WHAT IS URBAN DECAY?

Some of the most promising cities and towns have now turned into neglected
wastelands that breed criminals and diseases. This is a phenomenon observed the
world over and has various causes. Sociologists refer to this phenomenon as urban
decay.

Urban decay, in simpler terms, is the gradual falling apart of a previously functional
city or town. Urban decay may be caused by deindustrialization, economic
breakdown, and failure of businesses, which in turn leads to increasing crime rates,
growing unemployment, and rising poverty in the area. This condition is evident
from abandoned buildings, overrun sewers, trash and rubble on the streets, and a
desolate landscape. Another important reason for urban decay is the development,
both economic and social, of some other area in close proximity, to which the
population has migrated for better opportunities. Urban decay has no single cause,
but is a result of interrelated social and economic conditions. In order to save our
cities from this condition, we need to take care of not only our homes but also the
world outside. This will ensure that the city, which might be slowly rotting away, is
saved from decaying and a stable economic and social future is maintained for
everyone.

A)URBAN BLIGHT
ONGPIN STREET

Entrance to Ongpin Street off Plaza Lorenzo Ruiz, Binondo

Manila is a city of cities within a city. Different eras and ethnic groups have given us
districts with distinct flavours, from Spanish colonial order in Intramuros to the City
Beautiful area built under the Burnham Plan and more modern Americanised urban
planning in Makati, Quezon City and Fort Bonifacio.
A very special part of the city, and one that is at risk of being destroyed, is Ongpin
Street in Manilas Chinatown of Binondo. The built form in Binondo is very dense
and the area has been subject to recent development interest for both retail and
residentialprojects.There are no particularly remarkable buildings along Ongpin
Street, but rather it is the fabric and rhythym of this area that sets it apart.
Gloriously lively and winding, Ongpin Street feels a bit like 1960s Hong Kong and is
a hidden gem for tourists that find it. The street starts from the Plaza Lorenzo Ruiz
and runs in a broad curve to the Carriedo Fountain and Santa Cruz church. Several
estero crossings along the way break up the journey.

The entrance from the Plaza Lorenzo Ruiz, next to the church of St Lorenzo Ruiz is
tucked away and easily missed for people not familiar with the area.
On entering the street though, you are met with the thriving centre of Manilas
Chinatown. There are a number of restaurants and other businesses that are
longstanding staples of Manilas Chinese community and shops spill bountifully out
onto the street. Car traffic is minimal compared to other parts of Manila, and is
slowed by the narrowness of the street and the level of activity. Pedestrians are
king by necessity the footpaths are very narrow and interrupted by steps and
sharp level changes, forcing people to walk in the street. As with many of Manilas
backstreets, pedestrians, cyclists and even horse and carts are respected and given
space by motorists.
Buildings that have fine-grained, active frontages are dominant. The shopfronts are
narrow but deep, so a wide variety fits into a relatively short stretch of space. The
second storey of many buildings are active, with windows and balconies allowing
casual observation of the activity below.

Salazar Street, off Ongpin Street

Older shops next to the Ramada Hotel, Ongpin Street

The area is also crossed by many esteros, and the bridges that carry the street over
them have been made into features that display the proud Chinese heritage of the
district.

The vibrancy and success of local businesses has attracted investment into the
area, with the pressure for more residential and commercial floorspace seeing
several new buildings constructed. However, the style of redevelopment is at odds

with what has made Ongpin Street a successful urban space. Dense, active street
frontages that run to the property boundary have been replaced by wider and
shallower retail space, or parking and driveways that cut the close connection
between the street and activities within the buildings.
A new building housing East West Bank and Security Bank is a prime example of
poor planning in this context. The building is set back further from the street than
its neighbours to allow parking in front, breaking up the existing uniform street edge
and interrupting pedestrian flow. Instead of the narrow but deep shopfronts, two

wide retail tenancies housing the bank branches are set behind the row of parking.
The podium levels are also used for car parking, so that there is no activity looking
over the street from above. The building design is not appropriate for its context.

New building under construction with East West Bank branch car parking out the
front is at odds with the rest of the street, and the wide retail spaces reduce the
diversity of the frontage.

The podium level is used for car parking and presents a blank wall to the street. If
podium car parking is unavoidable, it could be set back further in the building
envelope to allow other uses at the front of the building, and the number of car
parks reduced.
Mandarin Square is another building with an inappropriate faade dominated by
driveway and blank walls.

