption. These allegations were later followed by
a complaint in 2012 by Vice Mayor Isko Moreno and 28 city
councilors which cited that Lim’s statement in a meeting
were “life-threatening” to them. During the 2013 elections,
former President Joseph Estrada defeated Lim in the mayoral
race. Estrada, despite not being a Manila resident as his family has always
resided in San Juan where his sons have been mayors won by popularity. In
2016 general election, Estrada won again, with a very slight margin, against
Lim as city mayor.

The political struggle of the people in Manila never ceases. From the time
of the Rajas until now.Politics is tainted with graft and corruption. The good
image of the city are tarnished with politicians whose dreams are not to
alleviate the life of the Manileños from poverty but to enrich themselves from
the coffers of the government and the “wealth-turned-to-taxes” of the
people.Even so, like the eye-catching sunset over Manila Bay, the smiling and
happy faces of the Manileños, the glittering lights of business establishments
and the hallowed bells of old churches in Manila, they still give hope that
someday Manila will again rise from its rubble.

DR. A.B. ADENA

Professor