‘New’ Intramuros needed

One can indeed get carried away by Intramuros.

In last week’s column, I had enumerated 27 reasons why Filipinos should take the walking tour of the Walled City. It is not only a patriotic act to know the rich history of Manila during a good four centuries of Spanish rule, it also helps in the Department of Tourism’s efforts to promote domestic tourism.

Intramuros is considered as a heritage site that attracts about half a million tourists a year. A large part, or close to 80 percent are local visitors, of which a good half are organized student tours, mostly at the collegiate level.

Indeed, Intramuros is a national treasure and a historical learning center that has been acknowledged by UNESCO as a world heritage site. Currently, the biggest crowd drawer is still Fort Santiago, but San Agustin Church and its museum as well as Casa Manila have their allure as well.

Intramuros also gets its fair share of weddings, especially during the summer where parts of the Walled City are transformed into lush garden settings that provide a unique ambiance to daytime or evening receptions.

Not tourist-friendly

And yet, despite its innate attraction, Intramuros has its fair share of problems, something that needs to be acted on the soonest time possible. Those who have made a recent visit will notice at once the “unfriendly tourist” environment.

Manila City’s real life is difficult to separate from the place, and the presence of ambulant peddlers, beggars, tambays, pedicabs, junk collectors, even informal settlers are a reminder that Intramuros has its fair share of safety and security issues, especially to foreign visitors.

This is exactly validated by the hostage-taking incident involving Hong Kong tourists two years ago that had severely affected the tourism industry’s in-city travel tours. Even today, despite this globally embarrassing incident, police visibility is considerably lacking.

Aside from this major issue, there is the age-old problem dealing with access to Intramuros. There is inadequate parking, even for tourist buses. Streets are narrow; pedicabs rule the streets; and the karitela rides are not reassuring to first-time visitors.

Within the Walled City, critical areas are beset by drainage and sewerage complications that have become more pronounced with the recent deluge of higher average rains. This has also threatened parts of the Intramuros walls despite having been reinforced in recent years.

Tourists are harassed by vendors. There are not enough information desks to guide visitors. And yes, clean comfort rooms are still a problem. Traffic and directional signs are lacking or falling apart. Given all of these problems, clearly Intramuros is a heritage tourism site that needs to be more properly managed.

Private investments

It’s good to know that the Intramuros Administration, headed by Jose “Junjun” Capistrano, has been, in recent months, busy trying to put some order in the Walled City. Jerry Isada, planning consultant at IA, and Augusto Villalon, an architect and cultural heritage planner, are some of the key persons working on a masterplan.

“Once heritage is gone, it never returns.” This is the over-arching dictum that guides the redevelopment plan that is being crafted by IA focusing on historical and cultural conservation, tourism promotion and commercial development.

As the national government continues to be weighed down by budget problems, IA is opening up five parts of the new Intramuros project to private investors. These are the Maestranza Park, Ateneo Municipal, American Barracks, Ciudad Murada, and the integrated parking system.

The Maestranza Park, which is adjacent to Pasig River, will have a mall with cafes, shops, restaurants and exhibit areas. It will also have a riverside promenade as well as a river cruise dock. In future, a bridge linking Intramuros to Binondo will be built for easier access to Maestranza.

The development models for Maestranza are Darling Harbour in Sydney and Clarke Quay in Singapore. These harbor development projects are popular tourist destinations in the respective cities that generate sizable revenues for the locals.

Boutique hotel

The Ateneo Municipal, where the current DOT clamshell pavilion is situated, will have a boutique hotel, tourist shops, and offices for travel and tour operators. This will bring a more wholesome look to this impromptu area.

The boutique hotel is needed to augment tourist accommodation, including overnight lodging for night visitors, in the area. There is build-operate-transfer proposal for interested investors of this project good for 25 years.

The American Barracks, on the other hand, will have a fine dining restaurant and an American colonial period museum. Currently, an abandoned building that served as offices and barracks of the American Army at the turn of the 20th century, fills up the space.

Ciudad Murada will be a redevelopment of the old PC barracks in Intramuros. It will have a scale model exhibition of historic architectural landmarks of old Manila as its main attraction. Aside from restaurants, the area will also house souvenir stores.

The integrated parking project will be located at Club Intramuros’ driving range. This is expected to solve the long-standing parking problems in the area, and will also be the depot of the planned Intramuros loop transport system featuring tranvia-inspired shuttles.

Crucial investment

“Junjun” Capistrano, Intramuros’ administrator, is confident that the investment guidelines will be completed and available to interested parties within the year.

Without private support in this undertaking, Filipinos will have to wait longer to be able to see Intramuros transformed into a world-class showcase of Philippine history. Let’s hope things work out as planned. Otherwise, we will simply be mute witnesses to the deterioration of a world heritage.

2012 Champions League (PCCL) National Collegiate Championship

Congratulations to San Beda College Red Lions for winning its 17th NCAA championship. For coach Ronnie Magsano, it is also a great achievement to win a title in his maiden season as head coach in collegiate basketball.

Louis Alas and the “come back” team, Letran Knights, ran out of steam and luck in the deciding third game. But it was still a notable season for the Knights as they delighted their fans by clawing their way to the finals coming back strong to beat the favored San Sebastian-Recoletos Golden Stags.

The San Beda Red Lions join Ateneo Blue Eagles, UAAP champion, as seeded teams in the final four of Champions League 2012 National Collegiate Championship. The Red Lions will try to be the second NCAA team to win the national title during the past 10 years. San Sebastian College was the first NCAA team to break the UAAP dominance by winning the title last year.

The Knights, on the other hand, is in the upper bracket of Round 16 (Sweet 16) “step ladder knock out phase,” and will have to beat UST Growling Tigers to enter the Final Four.

Visit www.CollegiateChampionsLeague.net for more details about Champions League 2012 National Collegiate Championship

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