“Pride of Place”
Revived by Mayor Alfredo S. Lim
 Since Mayor Alfredo S. Lim revived and added the “heritage” component to the Manila Historical (and Heritage) Commission (MHHC), the City has become a center of cultural activities and historical commemorations, awakening a certain “pride of place” among Manileños.
Saved by Mayor Lim from demolition, the former Army & Navy Club building, circa 1911, landmark of the Burnham’s “City Beautiful” plan for Manila, is now open to those who want to visit the Museo ng Maynila. This was established by Mayor Lim during his first tenure but was closed during the past administration. Last July 2007, it reopened with the inimitable Curt Teich collection of old Manila postcards..
As restoration and development plans are being completed, the Army & Navy Club cum Museo ng Maynila has become the veritable center of Mayor Lim’s “historical and cultural awakening” program, included in his 11-point agenda.
Mayor Alfredo S. Lim has standing instructions for to the city government’s departments to cooperate with each other and work in unison and harmony for the good of the city and its inhabitants. In accordance with the Mayor’s policy, the MHHC is working jointly with the following departments: Office of Chief of Staff, City Administrator, Legal Office, City Engineer, City Planning Office, Museo ng Maynila, Manila Tourism, Parks Development, Manila Social Welfare, Barangay Bureau, NGOs Office, Division of City Schools, and the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.
The following are the programs implemented by the MHHC. Museo”
A Filipino tradition, the “tertulia” was a social get-together of friends and like-minded individuals to converse about current issues enhanced with musical presentations, usually extemporaneous. The “Tertulia sa Museo” are held at the elegant atrium of the Army & Navy Club, now Museo ng Maynila. Date: monthly, usually on the first Monday. Time: 3-6pm. Usual topics: Mnila studies, identification of heritage and historical landmarks of the city, how best to commemorate heroes and historical events, and turning points in Philippine history.
In the 2007 “tertulias”, history professors from UP Manila and Diliman, the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and the City Colleges of Manila and their students have attended. The Division of City Schools often sends student rondallas to show odd their musical talent. During the December 2007 tertulia Prof. Jaime Veneracion launched his latest history book. (MHHC partners-: Museo ng Maynila, Manila Tourism, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila)
This is an art appreciation program specially designed for senior citizens although not restricted to them. Barangay officials and members, youth councils and Manila civil servants are also included. The MHHC, Museo ng Maynila NGOs Office are jointly implementing this program with the collaboration of Filipino painters. These painters give on site appreciation lectures at the art galleries of the GSIS, Metropolitan Museum, National Museum of the Filipino People and other institutions in Manila. This is a monthly activity. (MHHC partners- Museo ng Maynila, Pamantasan ng Maynila, Manila Social Welfare department, senior citizen’s office, private sector- “Agos Kulay” watercolor painters.)
Manila is the country’s leading heritage city with influences from different cultures- native, Spanish, American and Latin. However, its built heritage resources- architectural, historical and cultural- have not been given the proper care and attention. The identification and documentation of these should be done, for the benefit of future generations. There are several schools in Manila with faculties of architecture, engineering, urban planning and fine arts and these workshops are designed for them. These workshops give basic training on architectural documentation using Manila’s built heritage resources as objects of study. This is a quarterly activity of the MHHC.
The MHHC has invited the City of Manila Engineering Office, City Planning Office, Intramuros Administration and the National Historical institute to participate in these workshops. The Heritage Conservation Society (HCS), the private sector partners, is represented by Arch. M.G. Patawaran, directors/ trustee who prepares and supervises the workshop program.
During the first series of 3-day workshops held in April, architecture students and veteran government bureaucrats made technical drawings of the Army & Navy Club building. Civil servants felt energized by the youthful enthusiasm of architecture students while the latter deepened their knowledge about heritage conservation.
