Category Archives: American-Era Structures

Pacific Commercial Company Building (Binondo, Manila)

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The historic, five-storey Pacific Commercial Company Building, also known as the  Juan Luna Building, Juan Luna Plaza, the First National City Bank (now Citibank) Building and the Ayala Building, was built in the 1920s. Designed by American architects Murphy, McGill and Hamlin of New York City and Shanghai, it was built at a cost of two million pesos, finished by July 1922 and inaugurated on November 13, 1922.

Pacific Commercial Company Building

Later bought by Enrique Zobel, the building was known as the “Ayala Building” from 1940 to 1959. In 2007, LBC Properties Inc. led a renovation of the building. The First National City Bank also occupied the building.

In 2009, the building was bought by businessman Carlos Araneta who planned to the building to host a business process outsourcing company. The building underwent renovation in 2012 and was meant to be named as the Juan Luna e-Services Building. The facade of the building was preserved. However lack of investors hindered Araneta’s plan and the Juan Luna Building was purposed as a mixed-used building that also serves as a living museum.

Historical plaque installed by the National Historical Commission in 2017

Past midnight of May 28, 2018, a fire broke out at the nearby Land Management Bureau Building. By 8 AM (PST +8:00), the fire has reached the Juan Luna Building and the fire affected the third floor and portions of the fourth floor.  The fire, put out around 4 PM, also affected the 150 Plaza Cervantes Building, the Moraga Mansion and the National Archives of the Philippines office (although the agency stated that no historical documents were burnt since it keeps these in their offices in Paco and Ermita). Due to the timing of the start of the fire, the incident is suspected to be caused by arson.

Occupying an approximately 1,800 sq. m. (19,000 sq. ft.), irregularly shaped corner lot adjacent to El Hogar, it has a frontage of 43 m. (141 ft.), along General Luna St., and 46 m. (151 ft.) along Muelle de la Industria, along the Pasig River.

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The building’s design is derived from the trademark architectural features set by the International Banking Corporation of New York for its overseas branches. The bank’s prototype, made up of a row of colossal columns in antis, was faithfully reproduced for its Manila headquarters. The ground floor, with arched openings with fanlights emphasized by stones forming the arch, was fully rusticated to effect a textured finish.  Lintels, resting on consoles, adorned the main doors.

Six three-storey high, engaged Ionic columns, dominating the south and west facades above the ground floor, end in an entablature topped by a cornice and are flanked by a pair of pilasters on both fronts. The slightly indented fifth floor is also topped by an entablature crowned by strip of anthemion.

Pacific Commercial Company Building: Juan Luna St. cor. Muelle de la Industria, Binondo, Manila.

El Hogar Filipino Building (Binondo, Manila)

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The El Hogar Filipino Building (Spanish: Edificio El Hogar Filipino), also known simply as El Hogar, was an early skyscraper in the Philippines. Built sometime between 1911 and 1914, it was designed by Spanish-Filipino engineer Don Ramón José de Irureta-Goyena Rodríguez and architect Francisco Perez-Muñoz in the Beaux-Arts style, its architecture reflecting elements of Neoclassical and Renaissance styles.  Opened on December 2014, it was one of the first buildings in Manila built entirely out of concrete.

El Hogar Filipino Building

Right across Juan Luna Street, on its northern front, is Pacific Commercial Company Building (commonly known as the First National City Bank Building, it was built in 1922), another important edifice, and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Building on its rear.

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The four-storey building, by the Pasig River, was built as a wedding present of Don Antonio Melian y Pavia, a Spanish businessman who was titled as the third Conde de Peracamps, to his bride Doña Margarita Zóbel y de Ayala, who was a sister of  patriarch Don Enrique Zóbel de Ayala.

Don Antonio was born on May 21, 1879 in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands in Spain. From Spain, he sailed to Peru in 1903 where he held posts in the insurance company La Previsora and in the Casino Español de Lima. In 1907, he first set foot in Manila and, on June that same year, married Don Enrique Zóbel de Ayala‘s sister Doña Margarita Zóbel y de Ayala at San Agustin Church.  In 1910, he sailed from Peru back to the Philippines and established the El Hogar Filipino and the Filipinas Compañía de Seguros together with his brothers-in-law Enrique and Fernando Zóbel y de Ayala.

The El Hogar housed the Melián business empire, such as the Filipinas Compañía de Seguros (the first local-owned fire insurance company), Tondo de Beneficiencia, Casa de España, Casa de Pensiones, and Sociedad El Hogar Filipino, a financing cooperative and lending company. Other tenants of the El Hogar include Ayala y Compañía, Sociedad Lizárraga Hermanos, and Smith, Bell and Company (a shipping company). In the 1920s, after the completion of its own building at the foot of the Jones Bridge in Plaza Moraga, a short walk from the El Hogar, the Filipinas Compañía de Seguros moved out of the El Hogar.

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It survived World War II (it only suffered minor damages during the Battle of Manila in 1945) and a number of earthquakes and is one of two remaining American-era structures in the area facing the Pasig River. In the post-war years, Sociedad El Hogar Filipino closed down, along with other Melián businesses, leaving only the Filipinas Compañía de Seguros. Because of this, the Meliáns sold the El Hogar to the Fernandez family, and the El Hogar was rented out to other companies, mostly customs brokerage firms with few residential tenants. It also became the shooting location of movies, TV shows and fashion and advertising shoots.  Some decades ago, the building was finally abandoned as an office building and fell into neglect and decay.

On February 2014, news involving the El Hogar sparked when it was reported that it was sold to The Ritz Premiere Corporation, a Chinese-Filipino real estate developers, which reported that it will demolish the El Hogar because of the building’s stability, and be turned into a condominium. By November, G.I. sheets fenced up the El Hogar Building, seemingly being prepared for demolition.

The news spread like a wildfire throughout heritage conservationists (who wrote to both the city government of Manila and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, or NHCP, to stop the demolition of the El Hogar), cultural advocates, and ordinary citizens alike. Because of this, a petition to stop the demolition was created. The Ritz Premiere Corporation said that they do not have plans of demolishing the El Hogar but will, instead, use it as a warehouse.   The NHCP issued a cease and desist order and attempted to purchase the iconic building.  However, negotiations were halted when NHCP and The Ritz could not agree with the price.  The building’s status is still uncertain.

