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Philippines |
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Chin up, Plaza Miranda -1 |
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Source: Inquirer |
Author: Alex Y. Vergara |
Date: 2000-01-02 |
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For decades it was associated with
urban squalor and an infamous
political bombing that hastened the
declaration of martial law. Now
Plaza Miranda gets a facelift--and a
new future
AFTER decades of neglect, a new and
gleaming Plaza Miranda is ready to
face the world as the country enters
the new millennium.
The city government of Manila, led
by Mayor Lito Atienza, embarked on an eight-month total
facelift of the historic but once-shabby square. The P49-million
price tag, which was reportedly footed by Malacaņang,
includes the rehabilitation of the Lacson Underpass.
''For the longest time, Plaza Miranda mirrored the face of
Manila--a center of anarchy and urban decay,'' says Atienza.
''Now, it has become a centerpiece of the city's urban
redevelopment program.''
Indeed, Filipinos long based abroad or in the provinces will be
probably hard pressed to recognize the new Plaza Miranda, the
center of political meetings in pre-martial law Philippines.
What they will probably remember are images of the bloody
Plaza Miranda bombing, where scores of people were killed or
injured, including former senator Jovito Salonga, during the
Liberal Party's miting de avance on Aug. 20, 1971.
The still unsolved bloodbath helped embolden then President
Marcos to declare martial law a year later. It also gave the
future dictator a convenient excuse to implicate then Sen.
Ninoy Aquino, his archrival and Liberal Party stalwart who was
spared from being bombed like his partymates by coming late
to the rally.
Visual congestion
''Every time we talked about Plaza Miranda, all we could think
of was the bombing,'' says Councilor Miles Roces, 30. ''It was
as if it only happened yesterday because the plaza remained
almost unchanged.''
Atienza has no intentions of rewriting history. But he felt a
pressing need for Manilans to break free from ''visual
congestion'' that for years had swamped them.
So the mayor asked eight Master's students in architecture
from the University of the Philippines to submit their plans for
Plaza Miranda.
Almost everyone knows Atienza as a former PR practitioner,
but not everybody knows that he graduated from the
University of Santo Tomas with a degree in Architecture.
''I never got to practice it,'' he says. ''But the training helped me
get the best ideas. We later included them in our master plan.''
Actually, the planting of mature acacia trees sometime in 1998
signalled the start of Plaza Miranda's redevelopment. His
attempt to plant ''fake'' trees, recalls Atienza, was roundly
criticized by media, including the INQUIRER.
Aside from four acacia trees, the city's landscape artists have
transplanted several palm trees bordering busy Quezon
Boulevard, where commuters are greeted by a statue of a
woman atop a 35-foot-high marble obelisk.
Freedom
Its outstretched hands carry a torch, which, says Atienza,
represents freedom. Several gold-painted markers linked by
chains ring the obelisk.
Two pillars bound each side of the chained area, and atop each
post is a cast-iron urn alloyed with bronze. Each urn doubles
as a cauldron where gas-fuelled flames will burn brightly
during special occasions.
''This is a freedom park, not a plaza,'' Atienza insists.
The entire plaza, er, park is bathed in floodlights installed on
the ground and attached to several strategic arches circling the
area.
People in the control room located somewhere at Lacson
Underpass has also been beefing up its collection of classical
and folk music to be played through Plaza Miranda's sound
system.
The granite-paved plaza, which extends to Carriedo,
Evangelista, R. Hidalgo and Villabos Streets, now brims with
Roman-Gothic structures inspired by--what else--the Quiapo
Church.
''Instead of clashing with the church,'' says Roces, ''we built
structures that will complement it.''
Landmark church
Thus, the landmark church, which had fortified its front gates
after it found itself slowly being engulfed by the ocean of
squalor outside, has now literally brought down its walls.
Inviting plant boxes heaped with Christmas-red poinsettias
have supplanted threatening iron grills. The steel-and-glass
portal leading to the balcony is now open during the day. Only
a waving and smiling Pope John Paul II is missing from the
structure inspired by St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Several buildings have taken the cue by hewing closely to
Plaza Miranda's look. For years a major eyesore, the gutted
building fronting Quezon Boulevard is finally being torn down
to give way to a new one.
Filipinos born before the '70s will remember that building which
carried an electronic news billboard where the pre-martial law
Manila Times flashed its headlines and late-breaking news
stories.
''I hope our efforts will become a lynchpin in the total plan to
redevelop not only Quiapo but also areas like Sta. Cruz,'' says
Atienza, who was praised by countless constituents while
conducting the tour.
The charismatic mayor, who readily shook hands and greeted
well-wishers, even earned the approval of people living outside
his city of affections.
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