Participants came from UST, UP, and from schools in Bacolod and Nueva Caceres. The architects and engineers from Intramuros Administration and City Engineers Office architects participated Archs. Manuel Noche and Rene Mata (HCS director/ treasurer HCS) of UST and UP respectively also participated. (MHHC partners—Museo ng Maynila, City Engineers Office, City Planning Office, private sector – Heritage Conservation Society. )
This is another quarterly activity held at the Museo ng Maynila ( Army & Navy Club). Due to successful networking with other agencies both local and foreign, the MHHC receives requests for lecturers who want to share their knowledge and experience with heritage advocates in the Philippines.
The first in the series (February 2008) featured Ms. Tina Paterno a leading conservationists in New York. Her lecture was most appropriate because she spoke about the problems of and solutions for heritage buildings made of adobe, coral stones and bricks, and the proper use of the “paletada”.
A monsignor from Santa Rita, Pampanga, who came because he was worried about the state of the church there. The day after the lecture, he took Ms. Tina Paterno to Pampanga to assess the church. The second lecture ( April 2008) was given by Arch. Bruce Dawbin who talked about heritage conservation in Australia. (MHHC partners- Museo ng Maynila, City Engineers Office, City Planning Office, private sector- Heritage Conservation Society )
This MHHC project is done in cooperation with the Manila City Planning Office, Parks and development and the Pamantasan ng Maynila. There are seventy-five parks and plazas in Manila so there are three tours in all. The first tour took place last 19 April, 35 people joined, the PLM lent the MHHC an air-conditioned coaster, Head of City Planning Office, Mr. Robert Amores, set the itinerary and gave the historical background of the parks and plazas, in Districts 1 and 2, included in the first tour.
Arch. Manuel Noche (UST) and Prof. Fernando Zialcita ( Ateneo U.) gladly volunteered more architectural and historical tidbits which made the tour even more interesting. This is a monthly activity, held on Saturdays from 8-11:30 pm. The meeting place is the Freedom Triangle of Manila City Hall ( Arroceros St.) Snacks are served on board. (MHHC partners- Museo ng Maynila, City Planning Office, Pamantasan ng Maynila)
The MHHC and the Manila Tourism Office plan these commemorations in honor of national heroes and those born in Manila. Mayor Alfredo S. Lim leads these commemorations and his messages, he stresses that these events are conducted for the benefit of the younger generations whose interest in history should be awakened and deepened. ( MHHC partners- Manila Tourism, Museo ng Maynila, Division of City Schools, City Engineers Office.)
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Finally, a theater for the people
by Gemma Cruz Araneta
Executive Assistant to the Mayor of Manila
Vice-chairperson, Manila Historical & Heritage Commission |
 Post-World War II Filipinos were for decades anguished by the forlorn carcass of the Metropolitan Theater. For decades, it remained a painful reminder of that terrible Battle for Manila which raged for a month, killing a hundred thousand innocent, non-combatant civilians. The country’s capital and my home town, The “Pearl of the Orient”, was bombed to smithereens, never again to recover its fabled luster. A war baby like me has no memory of how grand the Metropolitan Theater must have been; its pitiful remains were so frightfully grotesque. I had not learned to appreciate Art Deco, even if it had charming Filipino nuances. . . .
The tiara-like dome with stylized minarets, the sensuous female figures in exotic drapes, an exterior with whimsical rope designs, friezes and curly cues, the clashing ethnic-like geometric designs, a rectangular stained glass on the facade, mask-like chimeras and asparagus turrets — the total effect was bizarre, not at all alluring to a child . .
According to historical records, the Metropolitan Theatre was built in 1924 when Manila was not only the “Pearl of the Orient” but also the “Milan of Asia”, reputed to be as charming as Paris, considered a most extraordinary capital city, the only one that embraced four cultures -- the Asian, European, North American and through Spain and Mexico, the Latin American. Italian opera singers came to town so did French and Spanish theater groups. Travel books raved about amazing, incredible Manila, truly Asia’s must see destination.