Mandarin Square driveways and parking dominate, with shops set well back from
the street. The blank wall of the podium level destroys the vibrancy of the street.
The nearby Ramada Hotel is also a newer development, but its design ties in better
with the existing Ongpin Street rhythym. It is built to the street without parking in
front, the shopfronts are narrower, and while vehicle access to the basement is via
an entrance on Ongpin Street, the entrance is not overly wide.

Ramada Hotel the car park entrance is more discrete, shop fronts are built to the
boundary and the second storey window connects activity within the building to the
street outside.
None of this is to say that Ongpin Street should not be the site of redevelopment.
But the vision for Ongpin Street ought to be to retain the features that make it so
special and speak of its history as a pedestrian-friendly, narrow thoroughfare with
high levels of retail and business activity. Redevelopment should be based on the
existing street patterns, so:

1. buildings should be built to the front boundary, with no set-back;

2. frontages should be predominantly retail-based and active, with shopfront widths
that emulate existing traditional buildings. This means that entrances to any car
parks should be from side streets if possible, and if access from Ongpin Street is the
only possible solution, the entrance should be as narrow as possible;
3. second storeys should also be active, with opportunities to overlook the street
(e.g. restaurants with windows or balconies); and
4. car access should be restricted, with no front of building parking other than
parallel parking on the street (where space and local regulation permits).
There is also opportunity to clean up the esteros and line them with restaurants,
trees and pedestrian walkways.

Esteros could be cleaned up and become pedestrian links and provide opportunities
for retail and restaurants

If buildings with significant parking continue to be constructed, the resulting

induced traffic would cause Ongpin Street to seize up with congestion. There is
simply no space for more vehicular traffic than current levels.
Ongpin Street is a special part of Manila, and although it does not have many
historic buildings left, its long history as the centre of Manilas Chinatown (one of
the oldest in the world) is alive today in the rhythym and activity that makes this
street so fascinating. This character is at risk of destruction if more development of
the type seen recently is permitted to continue. New development should be of a
scale and character to fit in with the existing streetscape, or otherwise would be
better located in different parts of Chinatown such as around the Plaza Lorenzo Ruiz
where space and character are more suited to large-scale buildings. Manila has a
chance to preserve Ongpin Street as a special part of the city and a potential tourist
drawcard, but each new inappropriate development is rapidly closing that window of
opportunity.

B)INFORMAL SETTLERS
SQUATTER IN THE VERNACULAR

Iskwater - Tagalog version of squatter referring to a physically disorganized

collection of shelters made of light and often visually unappealing materials
where poor people reside.

Estero - Narrower than sewers and associated with bad smell.

Eskinita - Refers to alleys that hold only one person at a time.

Looban - Meaning inner areas where houses are built so close to each other
and often in a manner not visible to the general view of the city.

Dagat-dagatan - For areas that are frequently flooded.

MAGNITUDE OF INFORMAL SETTLERS IN METRO MANILA

Slums can be found in 526 communities, located in all the cities and
municipalities of Metro Manila.

They account for some 2.54 million people living in the most depressed areas
of the metropolis.

They are usually located along rivers and creeks, in garbage dumps, along
railroad tracks, under bridges, and beside factories and other industrial
establishments.

Slums located next to mansions in affluent residential areas are not

uncommon.

The settlement pattern of the urban poor is generally dispersed, with houses
located wherever there is space to occupy.

SUMMARY (LGUs and NGAs)

THE NUMBER OF INFORMAL SETTLERS IN METRO MANILA BY CITY

AND MUNICIPALITY

BINONDOs INFORMAL SETTLERS

The case with Binondo is that the informal settlers occupied beside Estero de la
Reina. Making it one of the dirtiest canal in the country. They filled the area with
different kinds of waste and human excrement. The City of Manila conducted lots of
clearing operations and tried to relocate the people residing in the said location. But
they just keep on coming back, now they can still be seen living a dangerous and
unhealthy life on the Estero.

This is the Soler Street Bridge. They formed an informal housing

community of their own.

The other side of the Soler Street Bridge. You cant really see the water
with all those trash floating in the canal.

The red marker indicates the shanty locations of the informal settlers in
Soler Street.