Some of the building’s interesting features are its two garden courtyards and its unique mirador (balcony) where one can see the Pasig River and the southern part of Manila which includes the walled city of Intramuros, Ermita, and Malate.  El Hogar’s magnificently ornate grand staircase, considered as one of the most ornate in the city, has a sculpted mythical griffin as its base and bears Antonio’s and Margarita’s initials. However, on July 6, 2014, the magnificent and intricate grille work of the building’s grand staircase were seen being loaded to a truck belonging to a building contractor.

The value of the El Hogar Filipino Building is its architecture.  A representation of American period design, materials and construction methods, the building is a representation of the architecture of business establishments of that era. It also has a collective value as one of the significant structures within the historic Binondo district and Escolta Street, along the cultural landscape of the Pasig River.

El Hogar Filipino Building: cor. Juan Luna St. and Calle Muelle dela Industría, Binondo, Manila.

Escolta Museum (Manila)

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Escolta Museum

One of the highlights of our Binondo Heritage Walk was our visit to the reopened (after the easing of COVID-19 guidelines) Escolta Museum at the mezzanine of the Calvo Building.

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Calvo Building

The place to be if you are a history buff and a fan of Old Manila, this quaint museum, established in 1994, showcases the bygone era of the most elegant district of old Manila through its permanent exhibit entitled “Bote’t, Diyaryo, Extraordinaryo.”

L-R: Mr. Diego Gabriel Torres (Renacimiento Manila president) and our guide Mr. Stephen John A. Pamorada of The Heritage Collective

Immediately upon climbing a narrow stairway from the lobby, you will find a small room displaying historic news clippings from old newspaper publications (El Renacimiento, Filipinas,  Republica Filipina, etc.), journals and magazines dating back to the twilight of Spanish rule and the nascent years of America’s occupation.

Newspaper Clippings

It includes an 1899 newspaper showing that even then, Rizal was already regarded as a hero and martyr.

The author

Jandy

On display at the long hallway are memorable, fascinating and nostalgic artifacts and pieces such as old photographs of socialites and personalities; artifacts, manuscripts, ticket receipts from boutiques (Syvel’s, Heacocks’s, Hamilton Brown, etc.); Filipino music posters; and postcards of Carnaval de Manila beauty queens.

Manila Carnival Postcards of Beauty Quuens

There are also old labels; memos and newspaper advertisements (imported cars, sporting equipment, shoes, shoes, empty bottles, silver spoons, phonographs, radio sets, etc.) mostly from businesses that used to hold address in Escolta.

Print advertisements of stores in Escolta from 1910s to 1950s

Print advertisement of Calvo Building tenants during the Japanese Occupation (194-44, right) and during the post war era (1950s  to 1960s, left)

Enclosed glass shelves display late nineteenth century to pre-World War II bottles (milk, soda, medicine, and alcoholic beverage) of all shapes and sizes, partly a result of conscientious bottle recycling prompted by the lack of local bottle makers (Philippine glassmaking only began in 937 with the bottling plant of San Miguel Brewery, the first in the country, initially producing tall, slim, moss green beer bottles).

From 1917 to 1933, empty bottles and jars made up one-third of the imported glassware (including tableware, mirrors , windows and plate glass, eyeglasses and lamp chimneys) reaching the Philippines. When purchasing cooking oil, fish sauce, vinegar, carabao milk , kerosene or locally distilled liquor, housewives had to present containers.

Milk bottles

Dark green bottles usually held gin or the popular anise wine (with one version stamped La Tondena) while cobalt blue bottles ( meant strictly for external use) held poisons, acids, essences and light-sensitive compounds.

Eventually, the latter became containers for laxatives, salts and Blue Waltz, an archaic fragrance bottled along the Pasig River. One of the best known pieces in this display is the 1920s Ginebra bottle, whose label art was designed by no other than National Artist Fernando Amorsolo.

Manila druggists, like their European counterparts, displayed apothecaries with colored water in their windows and sold patent medicines in cheaply made amber aquamarine, green or clear bottles stamped with their brands and cities of origin.

Ginger beer clay bottles

In the early 1900s, Tansan, a Japanese drink brand company, introduced their capped, bomb-shaped beverage of charged and soda water embossed with their brand name (now the local word for bottle cap).

Soft drink bottles

Not all bottles were made of glass. Thick, cream-colored ceramic containers, sometimes sporting broad, golden brown hands across the rim and shoulders, were used for beer well into the late 1800s by Scottish and English breweries while previous beverages such as rum, whiskey and ginger beer were stored in clay bottles (a practice that continued till the 20th century).

Apothecary bottles

On the walls are mounted well-preserved, hand-drawn (now a forgotten art form) movie posters from the box office of yesteryears.

Movie posters

Movie posters

Kept behind glass cases are music sheets of songs (“Sa Dakong Silangan,” “Ang Maya,” “Awit ng Pag-Ibig,” etc.) complete with their excellent cover art.

Music sheets

Piled up at one corner of the museum are three large pieces of wooden tranvia tracks excavated during a road repair in 1998.

Wooden tranvia tracks

Before moving to its present location in Diliman, Quezon City), the GMA Kapuso Network had its beginnings at a makeshift studio at the fourth floor of the building on March 1, 1950 as radio station DZBB-AM before expanding into television, and which would later be renamed GMA.   The museum also houses some of GMA memorabilia. 

At right is the advertisement announcing the opening of DZBB on March 1, 1950

The coffee table book “Kapuso – The GMA Story”

In the past, scaled models of still existing and non-existing Escolta buildings (Capitol Theater, Crystal Arcade, Lyric Theater, Monte de Piedad, etc.), from a collaborative thesis by University of Santo Tomas students in 1996, were also on display.

Old Manila photos

Battle of Manila photos

Escolta Museum: Mezzanine, Calvo Bldg., Escolta, 1006 Manila.  Tel: (02) 241-4762 and (02) 241-4578. Open Mondays to Fridays, 9 AM to 5 PM, and Saturdays, 9 AM to12 noon.  Admission (for a group of at least 4): PhP50 (regular) and PhP20 (students).

First United Building (Escolta, Manila)

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First United Building

The Art Deco  First United Building, alternatively known as the Perez–Samanillo Building, was built in 1928 and was the tallest building in Manila during its completion.  Designed by  Andrés P. Luna (the son of renowned painter Juan Luna), Juan Nakpil de Jesus was the civil engineer and Jose G. Cortes was responsible for its construction.

That same year, the building won the Best Décor Award.  The building was built for Spanish businessman Luis Perez Samanillo (related to the owners of Hotel de Oriente in Binondo, he was killed during the Spanish Civil War) at the time when Escolta was considered a financial center.