So, when a member of the first Philippine Legislature in American colonial times proposed that a theatre be constructed at the lush Mehan Garden, (formerly the Jardin Botanico and the first in Asia), no one lambasted him for being a profligate elitist with misguided priorities. Culture had a high premium in those days; it had not been declared as the least of government priorities. Building the Metropolitan Theater did not seem excessive because all other basic needs like education were properly addressed with generous portions of Insular taxes allotted to the construction of public schools. To this very day, those venerable structures, found all over the countryside, are still called Gabaldon schoolhouses, in memory of that honorable gentleman from Nueva Ecija who appropriated a million pesos in 1907. The infrastructure-building frenzy included roads, bridges, ports, hospitals, town and city halls, plazas, monuments and gazebos. It took another six years to lay the first stone of the Met (as it was popularly called) on a selected spot at the eight thousand square meter Mehan Garden. Finally, on 10 December 1931, it was gloriously inaugurated with Manila’s elegant high society in full attendance. The Met boasted of one thousand six hundred seventy seats, and three sections, the orchestra, loge and balcony.
A number of young adventurous American architects who came with city planner Daniel Burnham lured by the unique opportunity of designing, in tropical Asia, edifices that would symbolize the power of glory of the American colonial administration and the democratic institutions it intended to establish. William Parsons, probably the most prolific, designed many Gabaldon schoolhouses and Douane Wright lavished his creative energy on the Lingayen capitol building and other seats of power.
It was also the heyday of the first batch of Filipino architects who graduated from schools in the USA and were immediately absorbed by the Architecture section of the Bureau of Public Works. What fun they must have had designing all those town and city halls, school houses, bridges, public buildings and other infrastructure. Reading their meticulous reports about each single project in the Public Works journals is truly delightful. I imagined the brothers Arellano, Juan and Arcadio, young and idealistic, feeling very self-fulfilled that they were helping build this nation through their architectural designs Fortunately, a number of their unrivalled buildings have survived the onslaught of time, political vicissitudes and the cruel wrecker’s ball.
Indisputably, the Metropolitan Theater was the masterpiece of Architect Juan Arellano. He did it in Art Deco style which was then rage in the USA However, Arellano’s Art Deco was not sparse and cold but as exuberant as the tropical landscape that surrounded him. Slowly but surely, I began to admire how he transformed traditional designs into modern fantasies, his eclecticism and that imperceptible hint of decadence. Juan Arellano certainly had imagination; no wonder the Met is considered a precious jewel of the Art Deco genre. During the Japanese occupation, many theaters in Manila closed down but the Met continued to be the center of cultural entertainment presenting zarzuelas, plays, operas and variety shows.
It was damaged during the Battle for Manila in February 1945 and was saved from total extinction by the US Rehabilitation Act of 1946. But by the 1960’S it had fallen into disrepair. When Imelda R. Marcos, First Lady, began to patronize the arts and one of her projects was to restore the Met to its former glory, a dream fulfilled in December 1978. As if by miracle, Francesco Monti's sculptured deities at the Met lobby came to life, so did the Amorsolo murals that celebrated dance and music (now at the GSIS for safekeeping). The stained glass façade by Kraut and the proscenium by House of Precast were stunning. Tomas Pinpin’s delightful ceiling trellises of succulent mangoes, graceful bamboo stalks, flamboyant anahaw and banana leaves were the rarest examples of Philippine Art Deco.
Under Mrs. Marcos' watch, the Met had a ballroom with a chandelier and furniture from Europe; there were offices, dressing rooms, verandas and the interior gardens landscaped and manicured. The Met housed the Manila Symphony, a gallery of Philippine costumes and two rare grand pianos, the names of which I could never pronounce. Mrs. Marcos had appointed Ms. Conchita Sunico, venerable socialite, as the director of the Met. When the Marcos government was overthrown in 1986, the new dispensation declared culture as the least of its priorities. I think Ms. Sunico was constrained to resign after which the GSIS and Manila were both claiming ownership of the Met while it slowly deteriorated due to water infiltration and disuse.