This is Meisic Street Bridge and theres only a handful of them residing
here. Theyre mostly street vendors that sells cigarettes, candies and
energy drinks to the malls employees.

The red marker indicates the shanty locations of the informal settlers in
Meisic Street.

C)VAGRANCIES

VAGRANTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

My global issue is homelessness and my country is the Philippines. There are some
examples of the relationship between unemployment in 2008 and homeless people
in 2005 in the Philippines. One example is that when there were 1,000 homeless
people, there were 3,000 unemployed people. Another example is when there were
1,900 homeless people, there were 3,650 unemployed people. Then when there
were 4,750 homeless people, there were 4,000 unemployed people. Next, when
there were 6,950 homeless people, there were 6,300 unemployed people. Another
one is, when there were 6,400 homeless people, there were 7,950 unemployed
people. Then, when there were 600 homeless people, there were 6,500 unemployed
people. Next, when there were 4,950 homeless people, there were 3,450
unemployed people. One more example is that when there were 9,300 homeless
people, there were 6,500 unemployed people. (Good Works, Inc.)

Those are some of the examples in the Philippines between the rate of
unemployment and homeless people. In half of these examples the unemployment
rate is higher and in the other half of these examples the homelessness rate is
higher. As more people become poor, more people become increasingly at risk of
homelessness. People can become homeless for a variety of reasons. One reason
may be because the person may have come from a poor family living in an already
impoverished area. Another reason is because of poverty, which is a common
reason as to why people become homeless. The poverty rate and the number in
poverty increased across all types of families: married-couple families (5.8 percent
and 3.4 million in 2009 from 5.5 percent and 3.3 million in 2008); femalehouseholder-with-no-husband-present families (29.9 percent and 4.4 million in 2009
from 28.7 percent and 4.2 million in 2008) and for male-householder-no-wifepresent families (16.9 percent and 942,000 in 2009 from 13.8 percent and 723,000
in 2008). Another reason may be because of outstanding medical expenses. Many
people who experience homelessness are employed. In 2007 the Mayors
Conference (representing the major cities in the US) found that 17.4% of homeless
adults in families were working. (The World Race.) Absentee landownership results
in the wealth that is gained from the sale of these resources not staying in this area.
More and more jobs are low-paying service industry work. The reason might also be
because the person may have come from a poor family living in an already
impoverished area. People who are homeless and the people who are helping them
know that homelessness is about so much more than housing. People often become
homeless when their housing and economic issues collide with other crisis such as

domestic violence, physical or mental illness, addiction, transition into adulthood,

and relational strains. Up to half of homeless women and children are victims
of domestic violence. Just recently, the number of Philippians with no health
insurance has been reported at over 50 million. About 26% of people who
experience homelessness nationwide arementally ill (Department of Housing and
Urban Development).

This compares to 6% of the countrys general population (Substance Abuse and

Mental Health Services Administration). Mental illness often makes people who
suffer from it unable to work & if theyre unable to work theyre not making any
money which means theyll eventually run out of money and not have any for
shelter and maybe not even enough to buy food or clothing. Those are some of the
many reasons as to why people become homeless. Homelessness has always been
a problem. Homelessness is a problem because to live you dont need a home but
everyone should have the right to feel protected and be protected and to live in a
safe environment with friends and family and to have ample food and water. We can
help to end the problem of homelessness around the world in many ways. One way
to end homelessness would be to start an organization with all of your family and
friends and post your organization on a website and create many ads for it and
publish it in newspapers and magazines all across the world and get people to
donate food, water, clothing, and money for homeless people all across the world.
My organization is called World Vision and if you would like to participate in helping
the homeless, you could consider looking up soup kitchens around your area or look
up homeless organizations and see if any of them would let you actively participate
in things.