In February 1928, the Erlanger & Galinger, and Hale Shoe Company moved in to the building, followed by leather goods store Riu Hermanos. In 1936, Berg’s Department Store, Manila’s premiere department store and a main landmark in Escolta , set up shop on the building’s ground floor. In 1933, the building hosted the consulates of France (Room 329) and Panama (Room 217).

Following the aftermath of World War II, the building was left significantly damaged but was later repaired. In 1951, self-made Chinese businessman Sy Liang Teng of the Syliangten family bought Berg’s Department Store from its original American owner, Ernest Berg. It closed sometime in 1982 and Fairmart took over.  Ideal Home Houseware Center also occupied the ground floor until 2004.  In 2012, East West Bank occupies the eastern corner of the building.

Around 1964, the Perez–Samanillo Building was put on sale and, in 1968, was bought by José Cojuangco (the late Pres. Corazon C. Aquino‘s father), owner of United Bank a tenant of the building, who held the building for 11 years. In 1979, the parts of the building were acquired by Danding Cojuangco (half of the ground floor and the whole second floor) and the Syliangteng family (half of the ground floor where Berg’s was located and the 3rd, 4th and 5th floors). The Tanco family also bought a piece of the building from Cocobank.

In the 1970s to the 1980s, due to its proximity to the movie theaters of Avenida Rizal, the building hosted various film production studios:

  •  RVQ Productions of comedian Dolphy in Room 514, from 1974 to 2008 and the smaller Room 310-B from 2008 to 2012
  • Nora Villamor (NV) Productions of actress and producer Nora Aunor, in Rooms 502 and 506, from 1973 to 1985
  • GC Films, associated with Rolando and Gabby Concepcion, from February 1982 to July 1984 in Room 308.
  • Essex Films of Danny Zialcita occupied Room 323 from April  1984 to May 1986, Room 315 from August 1986 to December 1988 and Room 317 from September 1983 to December 1988. 
  • LL Productions of Lito Lapid held office at Room 321 from February 1984 to May 1989.
  • Solar Films occupied Rooms 306, 310 and 312 from March 2001 to May 2004.

The Syliangtengs made a conscious effort to maintain the building through an “adaptive reuse” approach. On May 16, 2015, the modest First United Building Community Museum was opened to reflect the colorful history of Escolta through the story of the First United Building and of patriarch Sy Lian Teng, an entrepreneur who ran Escolta’s (and Manila’s as well) premiere department store, Berg’s.

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Aside from being one of Manila’s finest pieces of surviving pre-World War II Art Deco architecture, the building is also a centerpiece of the Escolta Street Revival movement.  On May 26, 2016, the space once occupied by Berg’s was converted into a bazaar and exhibition space for young creative artists called Hub: Make Lab, an incubator for creative startups, artists and makers in the community. The booths feature a variety of sellers, with items ranging from notebooks to knickknacks.

 

Hub: Make Lab

A series of local shops for arts and vintage goods, these cluster of exhibition booths, under a hanging sculpture of Leeroy New, were designed by architect Arts Serrano.  Also found here are Folk Barbershop; Fred’s Revolucion Pub (an artist-run bar) and Den’s Coffee Shop and Contemporary Culture.

In 2017, the First Coworking Community, an open space for people looking for an environment where they can create new ideas and develop meaningful connections with other passionate creatives, was opened.  During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, their operations were disrupted but all have since resumed operations. On October 16, 2018, the building was declared as a Heritage Structure by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

HCP plaque installed in 2018

 

The five-storey First United Building has a rectangular plan. The main facade of the building has a central tower, containing the graceful main entrance (with filigreed wrought iron doors) of the building below, flanked by two chamfered corner towers on both ends. Ornamental treatments of the three towers feature thin cylindrical moldings running up to the square plates and continued by beveled arches that relate to the windows at the sixth floor.

Stout finials, above the arches, flank the octagonal window. A pergola, with protruding rafters originating from the girder, connected the bevels. The central tower has a rigid arch and is capped by elongated octagons that bordered a display. Geometric patterns on the lamps of the building are dominated by boomerang-like chevrons layered with spirals and lancet arches.

The parapet on the topmost part has floral arrangement on an urn with equally distant low-relief medallions. The main entrance leads to the elevator and the stairwell. To open up the intersection, the side towers were both cut in the corners.

First United Building: 413  Escolta Street, Binondo, Manila.  Tel: (632) 7744 5148 and (632) 7241-5150. E-mail: firstunitedbuilding@gmail.com. Coordinates: 14.5987°N 120.9794°E.

The Revitalized Jones Bridge (Manila)

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Jones Bridge (official name: William A. Jones Memorial Bridge)

One of the highlights of my joining (with my son Jandy) the Pasig River Heritage Tour (hosted by Renacimiento Manila headed by its president Mr. Diego Torres), aside from our walking tour of Escolta,  was my up close and personal crossing of the iconic and historic Jones Bridge (official name: William A. Jones Memorial Bridge).  This arched girder bridge, spanning the Pasig River, was once described as Manila’s “Queen of Bridges.”

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Virginia representative William Atkinson Jones, author of the Philippine Autonomy Law of 2016 (Jones Law), in his later years

The fourth bridge to span the Intramuros-Binondo Crossing, it was named after the Virginia legislator William Atkinson Jones.  Jones, the chairman of the U.S. Insular Affairs House Committee which had previously exercised jurisdiction over the Philippines, was the principal author of the Jones Law (Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916) that gave the country legislative autonomy from the United States. Jones died in 1918 while the bridge was still being planned.

The author and son Jandy with Jones Bridge in the background

The bridge was built to replace the historic Puente de España (Bridge of Spain), the first bridge built to cross the Pasig River.  Constructed during the Spanish colonial era (opened January 1, 1875), the Puente de Espana was the last incarnation of bridges that span the same location since 1630. Located at one block upriver at Calle Nueva (now E.T. Yuchengco Street), it connected Calle Rosario (now Quintin Paredes Street), at the Binondo district, to Padre Burgos Avenue at the Ermita district. During the heavy rains of September 1914, the central pier weakened, collapsing the middle span of the bridge. The Puente was temporarily kept open using a temporary truss bridge while the new bridge is being constructed at Calle Rosario.

Puente de Espana, circa 1900 (photo: University of Michigan Library)

In 1919, a new bridge to replace the much smaller  Puente de España was commissioned under the auspices of the City Government of Manila.  However, in 1920, the Insular Government, through the Philippine Bureau of Public Works, took over in finishing the bridge’s construction.  The construction of new bridges were part of a master plan of Daniel Burnham, who wanted to give emphasis on the rivers of city and likened them to the Seine River in Paris and the canals of Venice. This plan was heavily implemented and supervised by William E. Parsons.