At one point, Mrs. Nenita Manzano (Edu's mothers) took over, valiantly, as the Met without official support began to die, slowly and painfully. It was leased to several entertainment companies like Bulwagang Gantimpala, Teatro Pilipino and the Action Community Theater Group. Mrs. Manzano (may she rest in peace) could not even hold regular office hours at a place where electricity and water had been cut off. In the meantime, thanks to then Mayor Lito Atienza, a nondescript Park n' Ride was constructed behind the Met, eating up more of the Mehan Garden, attracting itinerant vendors, insalubrious food stalls, thus compromising the privileged landscape of our Art Deco jewel.
Persistently , the Met refused to die. In 2004, the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) received Php 50 million from President Gloria M. Arroyo for the restoration of the Metropolitan Threatre. In July 2007, Senator Alfredo S. Lim became mayor of Manila once again; he revived the Manila Historical and Heritage Commission (MHHC) and assigned to it the restoration of the Met. The NCCA hired a private firm to prepare a detailed engineering study which includes a rehabilitation plan that is now being implemented by the City of Manila Engineering Office. The main roof and the two minor ones have been repaired. The orchestra pit is no longer a swimming pool for dengue mosquitos. The House of Precast has returned to the scene and is now restoring the proscenium it made in the 1930's and Kraut is working on the stained glass facade.
Representative Monica P. Teodoro kindly donated Php 1 million and not to be outdone, RepresentativeMary Anne Susano pledged Php 5 million but has yet to send the Special Allotment Release (SAR). A Met Theatre Restoration Steering Committee has been formed to focus on rehabilitation and operations. Among its members are: NCCA Chairperson, Villma Labrador, Presidential Assistant on Culture and the Arts, Cecile G. Alvarez, German Moreno, GSIS Property Manager, Danilo S. Martinez, Manila Councilors John Marvin Nieto and Lou Veloso, Museo ng Maynilas Officer-in-Charge, Ma. Monina Katherina B. Santiago, and yours truly. At this writing, a Tripartite Memorandum of Agreement is scheduled for signing by the troika-- City of Manila, GSIS and NCCA. Manila may no longer be the “Milan of Asia” but it will soon have a precious Art Deco people’s theater that will be the pride of Asia.
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HISTORY |
THE UNTOLD STORY OF ‘MAYNILA’
By Carmen Guerrero Nakpil
Chairwoman Manila Historical and Heritage Commission |
For the last 50 years, the City of Manila has been glad-handing, brass-banding, speechifying and merry-making on the 24th of June as Araw ng Maynila or its Foundation Day. The reason is that on that same day in 1571, Legaspi established a municipal council in what is now Intramuros.
The impression on Filipinos and foreigners alike is that a lordly, Spanish conquistador founded the city of Manila late in the 16th century on a primeval swamp at the month of the Pasig River populated by naked savages, who had never had a taste of social organization, and were thus set on the path to civilization by a European.
The mostly untold true follow (see Tome Pires, Pigafetta, Majul, W.H. Scott and Gaspar de San Agustin):
1. The natives of the island of Luzon, including Batangas, Bulacan, Pampanga were traders, investors, mercenaries, seafarers called Luzones, operating in the commerce triangle of Southeast Asia between Canton, Malacca and Timor, as early as the 14th century. They owned ships, underwrote large-scale export ventures, and were called “discoverers”, for their sea-faring skills. They probably taught the vaunted Spanish explorer, Urdaneta, his skills in negotiating the China Sea. As warriors, “the most warlike and valiant in these parts”, the Luzones fought in Malacca, the Batak-Menangkabaw army, in Ayuthia under the command of a Filipino called Sapetu Diraja. Notable Luzones included Regimo and Surya Diraja were magnates and plantation owners, selling shares in their gold, sandalwood and cotton exports to illiterate Portuguese in Malacca.
2. The chief city in Luzon was Maynila located at the mouth of the Pasig River, ruled by 3 Muslim kinglets: Ache (of Raha Matanda) a grandson of Sultan Bolkiah of Borneo, Raha Sulayman, Ache’s nephew, and Raha Lakandula of Tondo. There were local Taga-ilog chieftains, the datu of surrounding fiefdoms.