VAGRANTS IN METRO MANILA

WE have seen them in the streets of Metro Manila. They catch our attention in a few
seconds but we quickly shake them out of our thoughts as we go to our
destinations. They are the homeless street dwellers in the city. We might wonder
why they are without shelters and why they are in the crowded city. The usual
image is them sleeping in their karitons, below the bridges and flyover, and in
covered sidewalks and pavements. There are also other homeless that are seen less
in the streets. They live in cemeteries, abandoned structures and shanties in the
clogged waterways of the city.
How many exactly are the homeless in Metro Manila? It is difficult to have an
accurate number because their population is in a constant flux. The best estimate is
that there maybe 4,000 to 5,000 homeless street families in Metro Manila. Studies

show that homeless are categorized into transient, episodic and chronic. The
transitionally homeless have the least time spent in being homeless. They still have
desires to extricate themselves from this condition. The episodic type have been
homeless longer and a push could tip them in one direction or the other. The
chronically homeless are the ones who have been in the streets a long time. They
may have no realistic hopes for the future and could have accepted homelessness
as a chosen lifestyle.
Why would persons and families end up without shelters? Recently, robust research
evidence has emerged indicating that homelessness is the outcome of dynamic
interactions between individualistic reasons and structural changes. Adverse events
in the lives of individuals, when coinciding with certain structural factors, could
result in individuals with their families becoming homeless. Structural reasons are
due to income poverty; inadequate social service coverage; and inaccessible
housing markets. Individualistic reasons are personal characteristics of homeless
persons and suggest that homelessness is a consequence of personal problems.
Often cited are loss of income and livelihood, family feud, house demolition and
disaster. For instance, poverty and total loss of livelihood coupled with family feud
pushes families toward homelessness.

Apart from structural and individualistic factors that push them to homelessness,
they opt to stay in the city because the place provides them a means to survive on
a daily basis. In Metro Manila, majority of homeless interviewed cited economic
reasons in staying in the city. These are odd jobs like vending, car park attendants,
pedicab drivers, recycling scavenged materials, helpers in public markets, and
many sort of ephemeral jobs combined sometimes with begging for food and loose
change. Daily cash income ranges from a hundred to P300 a day but it can go as
high as P500 to P600.
Almost half have been chronically homeless for more than eight to 10 years. There
might actually be some tangible benefits to being homeless from the point of view
of not having stable and permanent income. Being homeless frees them of certain
household obligations like the maintenance cost of homes (utilities and rental). They
may also feel unobligated in terms of the normal responsibilities to their families as
they already lead atypical and abnormal lives. It gives them a certain sense of
flexibility in looking for opportunities around the city. Once hope and change for a
better life are abandoned, once daily survival and working in ephemeral jobs
becomes a habit, then homelessness becomes the only economic option, and they
are here to stay in the city.
In response to these challenges, the Department of Social Welfare and Development
has designed the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer for Homeless Street Families

who were not covered by the regular conditional cash-transfer program (CCT). It is
essentially CCT with emphasis on assisting homeless families in the transition
toward living in decent dwellings. The program was piloted in Metro Manila in 2013
and is now starting to expand in other urban centers nationwide. But, as discussed
above, homelessness is a complex issue and it is not a problem that will easily
disappear. The nature of homeless persons and families changes overtime,
depending on the structural weaknesses of the economy and the characteristics of
the population. The important thing is that we are now addressing the homeless
challenge and it is hoped that their numbers will start to dwindle soon.

VAGRANTS IN BINONDO

On a trip to Binondo, there are a number of things you will notice immediately
including the traffic, the very narrow streets, how people seem to be everywhere,
and poverty.
Ive seen some of these things during a trip to Binondo. While it was essentially
a food trip of Binondos gastronomic offerings, I also took the chance to take photos
of Binondos streets. What Ive seen is a combination of chaos (which isnt always a
bad thing), nostalgia, poverty, and compassion, on top of the other things Ive
discussed in other posts.

CHAOS AND POVERTY

Binondo has some of the most chaotic streets in Manila. The reason mostly is its
narrow streets, streets of a bygone era, which are now unable to accommodate the
hundreds of vehicles that pass by them every day.
Then theres poverty. At Plaza de Binondo, youll find throngs of homeless people
and their children. Its a heartbreaking sight.

Kids playing with confetti from a wedding outside the Binondo Church. One of the
other typical sights in Binondopoverty.

Family passing time at the Plaza de Binondo, Manila. One of the other typical sights
in Binondopoverty.

Girl playing with a calachuchi flower. One of the other typical sights in Binondo
poverty.

FAMOUS ONGPIN

REAL LIFE BINONDO

D)
DILAPIDATING SETTLEMENTS, STRUCTURES,
BUILDINGS
THE ABANDONED HOUSE OF HENERAL ANTONIO LUNA

Theres an old house nestled in the San Nicolas district of Manila that looks like an
ordinary old house at first glance. This house has capiz windows, wooden walls at
the top floor, and a large front door typical of the bahay na bato of the Spanish
era.