The Pasig River

However, upon the passage of the Jones Act, Filipino architect Juan M. Arellano (who also designed the Old Legislative Building, Manila Metropolitan Theater and the Manila Central Post Office), then a member of the Bureau of Public Works, took over and finished the bridge’s final design using French Neo-Classical architecture in the style of the passageways constructed during Haussmann’s renovation of Paris.  The bridge was inaugurated in 1921 and, soon after, the Puente de España was dismantled.

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Pont Alexandre III

The first incarnation of the bridge featured three arches resting on two heavy piers embellished with faux-stone and concrete ornaments such as statues of boys on dolphins similar to those on the famed Pont Alexandre III (widely regarded as the most ornate and extravagant in Paris) at the Seine River which Arellano had previously visited.  The statues were created by the young, well-known German sculptor Otto Fischer-Credo who previously studied at the Academie der Kunts in Berlin and graduated at the Royal Academy of Arts in Paris.

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Jones Bridge, circa 1930s (photo: John Tewell Archive via Wikipedia Commons)

Similar to the Parisian Pont, he marked both ends of the bridge with four concrete  plinths and commissioned sculptor/painter Ramon Lazaro Martinez to build four statues, collectively called La Madre Filipina (The Philippine Motherland), allegorically representing motherhood and nationhood, which would be placed on the pedestals. Each statue, representing the values espoused in the Jones Law, symbolizes the different aspect of nationhood since the Philippines at the time was transitioning from being a colony of the United States to gaining its independence. The finished, ornate concrete arch bridge rivaled any found in the United States and Europe.

Pasig River Heritage Walk group listening to Mr. Diego Torres (in blue), president of Renacimiento Manila

In 1942, during the Japanese occupation in World War II, the bridge was renamed to Banzai Bridge by virtue of Executive Order No. 41 issued by Philippine Executive Commission Chairman Jorge B. Vargas.  During the Battle of Manila, retreating Japanese Army troops bombed the bridge in order to impede incoming American troops. One of the four La Madre statues was permanently lost during the destruction. After the war, while the main bridge itself was being rebuilt, a bailey bridge was set up as a temporary passageway for vehicles.

Buildings along the Pasig River

Following the passage of the Philippine Rehabilitation Act of 1945, the Philippine Bureau of Public Works and the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads reconstructed the Jones and Quezon bridges using large and deep steel girders.   However, in an urgent haste to finish its reconstruction, none of its original ornamentation, on either piers and balustrades, were restored, and its Neo-Classical aesthetic were replaced with an unadorned architecture, more practical yet completely unaesthetic, quite banal and modern industrial girder bridge which was a far cry from Juan M. Arellano’s vision. The three remaining La Madre Filipina statues were also removed and its plinths were demolished. The statue representing Gratitude, restored by Anastacio Caedo, was relocated within Rizal Park while the two others (representing Justice and Progress) are relocated at the entrance of the Court of Appeals Main Building.

Making our way across the bridge

In 1998, in celebration of the Philippine Centennial Independence, architect Conrad Onglao, commissioned by then-First Lady Amelita Ramos, partially restored the bridge by replacing the post-modern steel design with stone balustrades. During the term of Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, the steel girders were lighted and thematic lamp post were added onto the bridge, which drew mixed reactions. As opposed to its original Neo-Classical design, two granite fu dogs (donated by Tong Tah Trading Enterprise of Singapore) were also added, in 1998, at the base of the bridge’s Liwasang Bonifacio (south) side, giving it a Chinese character.

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One of two fu dogs donated by Tong Tah Trading Enterprise of Singapore

In 2019, the City Government of Manila, under Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, announced a ₱20 million (reportedly donated by the Philippine-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc.) rehabilitation project to “restore” the Jones Bridge to its near-original architecture, using Beaux-Arts architecture similar to that of Pont Alexandre III in Paris, and the return of the three surviving La Madre sculptures that had previously guarded the bridge. The fourth sculpture (Democracy), destroyed during the Battle of Manila, was replicated using the archives of the pre-war Jones Bridge in the National Library of the Philippines.

The array of lampposts

Jose “Jerry” Acuzar, owner of Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bataan, was commissioned by Moreno to design and build 80 triple-branched, black, Beaux-Arts-inspired lamp posts (cast from resin instead of metal), similar to those on Pont Alexandre III, for the formerly darkly lit bridge. The four lions (or merlions) on the pedestals of the new lampposts were meant to symbolize the official coat-of-arms of City of Manila, designated to represent the power of the Spanish Empire.

Two of the four La Madre Statues

The four plinths which would act as the pedestal for the returning La Madre Filipina statues, were reconstructed. Retrofit and repair works were also done at the steel girders of the bridge. The balustrades of the bridge were painted in a faux marble pattern, with undertones of orange, yellow and gold. The bridge was temporarily closed during the rehabilitation.

The La Madre statue Gratitude

The statues of Gratitude (at the southeast portion of the bridge) and the replicated Democracy (at the southwest corner of the bridge) were reinstated at the Ermita side of the bridge on November 23, 2019. Two days later, Jones Bridge was inaugurated and formally opened to the public.

The La Madre statue Democracy

The other two original statues, located at the grounds of the Court of Appeals, were deemed too fragile to be relocated so replicas were made and installed on June 2021 at the Binondo side of the bridge. Progress, symbolizing, labor, education and power, was installed on the northwest portion of the bridge while Justice, symbolizing law and order, and equality under the law, was installed on the northeast side of the bridge.

A Beaux Arts-inspired, tri-branch lamppost

Jones Bridge has 3 spans, 2 piers in the water and has a length of115 m. (377 ft.), a width of 16.70 m. (54.8 ft.) and has a clearance below of 7.5 m. (25 ft.) at mean tide. It also has 4 lanes (2 per direction) and has a load limit of 20,000 kgs. (20 tons). The bridge rarely suffers from traffic congestion (which usually occurs at the both ends of the bridge due to parking violations) and water buses of Pasig River Ferry Service also habitually pass under it to reach its Escolta Street station.

A strategically placed, flower bedecked barricade at the center of the bridge

Every January 9 of the year (the Feast of the Black Nazarene), since 2013, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority annually closes the bridge from car passage for the Translacion  procession, after the Department of Public Works and Highways deemed the nearby MacArthur Bridge unstable to accommodate increasing foot traffic during the festivities. However, starting 2020, the Translacion was rerouted to the recently retrofitted Ayala Bridge.