3. “The town all around this bay”, says a Spanish chronicle quoted by O.D. Corpus in The Roots of the Filipino Nation, “was really marvelous. It was tilled and cultivated. The slopes were smooth. So excellent indications have not been seen in this land. The town was situated on the bank of the river, defended by a palisade. Within were many warriors and the shore outside was crowded with many people. Pieces of artillery stood at the gates, guarded by bombardiers, linstock in hand.” Mention was made of 40 neighboring villages, 4 Chinese trading junks in the harbor, 40 married Chinese couples and 20 Japanese.
4. As Legaspi’s shipmaster, Martin de Goiti, attacked Maynila with 120 Spanish soldiers and 300 Cebuano allies in May 1570, but Raha Sulayman routed them with his bronze cannon and poisoned arrows, and de Goiti withdrew, via Cavite and Mindoro to the Spanidh headquarters at Cebu. The next year, in June 1571, the Spanish tried again. This time the Adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legaspi came himself, with 3 more ships sent as reinforcements from Mexico. He sent a gift to Raha Matanda and sought a conciliatory audience with Sulayman but another force of Tagalog gathered at the estero of Bankusay in Tondo and engaged the Spanish armada. The day went to the superior firepower of the Spanish because Sulayman’s foundry, warehouses and armory had been reduced to ashes, some documents say by the Cebuanos, others by Sulayman himself.
5. After winning a battle over an estero, Legaspi claimed conquest and Spanish sovereignity over the city of Maynila, the island of Luzon and the entire archipelago, naming them “The New Castilla” and bestowing a city charter with municipal councilors, a plan for a plaza, two grand houses and 150 smaller houses and a project for the distribution of land. All of this was unilateral paperwork in a foreign European language which no one else understood or attested, because he continued to recognized Sulayman and Lakandula as Lords and Masters of Maynila and Tondo. Every so often a fleet of Tagalog datus would come sailing down the river in long boats to challenge the Spanish garrison which had to depend for its meals on the Chinese or the Tagalog.
These were the conditions in Maynila on 24 June 1571. Knowing them, would anyone venture to say that this was the day life began for Manila and the Manilans?
This year a better perspective will endow Araw ng Maynila, one closer to historical truths. A parade of Filipino Muslims, in their traditional garb of malong and veils for the women, and pants, jackets and kris for the men will march together from the mosque in Quiapo to the tip of Fort Santiago, the site of Sulayman’s palisaded palace. It will be joined by school youth dressed in Tagalog finery of the period to represent the datu and the Tagalog population. The highest-ranking Filipino Muslim, Adel Tamano, president of the Pamantasan ng Maynila will preside over the ceremonies and speak on the historical background of Araw ng Maynila. A flower wreath will then be laid on the grave of the Adelantado Legaspi in san Agustin church in remembrance of his role in the development of Manila. At the end, we should all feel better and be much less ignorant.
 THE 63RD COMMEMORATION OF THE
BATTLE FOR MANILA
Photos and story by Señor Enrique
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 Mayor Alfredo S. Lim presided over the 63rd Anniversary of the Battle for Manila today at the Freedom Triangle, City Hall, Manila. National Secretary of Defense Gilberto Teodoro gave the keynote address, while Diosdado Guytingco, who fought during the battle, spoke in behalf of the survivors.
 Master of Ceremony Gemma Cruz-Araneta, New Zealand Ambassador David Pine, Mayor Alfredo Lim, National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney, Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil, Canadian Ambassador Robert Desjardins, and Jihao Jun, Chief of Political Section of the Chinese Embassy. for more story, visit Señor Enrique blog.
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Mayor Lim and Ambassador Kristie Kenney with the students of the City College of Manila - School of the Arts and Sciences. (By Señor Enrique)
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MANILA HISTORICAL & HERITAGE COMMISSION
Ms. Gemma Cruz Araneta
Secretariat
Museo ng Maynila
(Former Army & Navy Club Bldg.)
