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MANILA
- PHILIPPINES
Manila (Maynila in Filipino) is the capital
city of the Philippines. The city stands on the eastern shore of Manila Bay
on the island of Luzon. Despite pockets of grinding poverty, it is one of
the most cosmopolitan cities in the world and its metropolitan area is the
country's economic, cultural, educational, and industrial center. Manila is
often called the Pearl of the Orient.
Manila is the hub of a thriving metropolitan area of more than 10 million
people. This metropolis, called Metro Manila, but often simply called Manila
by foreigners and non-residents, consists of 17 cities and municipalities.
This article discusses the city itself; see Metro Manila for the article on
the metropolis.
The city itself is the Philippines' second most
populous city at more than 1.5 million inhabitants. Only Quezon City, a
suburb and the country's former capital, is more populous.
Over the centuries, Manila grew from a small Muslim fishing village on the
banks of the Pasig River into the seat of the colonial government of Spain
when it controlled the Philippine Islands. Later on, the Americans
controlled the Philippines and Manila became an internationally-known city
in the Orient. During World War II, much of the city was destroyed, but was
eventually rebuilt. In 1975, Manila and the surrounding towns and cities was
incoporated into the independent entity of Metro Manila to better manage the
affairs of the fast-growing region. Today, the city and the metropolis
thrives as an important cultural and economic center. However,
overpopulation, traffic congestion, pollution, and crime challenges the city.
The City
Manila lies at the mouth of the Pasig River on the eastern shores of Manila
Bay, which is on the western side of Luzon. It lies about 950 kilometers
southeast of Hong Kong and 2,400 kilometers northeast of Singapore. The
river bisects the city in the middle. Almost all of the city sits on top of
centuries of prehistoric alluvial deposits built by the waters of the Pasig
River and on some land reclaimed from Manila Bay.
The layout of the city was haphazardly planned during Spanish Era as a set
of communities surrounding Intramuros. Intramuros is the original walled-city
of Manila. During the American Period, some semblace of city planning using
the architectural designs by Daniel Burnham, was done on the portions of the
city south of the Pasig River.
Manila is bordered by several municipalities and cities in Metro Manila:
Navotas and Caloocan City to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San
Juan and Mandaluyong City to the east, Makati City to the southeast, and
Pasay City to the south.
The city is divided into 16 geographical districts. These districts
correspond to the original 13 Spanish pueblos: Intramuros and the
surrounding 12 towns. Two of these districts were later split in recent
times to correspond to the city's six congressional districts. Only one
district was not an original town. The eight districts north of the Pasig
are Binondo, Quiapo, Sampaloc, San Miguel, San Nicolas, Santa Cruz, Santa
Mesa, and Tondo. The other eight are Ermita, Intramuros, Malate, Paco,
Pandacan, Port Area, San Andres, and Santa Ana. San Andres was previously
part of Santa Ana, and Santa Mesa used to be in Sampaloc. Port Area is the
only district not previously a town.
All of these districts, with the exception of Port Area, have their own
churches, and several of the these districts have achieved recognition in
their own right. The district of Binondo is the city's Chinatown. Tondo is
the poorest, while the districts of Ermita and Malate are well-known and
popular with tourists, having many bars, restaurants, five-star hotels, and
shopping malls.
The Pasig River is crossed by a number of bridges in Manila. Eastward they
are Roxas Bridge (commonly referred to as the Del Pan Bridge), Jones Bridge,
McArthur Bridge, Quezon Bridge, Ayala Bridge, Nagtahan Bridge (also known as
Mabini Bridge), Pandacan Bridge, and Lambingan Bridge.
Parks and Open Areas
Directly south of Intramuros lies Rizal Park, the country's most significant
park. Also known as Luneta and previously as Bagumbayan, Rizal Park sits on
the site where José Rizal, the country's national hero, was executed by the
Spanish on charges of subversion. Rizal Park is Kilometer Zero for road
distances on the island of Luzon.
Aside from Rizal Park, Manila has very few other open public spaces. Paco
Park, Adriatico Circle, Malate Park, Manila Zoo, and the Malacañang Garden
are some of the other parks in the city. In the northernmost part of the
city lies the three cemeteries of Loyola, Chinese, and Manila North.
Shopping Malls and Markets
Every district in the town with the exception of Port Area has its own
public market, locally called the pamilihang bayan. The Sta. Ana public
market is one of the more advanced markets in the city featuring a modern 2-storey
building. In Binondo, an area called Divisoria is a haven for bargain-hunting
shoppers. People go in here to buy items of many different kinds in very
cheap prices.
Modern shopping malls dot the city especially in the areas of Malate and
Ermita. SM City Manila, part of the country's largest chain of malls, stands
besides the Manila City Hall. One of the more popular malls is Robinson's
Place Ermita. In the southern part of the city in Malate is Harrison Plaza,
one of the city's oldest shopping malls.
History
Manila began as a Muslim settlement at the mouth of the Pasig River along
the shores of Manila Bay. The name came from the term maynilad, literally "there
is nilad." Nilad is a white-flowered mangrove plant that grew in abundance
in the area.
In the mid-1500s, the areas in present-day Manila was governed by three
rajahs, or Muslim community leaders. They were Rajah Sulayman and Rajah
Matanda who ruled the communities south of the Pasig, and Rajah Lakandula
who ruled the community north of the river. Manila was then the northernmost
Muslim sultanate in the islands. It held ties with the sultanates of Brunei,
Sulu, and Ternate in Cavite.
Arrival of the Spanish
In 1570, a Spanish expedition ordered by Miguel López de Legaspi and led by
Martin de Goiti departed from Cebu and arrived in Manila. The natives
tentatively welcomed the foreigners but a later conflict pushed Goiti to
conquer the settlements. Legaspi followed the next year and made a peace
pact with the three rajahs and organized a city council consisting of two
mayors, 12 councilors, and a secretary. The enclave of Intramuros, at the
southern banks of Pasig River was built to protect the Spanish colonizers.
On June 10, 1574, King Philip II of Spain gave Manila the title of Insigne y
Siempre Leal Ciudad ("Distinguished and Ever Loyal City"). In 1595, Manila
was proclaimed as the capital of the Philippine Islands.
The Philippine Revolution
American Period
The headquarters for USAFFE were located here as were the 31st Infantry
Regiment and the 808th Military Police Company. The headquarters and bulk of
the Philippine Division was located just to the south, at Fort William
McKinley. The headquarters for the USAFFE Air Force was on the outskirts of
town, at Nielson Field. Nearby, at Nichols Field was the 20th Air Base Group.
A battalion of the 12th Quartermaster Regiment was located in the port area
and training was conducted there for quartermasters of the Philippine Army.
There were 6 airfields, for the Far East Air Force, within 130 km of Manila,
notably Clark, Nichols, and Nielson fields.
World War II
Manila was captured by Japanese forces on January 2, 1942 but on February 5,
1945 American General Douglas MacArthur fulfilled a promise to return to
Manila (see Leyte for details of his return to the Philippines) and on
February 23 the city was liberated.
Manila and Security
Manila has been subject to acts of terrorism. The metropolis have been
targeted twice by groups Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Abu Sayyaf. In
addition, Al-Qaida cells have been discovered in the metropolis.
Project Bojinka, which was a large-scale terrorist attack being planned in
late 1994 and early 1995, was being planned in Manila. The project was
abandoned after the night of January 6, 1995 and the morning of January 7,
when an apartment fire led investigators to a laptop computer containing the
plans.
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