Escolta Underpass

The bridge served as the backdrop for the 1989 film Jones Bridge Massacre: Task Force Clabio (starring Lito Lapid) which was based on real-life events. The 2007 Filipino film The Promise has a scene in where Daniel (Richard Gutierrez) was tasked to assassinate someone underneath the bridge’s tunnel, although he was unable to do it and sets the man free afterwards. The bridge was also featured in the 2012 Hollywood film The Bourne Legacy (the motorcycle chase starts off here) and the 2021 Philippine romantic fantasy The Lost Recipe.

The Bourne Legacy (2012) motorcycle scene at Jones Bridge

To encourage people to use the pedestrian lane, the lampposts at the center of the four-lane bridge were removed and replaced by strategically placed barricades covered with plants. The length of the bridge is painted and solar road stud lights were added on the edge and centerline of the bridge. As a safety measures for pedestrians, the walkways are painted with rubberized paint and, to make the bridge more stunning at night, pin lights were installed along the railings and under the girder of the bridge.

Approaching the Binondo side of the bridge

The bridge, now a hit in social media, has a cinematic appearance and is a favorite for selfies and pre-nuptial photo shoots. Though, in my opinion, just halfway near the grandeur of the pre-war bridge (the statues of boys playing dolphins at the piers are still missing), it is still a testament to how Manila could regain a sense of its own past and restore its old glory.

Descending the bridge stairway leading to Escolta

Jones Bridge: Quentin Paredes St. Ermita, the City of Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines.  Coordinates: 14°35′45″N 120°58′38.3″E

Manila Central Post Office Building (Manila)

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Manila Central Post Office Building

The Manila Central Post Office Building (often called the Post Office Building), the center of the Philippine postal services and the headquarters of then-Bureau of Posts (now the Philippine Postal Corporation), houses the main mail sorting-distribution operations of the Philippines. This building hums daily with brisk postal service with letters pouring in daily from every corner of the country.

The Post Office Building as seen from Liwasang Bonifacio

This principal postal hub of today’s modern and efficient Philippine Postal Corporation, still continuing a centuries-old tradition of sorting and distributing letters from Filipinos who still prefer the postal service, houses a mechanized automatic letter-sorting machine, a new Postal Code system, airmail, motorized letter carriers and other facilities.

The Post Office Building from the other bank of the Pasig River

Strategically located along the banks of the Pasig River (part of the Burnham Plan of Manila for easy water transportation of mails), at the foot of Jones Bridge, it lies at the northern end of Liwasang Bonifacio (formerly Plaza Lawton where building’s main entrance faces) in Ermita and  is flanked by the Manila Metropolitan Theater to its northwest. Its central location, with converging avenues, made the building readily accessible from Quiapo, Binondo, Malate and Ermita as well as the Pasig River (used conveniently as an easy route for delivering mail).

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The building’s northeast wing

This official transmitter of mail, money and goods traces its beginnings to the September 15, 1902 Act No. 462 of the Philippine Commission which created the Bureau of Posts. On April 13, 1987, the Bureau of Post was renamed the Postal Service Office (PSO) by the virtue of Executive Order No. 125 signed by then-President Corazon C. Aquino, placing it under the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and, on April 2, 1992, by virtue of the Republic Act No.7354 issued by then-President Fidel V. Ramos, PSO became a government owned and controlled corporation named as the Philippine Postal Corporation (more commonly known today as PhilPost). It is now under the direct supervision of the Office of the President.

The building’s southwest wing

From August 2, 1920 up to January 9, 1922, the foundation of the post office was laid out but the work was put on hold because of the scarcity of funds (it was worth one million pesos) but was reported to be 56% complete towards the end of the year. The plan for the completion of post office building was made public on November 28, 1927 but the awarding of the project only happened a year after, on February 1928, when the completion of the building was continued.   The building was completed in 1931.

The Ionic capitals of the fluted marble columns.  The entablature above is decorated with medallions and lined with dentils

Designed in Neo-Classical style (expressing order and balance) by Filipino architects Juan M. Arellano (considered as his magnum opus) and Tomás Mapúa and American architect Ralph Harrington Doane, it is one of the greatest examples of American Colonial architecture in the Philippines.  The construction of the original building began under the supervision of the architecture firm of Pedro Siochi and Company.

During World War II, it was severely damaged in the Battle of Manila and was, subsequently, rebuilt in 1946 while retaining most of its original design. Considered as the grandest building during its time, the Post Office Building is now considered as one of the dominating landmarks in Metro Manila. On November 23, 2018, because of its architectural significance, it was declared as an Important Cultural Property (ICP) by the National Museum of the Philippines.

In 2012, with more modern ways of communication and advancing technology now widespread and the cost of maintaining the building too much, talks are underway between the Department of Finance and Fullerton Hotels of Singapore to convert the building into a 5-star hotel.

The main body of the huge, colossal rectangular facade, lined by 14 soaring fluted marble columns with Ionic capitals (above the steps just before entering the lobby), is capped by a recessed rectangular attic storey and flanked and buttressed by two semicircular wings or drums. The entablature above the columns are decorated with medallions and lined with dentils. 

The square columns topped by Doric capitals and medallions. The cornice is lined by scroll-like decorations.

At each end of the main lobby are subsidiary halls housed under semicircular spaces roofed with domes. The plain, square columns here are topped by Doric capitals, above which are medallions.  The top of the cornice are lined with scroll-like decorations. 

The big windows with their Grecian-style steel grilles

The big windows of the building are lined with steel grilles with Grecian patterns.  The atrium in the middle of the building  provides natural light and ventilation.

The Postman statue

In front of the building is the Postman Statue, symbolizing the extraordinary level of commitment of the postal force, was erected last September 15, 1975 to coincide with the 73rd anniversary of the establishment of the Bureau of Posts.

On November 23, 2018, a Museum Ceremonial Groundbreaking Marker was mounted to start the construction and retrofitting of Philippine Postal and Philatelic Museum which houses a historical archive of postage stamps, important letters of national personalities and other artifacts.  The MCPO also sells the latest stamp issues from it Philatelic Section as well as other types of different stamps (Mint, Cancelled, se-tenant, Souvenir Sheets and Sheetlets).  Annually, the MCPO also exhibits old stamps and mailing equipment.

AUTHOR’S NOTES

The facade of the Post Office, seemingly impressive along the Liwasang Bonifacio side, is quite depressing when seen, up close and personal, along the Pasig River side.  The grounds at this side have been taken over by some vagrants and, similar to what is happening with many of our old churches, advanced plant growth has taken root over parts of the facade.  The now peeling and fading paint job has also been vandalized by graffiti.  Dangling wires are also an eyesore.