Ground Floor, South Blvd.
Ermita, Manila. 1000.
Telefax: (0632) 524-54-91
405-01-35
E-mail: gemma601@yahoo.com
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439th ARAW NG MAYNILA
GMANews Video Link |
Saksi: Araw ng Maynila concert attended by big crowds ► |
Noynoy Aquino leads this year's batch of Outstanding Manilans ► |
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438th ARAW NG MAYNILA
Photo Gallery |
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Manila Strength of Experience
By Carina Roncesvalles
Philstar.com July 26, 2009 |
MANILA, Philippines - Every time the world talks about the Philippines, the City of Manila is in the spotlight. As the country’s capital, Manila evokes history and heritage as well as socio-economic development. The nation’s heart and soul, Manila remains the political, social, economic, educational and cultural center of the country.In his second tenure as Manila’s chief executive, Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim brings wisdom and experience to the post. That is why Manila has reaped achievements in crucial sectors in the framework of “Linisin at Ikarangal ang Maynila.” There is no place like Manila! And there is no Mayor like Alfredo S. Lim. If you are a young student, you are lucky to be in Manila.
The Constitution guarantees free education at the primary andsecondary levels but in Manila, the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, established by the late Mayor Antonio Villegas; and the City College of Manila (CCM), founded by Lim, give free education to deserving students. When Mayor Lim re-joined the city in July 2007, the city treasury had a whopping deficit of P1.8 billion, enough to dampen his will to deliver the basic needs of his constituents.
His credibility and integrity in government office enabled him to receive numerous donations from various kind-hearted sectors that covered the financial requirements (including donations from PAGCOR and PCSO) to provide basic services to the city’s residents. His first contribution to the city, upon his return to the office, was the creation of the satellite offices in the six districts to bring City Hall’s services closer to the constituents and reduce the queues of people at City Hall who line up for their birth, death and marriage certificates.
He also institutionalized the regular Friday People’s Day as his way of opening the doors of City Hall to the complaints, concerns and suggestions coming from Manila residents. During the regular Friday People’s Day, the Mayor allots one or two hours per district to listen to his people.
For education, Lim ordered the immediate renovation of old school buildings to make them safe and conducive for use by elementary and high school students. Along this line, he doubled the revolving funds of school principals to P40, 000 so that, at their level, they could pursue repair and maintenance works without having to go through the central office. Tertiary institutions like the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and the City College of Manila received P50 million as additional funding to ensure that they can give quality education to more college students.
The Mayor also ordered the principals and school teachers not to collect donations among other extra fees from students so they will not add to the financial burdens of their students and their families. He banned all kinds of donations, JS Proms and even made the entrance examinations to the City College of Manila free of charge despite the school board’s resolution imposing entrance examination fees.The Mayor also distributed school bags with school supplies to elementary students so they would be better equipped for school. He also turned over 184 personal computers with printers to 32 city high schools to upgrade their technological capabilities.
The turnover was held at the Araullo High School along United Nations Avenue. He also inaugurated a new three-storey building for the F. Balagtas Elementary School with 12 classrooms replacing the old building that was previously burned down. He inaugurated a lot of newly-renovated and newly-built school buildings in 2008.
For children before pre-school age, the Mayor vowed to provide day-care centers in all barangays of the city, especially in the 30-percentdepressed barangays that do not have such facilities for the children. In fact, he inaugurated on Sept. 11, 2008 two mobile day-care centers that the United Nations Children’s Fund donated to the city.
Lim also personally delivered the wheelchairs. He has given more than 500 wheelchairs. Many of these were donated by civic organizations.The City offered free cataract surgery in four city-run hospitals for Manila residents in collaboration with the Philippine Academy Medical Specialist (PAMS) which benefited 400 indigent patients.
