Reliving the Walled City's history

Cities are centers of population, commerce and culture; they characterize the way of living of a society. In the Philippines, the Walled City of Intramuros has been the center of Spanish colonial rule of hundreds of years. It was the original capital city. This was where commerce, education, government and religion were centered. Inside Intramuros were Roman Catholic churches, like the Manila Cathedral and the San Agustin Church; convents and church-run schools like the Universidad de Santo Tomas, the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. It was also the center of intensive and extensive trading during the days of the Parian. Here, Chinese traders aboard junks (boats) unloaded different commodities.

The coming of World War II, however, brought about much destruction and because of this, the grandeur and glory of Intramuros was lost. As time passed, the Walled City eventually fell into neglect. There have already been several efforts to preserve and restore it in the past. In 1966, the Intramuros Restoration Committee (IRC), in which I served as Chairman, was created under the guidance of the National Historical Institute. Our group was initially tasked to restore the city. With limited government funds and donations, we managed to restore portions of the walls and fortifications, including six of the gates. We focused on strengthening the walls lest they collapsed due to many years of deterioration.

Presently, the Intramuros Administration (IA), the successor of the IRC, is embarking on renewed efforts to restore the grandeur of Intramuros. They will soon be launching a series of projects geared towards reliving the Walled City. The wall in the northern part, where the Baluarte de Herrerias and Puerta de Almacenes are located, will be reconstructed. Hundreds of flame trees will also be planted throughout the area. But the problem is most of Intramuros has no sidewalks; hence, there is limited space to plant more trees. I also would like to see the restoration of the cobblestoned streets. Beyond the aesthetic makeover, however, the IA must also think of ways on how to protect the city from environmental hazards and too much commercialization. The planting of flame trees, for instance, will certainly help in reducing air pollution around the metropolis.

Ideally, it would be nice to rebuild everything to the way it looked during the Spanish era so that people can have a grasp of what it must have been like in that period. The challenge is how to maintain harmony between the past and the present in the face of rapid urbanization. Although it is important for us to keep pace with developments of the present and the future, it is also imperative for us to keep in touch with our heritage from the past.