 

Manila Central Post Office Building: Liwasang Bonifacio, Magallanes Drive, Intramuros, Manila. Tel: (02) 8527-0089.

Ten Commandments Building (Baguio City, Benguet)

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Dominican Hill in Baguio City is now famous for two things – the century-old, haunted Diplomat Hotel Ruins and the newer, giant Ten Commandments Building. This new tourist attraction in Baguio, right beside the Diplomat Hotel ruins, serves as a symbol that drives away evil spirits.

Check out “Diplomat Hotel Ruins“

Front view of building

This A-shaped, 12.19 m. high “prayer building” has two slanting slabs of stone carved with the imposing 152.90 sq. m. (1,645.8 sq. ft.) Bible’s Ten Commandments (a copy of the rules supposedly handed down by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai) that broke the Guinness World Records as the world’s first and tallest facility that features the Ten Commandments.

Concrete slab carved with the Ten Commandments

This PhP5.5-million building was commissioned last February 2011 by Nueva Vizcaya businesswoman Grace Galindez-Gupana, chief executive officer of ABS Gen Herbs International Corp. and founder of  the Kingdom of Jerusalem Halleluyah Foundation International (KOJHF, a religious group), and built by contractors from Nueva Ecija. The Ten Commandments building topped her previous world record, attained in 2009, when she built a similar 65 sq. m. tablet on a hill outside Manila.

It was turned over to the city government in July 2011 and officially unveiled on October 26 in the presence of  Baguio City Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan, Menashe Bar-On (Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines), Minister Abraham Okoliko of the Nigerian embassy and the Guinness representative Vic Fabellana. The Israeli ambassador also led a “tree planting” of an authentic Jerusalem-grown olive tree in front of the Ten Commandments building. It houses an altar and a replica of the Ark of the Covenant.

Gupana, who seems to have a penchant for setting world records, claims her company now holds seven records, including developing the world’s largest national flag (an 18,847-sq. m. Israeli banner which can cover an area of two football fields) unveiled at the Baguio Athletic Bowl; producing the longest banner (composed of giant flags representing the Philippines, Israel and the two Koreas); the longest drawing of the Biblical serpent, dragon and beast mentioned in the Book of Revelations (5 kms. long and 7 m. wide), and the largest blood pressure checkup session that gathered 2,302 people and organizing the largest diabetes screening session for 503 people, the largest blood identification session involving 260 people, and the largest cholesterol test session for 527 people. The authenticity of these world records could not be independently confirmed.

Replica of the Ark of the Covenant

Ten Commandments Building: Dominican Hill Property, Diplomat Road, Brgy. Dominican Hill-Mirador, Baguio City, 2600 Benguet

Diplomat Hotel Ruins (Baguio City, Benguet)

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The author outside the Diplomat Hotel Ruins

The Dominican Hill Retreat House, an abandoned structure atop Dominican Hill commonly known as the Diplomat Hotel, is a favorite spot for photography, airsoft tournaments, film making, wedding receptions and photography, cosplay photoshoots and many more. In spite of it being in ruin, almost every tourist that goes to the City of Pines makes it a point to visit this place because it is one of the most panoramic and picturesque spots in the city. However, due to its brutal and grim World War II history, it is considered by paranormal believers to be haunted.

The century-old Diplomat Hotel Ruins. At far right is the Ten Commandments Building

The building had its beginnings in May 1911 when American friars of the Dominican Order (or Order of Preachers), along with a few Spanish members, made plans for the construction of a vacation house for them and the nuns of their order in Baguio. A 17-hectare hill property was first acquired from Americans who reside in Baguio. The hill where the building was to stand was christened as “Dominican Hill.”

Plaque installed by the National Historical Commission

The building was designed by Fr. Roque Ruaño, O.P., a civil engineer and one of the members of the order.  He was the same architect of the main building of the current campus of the University of Santo Tomas.

The cross at the front of the hotel. Below it is a bas relief of a probable Dominican shield with a crown on top and a dangling rosary

Construction, said to have started in 1913, was supervised by Fr. Ruano himself. On May 23, 1915, it was then inaugurated. At the time of its construction, it was considered the grandest and most expensive stone structure in the city.

Prayer Mountain and Tourism Center

On June 1915, to take advantage of tax exemptions, the order set up a seminary named Colegio del Santissimo Rosario.  However, due to the very small enrollment (only 6 students enrolled in 1917), the school closed two years later and the building was reverted to its original use.

Baroque scroll ornamentation at jambs and the top of the main entrance

During World War II, the people fleeing from the Japanese sought refuge within its walls. Because of its commanding view of the city, the Japanese Imperial Army turned the compound into their headquarters and garrison. Within the courtyard and its grounds, the Kempeitai (Japanese secret police) committed barbaric acts such as torture, rape and decapitation of priests and nuns, as well as refugees.

The rehabilitated west wing of the building

On April 1945, during the liberation of the Philippines, the American forces bombed the place, partially hitting the right wing of the building while Japanese forces committed suicide. Between 1945 and 1947, the building underwent restoration.

The east wing of the building

In 1973, Diplomat Hotels, Inc. acquired ownership of the property and thoroughly remodeled the interior into a 33-bedroom hotel, all the while retaining the unique features and Dominican ambiance (the large white cross and the emblem was retained) which were earlier established by the Dominican friars.

Fireplace at hotel lobby. Tony Agpaoa is said to haunt this area

The hotel was managed by Baguio-based entrepreneur Antonio Agapito “Tony” C. Agpaoa, the sensational and controversial faith healer (later branded as a hoax by many) famous for psychic surgery who claimed to perform surgery with his bare hands without anesthetic.  The hotel became the haven of his patients that came mostly from abroad and they stayed here while being healed.

Multi-tiered fountain at Courtyard No. 1. Babies and little children were said to have been murdered here during the war

In the 1980s, Agpaoa suffered a heart attack and was diagnosed with brain hemorrhage. On January 1982, the 42 year old Agpaoa died of his ailments. Since his death, the hotel ceased operations and was abandoned. Following its abandonment, the place was looted and sacked.

Similar fountain at Courtyard No. 2

The Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, formerly known as the Ministry of Human Settlements, took over the ownership of the hotel. The Presidential Management Staff (PMS) came next.  During the June 16, 1990 Luzon earthquake, the building also sustained significant damage.