Another free cataract removal was held at the Hospital of Infant Jesus in Laon–Laan, Sampaloc in collaboration with Rotary Club of Manila in 2008. Lim reopened the AIDS clinic at the Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center in commemorating World AIDS day. Lim received nine boxes of medicine (metronidazole injection USP) worth P300,000 from the Rotary Club of Makati – Urdaneta. for the indigent patients of four city-run hospitals.He also got 119 boxes of assorted medical supplies donated by the 3P Foundation (USA) headed by its chairman Armando de Rossi.
Medical supplies, equipment, and surgical instruments were donated by US citizens. The Rotary Club of Manila donated four dialysis machines while Rep. Jaime Lopez of District 2 gave P200,000 cash to ensure the treatment and maintenance medicines to be given free to the residents.
He also directed to increase the 207 traffic cops at the traffic bureau by another 100 and to deploy all 38 motorcycle cops to the major intersections during rush hours (7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., and 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.) Lim also ordered the immediate adoption of three shifts (7 a.m. to 3 p.m., 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., and 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.) so the cops will have time for their families. But he said the policemen must be on standby in cases of emergency. He reiterated his no-vendor policy in all parts of the city so that pedestrians and motorists could use the road. He also asked the cops to revive the Manila’s Finest tradition of notjust maintaining law and order, but also to further serve the people by bringing a pregnant woman to the hospital or giving information on locations to those who seem to be lost in the city.
To protect the cops from undue harassment, he ordered the City Legal Office’s 22 lawyers to be always available to assist them in charges that they encounter in line of duty.He ordered the lighting of major roads, bridges, thoroughfares, plazas and parks and in particular the lighting of dark streets in Tondo, Manila where crimes are frequently committed. He asked the City Electrician to coordinate with Manila Electric Company to replace all 75-watt bulbs on city roads with 200 watts to more effectively protect the citizens from criminals.
The elderly or senior citizens are Mayor Lim’s major personal concern. He reaches out to them and gives them whatever they need out of gratitude for the caring that they gave to the current citizens of Manila. He directed the city’s Department of Social Welfare (DSW), under OIC Jay de la Fuente, to compute the cost of feeding the senior citizens.The Mayor said, “The elderly deserve a better treatment from us since they were the ones who reared us and took care of our needs in our youth.” So in their twilight years, “it is but fittingfor us to show our gratitude to them.” The satellite offices or mini city halls in the six districts were ordered to inform the senior citizens of the activities lined-up for them each week such as chess and other board games and even sports. The senior citizens can watch TV at the satellite offices where they can also have meal the whole day each week.
Other social services that the city offers to its constituents are: free cremation at the Manila North Cemetery; P350,000 livelihood capital assistance for the unemployed, underemployed and those who want to get into micro businesses with loans from P1,000 to P5,000 advanced by the city government. Recently, the city government held the First Mega Jobs Fair at the Gat Andres Bonifacio Shrine where 50 companies (with over 3,000 vacant positions) participated.
It was followed by another at the San Andres Complex and at Far Eastern University on Dec. 5, 2008 in coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment National Capital Region office. It also built playgrounds, including the newly-inaugurated Baseco playground and distributed ID cards for 500 disabled residents.
The card entitles them to 20 percent discount. In one year, the City Treasury was able to improve its tax collection, giving it a position to grant its employees a Christmas bonus and rice subsidy for the last Christmas season. Lim increased the salaries of city employees by 10 percent, and added P500 to the financial assistance allowance, making it P2,500 per month.
Lim is probably the only Mayor who meticulously commemorates historical events and the deeds of Filipino heroes like Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Marcelo del Pilar, GOMBURZA, and the Luna brothers. He erected the first ever monument to General Macario Sakay and enhanced the monument of Apolinario Mabini. He revived the Manila Historical and Heritage Commission (MHHC) which he has directed to give lectures on Philippine history and culture for the benefit of students, the barangays, principals, teachers and other government workers.
The MHHC also sponsors art workshops, and Lakbay Aral tours. Other important projects are the reopening of the Museo ng Maynila as the city museum of Manila and the restoration of the Metropolitan Theater.
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