The old house is actually the birthplace of General Antonio Luna. Unfortunately, just
like other historical houses in our country, General Antonio Lunas birthplace is in
great disrepair. The roof is about to fall off and the windows have missing capiz
shells.

General Lunas house looked bad on the outside and I shudder to think how worse it
is in the inside.

Another sad fact is that the front of General Lunas birthplace became a tambakan,
parking lot, and even a sleeping place of Binondos homeless.

EL HOGAR FILIPINO

Circa: 1914
Location: 117 Juan Luna Street cor Muelle dela Industria, Binondo, Manila
History: This classic example of the Beaux-Arts school of design was built in 1914
by Antonio Melian, a self-proclaimed Peruvian count who formed the El Hogar
Mutual Association, a financing cooperative. It was his wedding present of sorts to
wife Margarita Zobel (of the Zobel de Ayala clan) and their initials adorn the
staircase of the building.
Designed by architect Ramond de Yrureta-Goyena with engineer Roque Ruao, the
Spanish Dominican priest credited for building the first earthquake-resistant building
in Asia (the UST Main Building in Sampaloc), El Hogar Filipino was occupied by the
Japanese during World War II and heavily damaged during the American bombings.
After the war, it was restored and a new floor was added.
What it is now: It is still in use today as an office building. Though it looks rundown, you can still get a glimpse of interesting architectural details on its facade
and interiors. Since the late 1990s, the building has been a favorite location for film

and TV productions such as the movie Mano Po and the music video for Bamboo's
hit song "Hallelujah."

CAPITOL THEATER

Circa: 1930s
Location: 245 Escolta Street, Binondo, Manila
History: "Built in the 1930s by architect Juan Nakpil, this Art Deco jewel once
mounted on its balcony wall a mural by Filipino modernist Vitorio Edades. The
building is designed with a generously lighted commercial block, tail ended by spirelike towers, with its Western tower dominated by an Egyptian-inspired step pyramid.
Along the face of the Western tower are bas reliefs attributed perhaps to the atelier
of Francisco Monti. The building's demise began in the late 1970s when Escolta lost
favor to more prominent shopping districts like Cubao and Makati," from the
book Art Deco in the Philippines.
What it is now: There is a restaurant bar occupying the ground floor. They tried to
draw in the Binondo crowd by showing Chinese films, but that didn't work.
Eventually it started showing second-run feature films and then closed down. There

was an attempt to convert the theater into a restaurant with a performing art stage,
but that didn't work as well. The theater is now closed, while a portion is now used
by a downmarket eatery.

IDES O'RACCA

Circa: 1935
Location: Corner of M de Santos and Folgueras Streets, Binondo, Manila
History: Inaugurated in 1935 by a Dr Isidro de Santos, the original plan for the
building was to be a cold storage. It is said that Dr de Santoss German son-in-law, a
civil engineer, oversaw the construction of the building, hence the reason why it is
still standing despite the numerous fires and earthquakes it has encountered.
In 1936, Dr de Santos' cold storage business failed and was foreclosed. It was later
sold to a Japanese confectionery company. During World War II, the Japanese
Imperial Army took over the building and installed machine guns on the roof. When
the Americans returned, they converted the building into a storage space for their
troops. Before the Americans left, they turned over the property to the Philippine
government who are still the current owners of the building.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the upper floors of the building was used by
various government agencies like the National Abaca Corporation and the National
Cooperatives, while the lower floors were leased to shop owners. But what fires,
wars and earthquakes could not destroy, time and neglect have.
What it is now: Still used as an office building, a number of its tenants have

organized themselves into an association and are battling against time and
bureaucracy to have the building declared a historical landmark, so that the building
can be restored to its original beauty.

CHACO

Circa: 1920s
Location: Corner of Quintin Paredes and Dasmarias Streets, Binondo, Manila
History: Originally known as Chaco, after prominent Chinese businessman Mariano
Uy Chaco who commissioned the building to house his hardware firm. When he
went back to China in 1910, he turned over his business to his son Uy Vet, who
transformed the company from a general hardware store to direct importer and
distributor of tools and machinery. Uy Vet later went on to become a leader in the
Chinese community, sitting on the board of a number of community and business
organizations. It was he who hired architect Andres Luna de San Pedro to design the
current building.