Exhibit at west wing

The property on the hill (currently named as Dominican Heritage Hill and Nature Park) was conveyed to the City Government of Baguio in April 2004 and, on April 5, 2005, was declared a National Historical Site through TCT No. T-85948.

Grand stairway leading to second floor

The entire property was declared as a historical site through City Resolution No. 168, series of 2013. The Deed of Conveyance and City Resolutions provided for the rehabilitation of the old building and the development of the property into a park by obligating the city.

One of the 33 hotel rooms

It is now under the maintenance of the City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO). In May 2012, as part of the development of Baguio Dominican Heritage Hill and Nature Park as a preserved heritage site and to promote tourism, two new function halls for weddings, training and workshops in the hotel’s west wing were inaugurated. On September 1, 2014, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines declared it as an Important Cultural Property. 

Still intact bathtub at bathroom of one of the hotel rooms.

This 2-storey building, an example of classic Baroque architectural design with its striking details and admirable design, is a fusion of European church design, blended with local materials and motifs. Its rusticated facade has a porte cochere over a driveway.

The author

The ground floor, with semicircular arched windows, and the second floor, with rectangular windows, are separated by a horizontal cornice. The cornice, at the roof deck level, is located above corbels.

Headless ghosts of nuns and priests are said to haunt these hallways.

Planned out as a castle complete with crenelations, it has a massive fortress-like character. This is also the first hotel in the country, and even in Asia, to have a cross on its gabled main entrance. From this stone crucifix on the roof deck, a panoramic view of the city can be seen. Its roof also has water collecting devices. Inside are two courtyards, both with multi-tiered fountains.

Second floor hallway.  Note the still intact, circa 1970s crazy-cut marble flooring.  Floor beams are supported by decorative coorbels

If ghosts, spirits and the paranormal tickle your fancy, then this so famously haunted, eerie, bleak and abandoned building is definitely for you.  Considered as one of the most haunted places in Baguio City and the Philippines, even since the Diplomat Hotel was open, employees and guests would report hearing strange and eerie noises coming from the building and seeing headless ghosts, with their heads on a platter, constantly roaming the hallways.

Secondary stairway

However, even after the hotel shut down, those sightings would continue.  The people living nearby were often disturbed at night by sounds coming from the Dominican Hill. They would hear banging of doors and windows, clattering of dishes, voices of screaming people who seem to be agonizing, as well as rattling and clanging sounds alternating with total silence.  Adding to the eerie atmosphere is the derelict condition of the hotel.

Fireplace at east wing

As previously mentioned, during the World War II, numerous nuns and priests (forced to serve as helpers for the soldiers) were beheaded here and this is believed to be the reason why headless apparitions are often seen, during the night, inside the hotel. Crying coming from kids and babies, a common noise, are attributed to the massacre of numerous children done at the fountain.

Roof deck

Others say these are the restless spirits of Agpaoa and his patients.  Many years ago, a fire broke out in a portion of the hotel and several guests who were then staying at the hotel were trapped inside and died.  According to one of its caretakers, a woman who used to work there as a nurse committed suicide, for unknown reasons, by jumping from the rooftop where the cross is situated.

Cross seen from the roof deck.  A nurse was said to have jumped to her death at this area

A lot of documentaries have been written about this mysterious hotel.  It was featured on television programs such as Magandang Gabi, Bayan‘s 2004 Halloween Special, AHA! and Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho. Right beside the Diplomat Hotel ruins, is the fairly recent, A-shaped Ten Commandments Building, a “prayer building” which serves as a symbol that drives away evil spirits.

Check out “Ten Commandments Building“

 

View of Baguio City from Diplomat Hotel Ruins

Diplomat Hotel: Dominican Hill, Diplomat Road, Brgy. Dominican Hill-Mirador,  Baguio City, 2600 Benguet. Open 6 AM – 6 PM.

Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto (Baguio City, Benguet)

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The author at Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto

The Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto (or simply the Grotto or Lourdes Grotto), a Catholic shrine and place of prayer and meditation, is one of the most popular attractions in Baguio City.  Located on Mirador (meaning “prospect point”) Hill, in the western part of the city, this very familiar and much photographed spot is particularly crowded on Sundays and during Holy Week, when pilgrims and devotees come to seek the blessing of the Virgin Mary.

The 252-step stairway leading up to the grotto

Visitors to this popular tourist destination have increased in numbers over the years. On Good Friday, it is estimated that about 10,000 people visit the grotto.  To reach the shrine, visitors must climb 252 steps or drive a light vehicle up a winding and steep paved road. When you reach the top of the stairs, it is traditional to light a candle.

The century-old Lourdes Grotto, an integral adjunct of the Mirador Jesuit Villa, was constructed in 1913 at the initiative of Fr. José Algue, S.J., the director of the Manila Observatory. It was made of the same limestone, probably gathered on Mirador Hill, and was built, in slow stages, by Jesuit scholastics (seminarians), brothers and fathers, usually during the summer when Jesuits on vacation would augment the community’s population.

Jandy at Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto

The stairway, from the grotto to the foot of the hills, was completed five years later. The steps began as stones laid on the ground but was later covered with cement.

Candle gallery

Prayer area for devotees

Inside the grotto is a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes. The image, of polychromed molave, was carved by noted sculptor Isabelo Tampingco, whose name is inscribed (“I. Tampingco Manila 1913”) at the back of the statue. Above the statue are inscribed the Latin words Tota Pulchra Es Maria (“You are beautiful Mary,” part of an old Catholic prayer of the same title). An excellent view of the city can be had from the grotto.

View of Baguio City

On March 2007, work began on the grotto’s upper most section. For the convenience of pilgrims, the upper most landing was extended by more than 150 sq. m. and handicap access was provided. The stairs leading up to the grotto, damaged during the July 16, 1990 Luzon earthquake, was repaired and a center rail added for the convenience of the elderly.

Kapilya Nina Hesus at Maria

Within the shrine is the Kapilya nina Hesus at Maria (Chapel of Jesus and Mary).  Commonly known as the Lourdes Grotto Chapel, inside is an image of the Divine Mercy on the left and Our Lady of Lourdes on the right.

Interior of Kapilya Nina Hesus at Maria. On the left is the statue of the Divine Mercy while on the right is the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes

Also within the grounds is The Shrine of The Risen Lord, a big statue of Jesus Christ with outstretched arms.  Made on the spot by skilled sculptors from Black Nazarene Enterprises (the sculpture atelier of Bernie Caber), it was dedicated on February 11, 2008, the 150th anniversary of the appearance of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes to St. Bernadette Soubirous.

