Visions for Quiapo

PRE-WORLD War II Manila was said to have been among the

best of Asian model cities, thanks to the planning of the

eminent American architect Daniel Burnham in 1904.

Taking Paris as its inspiration, the Burnham Plan wisely retained

the Spanish walled city of Intramuros, framed Manila Bay with a

seaside parkway, designed a vast system of parks, and

connected different urban points with broad tree-lined avenues

gathered by circular roundabouts.

Within the past 50 years, Manila has lost all traces of the

Burnham vision. Is there a way to get some of it back?

At the ''New Uses for Old Structures'' conference held recently

in Manila, visions for regaining the quality of life lost to Manila

were presented

Anthropologist Dr. Fernando N. Zialcita said, ''In all countries

that value their cultural heritage, the ultimate guardian of

heritage is the state.''

Without state incentives to save heritage properties, many

private owners in the Philippines have yielded to real estate

pressures, replacing landmarks with malls, office blocks and

condominiums.

The three-day conference investigated methods of preserving

cultural landmarks in an urban setting; the economics of

conservation; and existing government plans and policies that

address the decaying heritage districts in Manila, taking

severely blighted Quiapo as a case study for urban

regeneration.

Once a genteel upper-class quarter known for its superlative

architecture, Quiapo has been reduced to decaying skeletons

after WWII. However, the upper floors of previous stately

homes still continue to shade the sidewalk on R. Hidalgo Street,

formerly the district's main residential street. The colonnaded

arcade ends at Plaza del Carmen and San Sebastian Church.

San Sebastian, Manila's lone Gothic-style church, is of special

interest because it is an all-cast iron structure completely

prefabricated in Belgium, shipped to the Philippines, and

reassembled in Manila during the late 19th century.

Gone are the music, jewelry and sculpture shops. In place are a

maze of secondhand bookshops, clothes shops, food stalls and

street hawkers that cater to an enormous population of students

from the many private universities in the area. Mansions have

been converted into student boarding houses. Less fortunate

structures have been forcefully converted into crowded

tenements, transforming the area into an urban slum where,

ironically, many sound structures remain empty rather than

regenerated by their owners into much-needed housing.

Quiapo, Manila's educational center, is also an important

religious center. Thousands do the Friday pilgrimage to pray at

Quiapo Church, adding numbers to the Muslim population

going to Friday prayers in the only mosque in Manila.

''Because its history bridges Christianity with Islam, we have

nicknamed Quiapo 'East Meets West' in the Central Manila

Tourism Master Plan,'' said architect Mia Quimpo, a consultant

for the plan. Commissioned by the Department of Tourism, she

looks at Quiapo as one of nine priority development areas in

Manila.

Plan's proposals

The plan's proposals build on maintaining the cultural diversity

of the neighborhood, on heightening and maintaining the

interrelated urban character woven by residences, commercial

establishments, markets, universities and religious institutions

existing in the area.

Villalobos Street, running from the Pasig River to the Quiapo

Church, is to be repaved, and pedestrianized all the way to a

relandscaped, historic Plaza Miranda in front of Quiapo Church.

Off the side of the church, the vision transforms Quinta Market

into a glass-and-steel summer pavilion surrounded by a

tree-lined promenade that shades shops and restaurants around

the market.

The vintage turn-of-the-century bahay na bato houses are of

immediate concern. Aside from fixing and repainting, the group

recommended the conversion of some heritage houses into

commercial establishments catering to the student market.

However, to encourage the conservation of the architectural

heritage of the area, legal measures are planned that will

encourage conservation with government incentives. Others

include restricting the height and fagade design of new

structures, installing vintage lampposts, and paving the street

and sidewalk using a distinct material to highlight the heritage

districts within Quiapo.

More development work is envisioned: relocating overhead

utility lines underground, dredging and cleaning the murky

tributaries of the Pasig River that run through the district, and

the overhaul of the chaotic traffic system.

Although the redevelopment of Quiapo is geared toward

attracting tourists to the area, what it will really do is improve

the quality of life of Quiapo residents.

Manila has let itself go, so the task of improving the city will not

be easy.

The Central Manila Tourism Master Plan attempts to lay the

groundwork for a redevelopment plan, advocating partnership

between private and public sectors to achieve the work, without

mentioning the project's price tag.