What it is now: Philtrust Bank, although the building's future is in doubt as its
internal framework is rusting from the inside. However the bank has been using the
building's facade as a design template for its branches.

HSBC (AKA HAMILTON)

Circa: 1921
Location: 115 Juan Luna Street, Binondo, Manila
History: Built in 1921 by American businessman Oscar Campbell and designed by
American architect GH Hayward, this building's claim to fame is that it once housed
the Manila office of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, which recently celebrated
125 years of operation in the Philippines. The bank moved out sometime in the
1980s, after which another financial institution took over the lease.
What it is now: Abandoned.

E) LACKING COMMUNITY VABRANCY

The city of Manila, Philippines has a local version of Chinatown. This is historically
referred to as Binondo. It has become the melting pot of almost all the commercial
endeavors of both Chinese and Filipino merchants, alike especially during the
American Occupation in the country. However, due to the numerous atrocities of the
Second World War a lot of the flourishing business establishments in this place had
been unfortunately wrecked. Therefore, some of the most notable business firms in
Binondo had to be transferred to a much more peaceful and progressive hub for
business, which was no other than but Makati, the second to none financial capital
of the Philippine Republic.
Though many entrepreneurs of today are not so familiar with Binondo, Manila, they
are positively asserting the undeniable reality that this particular part of Manila is a
selfmade center point of financial prosperity and mixed cultural heritage of the
Pinoys and the Tsinoys. The succeeding sections of this article will beautifully
chronicle and trace back the humble beginnings of Binondo, until she had
blossomed into a new breed of business climate and an enlightening avenue of
struggling but economically sound business people, like the Chinese.
What Can You Find in Binondo?
People from all walks of life, can always find a second home in Binondo. From the
pages of its inspiring ancestry, it can be clearly perceived that her inherent beauty
and charm lies in between her unquestionable historical role and integrity in
fashioning the Philippines commercial principles and economic awakening. Also, the
so-called ancient Chinatown in the Philippines is very much notable when one
speaks of a formidable religious foundation. Descriptively, she is a genuine replica
of untainted purity and chastity. Since, this was the holy place where the first
Filipino saint was born; it had proven one certain and irreversible fact. Genuine
religion is not a precursor of who you are; but what you are inside. Therefore, in
Binondo you can gratifyingly find the peacefulness of a soul without being
compelled of doing any religious obligation. Just by merely looking at her ancient
churches which serenely encompass the fullness and spiritual vibrancy of Binondo,
you will definitely find Rome in the Philippines.

BINONDO IS SLOWLY EMBRACING MODERNITY

On our way to Ongpin Street, we had a good laugh when we spotted some business
signs that advertise attache cases, pomade, to harmonicas. However, we quickly
realized that these signs to be a testament to the citys longevity. Known as the
oldest Chinatown in the world, Binondo has been in existence since 1594.

This photo is of a business sign of the oldest bookstore in Manila.

Popular refreshments hangout Quick-Snack keeps its original sign despite

gaining popularity among all over the world.

But time has indeed changed Binondo, at least in its structures. Some of Binondos
famous eateries has updated their interiors, giving out a modern vibe. We even
spotted a French-style cafe. Several condominium buildings are now standing erect
most probably to cater to second or third-generation Tsinoy families. But somehow,

Binondo managed to pay homage to its past thanks to the use of festive colors
like ube violet and vibrant reds in almost every establishment.

Binondos welcome arc is now dwarfed by several skyscrapers that lined

up Ongpin Street.

A charms store utilizes the colors of its wares to decorate its facade.

Eng Bee Tins Ongpin branch looks alive and buzzing with customers,
thanks to its staff in violet uniforms and the stores colorful food
packages.

REFERENCES:
https://udmanila.wordpress.com/2014/01/01/case-study-ongpin-street/
http://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/economic-social-environmentalrundown/2010/11/17/id/377368/
http://theparadoxicleyline.blogspot.com/2015/09/abandoned-house-of-heneralantonio-luna.html
https://homelessnessinphilippines.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/hello-world/
http://manila.coconuts.co/2014/02/07/12-heritage-buildings-metro-manila-shouldbe-turned-hotels