Walkway leading to The Shrine of the Risen Lord

The statue will be the culmination of a planned outdoor Stations of the Cross whose bas reliefs will also be designed by Bernie Caber.  It will begin near the parking area at the vehicular entrance of Mirador Hill and will follow a penitential path through the rock formations of Mirador Hill.

Shrine of the Risen Lord

Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto: Dominican Hill Rd., Mirador Hill, Baguio City, 2600 Benguet. Open daily, 6 AM – 7:30 PM.

How to Get There: From Zandueta St. (Baguio Central District), jeepneys travel to Lourdes or Dominican Hills.

My List of the Ten Allegedly Haunted Places in the Philippines

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Here’s a list of ten of the scariest places I have visited in the country. One is located in La Union (Pindangan Church Ruins), two in Baguio City (Hyatt Terraces Hotel and SM City Baguio) in Benguet, one in Pampanga (Clark Air Base), one in Mountain Province (Sagada), one off Cavite (Corregidor Island) and the rest in Metro Manila. Though I haven’t really experienced any paranormal activity in these sites, probably because I don’t have a third eye, many others have.

  • My wife Grace and I stayed in the 12-storey, 303 -room HYATT TERRACES HOTEL for three days in April 1986.   Located on a pine tree-clad hill along South Drive, near Camp John Hay, the Hyatt Terraces Hotel was said to be the grandest hotel outside Metro Manila. At 4:26 PM, on July 16, 1990, a little over 4 years after our stay, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Luzon, killing 1,621 people.  Again, I happened to be in the city, with my family and some relatives, on the day of the devastating 1990 Luzon Earthquake but were lucky enough to have left the city before lunch. In Baguio City, 28 buildings collapsed during the earthquake.  One of the most prominent buildings destroyed was the Hyatt Terraces Hotel when the central wing’s terraced front collapsed, like an accordion, onto the hotel lobby, killing 98 employees and guests. In the aftermath of that tragic earthquake, many of those listed as “missing” were never found and many say that there are still bodies in the debris of the hotel site and the spirits of these victims have never moved on. Its tragic history has surely contributed to its terrifying reputation.

Check out “Hyatt Terraces Hotel“

Hyatt Terraces Hotel circa 1986

Today, its old fountain and a gated fence are all that remains of the still undeveloped site of the Hyatt Terraces. Now said to be haunted, strange lights and ghostly apparitions are said to have been seen around the empty lot.  There was once a bus stop in front of the gate and motorists, driving along South Drive, have told stories of strange apparitions of the spirits of dead employees there. Some passersby in the area at night have also heard cries for help and seen figures against the spotlight that illuminates the area. In fact, for those driving along South Drive, the directed procedure is to honk your horn when passing beside the former Hyatt location, lest they run over a spirit crossing the street. Aromatic smells, coming out of nowhere, are also consistently reported.

  • SM CITY BAGUIO (a favorite shopping venue of mine while in the city), opened in 2003, was erected on the site where the former 4-storey, wood-framed, 423-room Pines Hotel used to overlook Session Road. On October 23, 1984, at about 11:30 PM, a 6-hour blaze gutted this government-owned hotel. To escape the thick smoke and flames, most of the dead (17 were killed, including 4 Americans) and 46 injured leaped from windows of this American Colonial-style, hillside hotel while others were seen slipping from rescue ropes.

Check out “SM City Baguio“

SM City Baguio

Today, mall visitors have reportedly seen faces in bathroom mirrors that would not be there a second later. One patron, in the ladies’ room, gave a photographic description of a bloodied fireman (The Baguio City Fire Department lost four firefighters in the blaze).

  • The MANILA FILM CENTER had its beginnings in 1981 when then First Lady Imelda R. Marcos started the Manila International Film Festival (MIFF). Slated to start on January 18, 1982, 4,000 laborers working, round the clock, in 3 shifts in the rush to complete the project  in time for the MIFF. Tragedy struck, on November 17, 1981, shortly before 3 AM, when scaffolding and wooden support for part of the second basement collapsed, causing at least 169 graveyard shift workers to fall to the orchestra below and be buried or trapped under wet, quick-drying cement.

Check out “The Urban Legend That is the Manila Film Center“

Manila Film Center

Rather than halt construction to rescue survivors and retrieve the bodies of dead workmen, cement ordered to be poured into the orchestra, entombing the fallen workmen, some of them still alive. The MIFF was to last another year but, instead of quality films, pornographic films were shown in an effort to gain a larger audience and, perhaps, to make up for the first festival’s financial losses. Later, in 1984, I would watch the premiere of Tikoy Aguiluz’ startling, controversial but highly-acclaimed first full-length film “Boatman” (Ang Bangkero), in its uncut version, at this very venue. Today, it is the venue of the Amazing Show, a Las Vegas-like song and dance extravaganza  where all the performers are transgenders.

The place, said to be haunted as well as cursed, is incredibly spooky. Various ghostly manifestations were reported within the building on the site, including poltergeist activity, apparitions; mysterious hearing of cries and moans; bleeding walls; and hands sticking out from under doors. The ghosts of those who died are said to roam the area, looking for live bodies to possess and take over as their own.

  • The UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES Diliman Campus , where my wife  and I graduated (with a degree of B.S. Architecture) has had a long history of alleged haunting, with a lot of paranormal hot spots. The Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater, at the second floor of Palma Hall, is the residence of a  ghost named “Marisa,”  said to be a famous star of the university’s theater productions back in the 1970s who was eventually overshadowed by younger, more talented newcomers. Overwhelmed by grief and jealousy, she killed herself, in the most dramatic way possible, by hanging herself onstage, in costume. She’s known for making her presence felt by haunting the stage, the rest room and her old dressing room, joining the chorus during performances and, sometimes, showing up onstage.

Benitez Hall

Benitez Hall, home to the College of Education and one of the oldest buildings on campus and, naturally, has gained the reputation as one of the most haunted. A ghost, with blood red eyes, is said to wanders the halls. Kalayaan Hall, a residence hall exclusively for freshmen, has a ghost of a woman who supposedly shows up in the mirror facing the stairs to the second floor of the girls’ wing.  Abelardo Hall, home of the College of Music, is said to be haunted by the ghost of a girl vocalizing, or playing the piano or the gamelan in the middle of the night.

Melchor Hall

The lights on the top floor of Melchor Hall, the College of Engineering Building, where our college was then housed (the college now has its own building), was, for some reason, never turned off, the reason being that, sometimes, the lights there inexplicably turn to red. Many of my classmates have also seen a “Lady in White” come in and out of the corridor walls

  • The PINDANGAN CHURCH RUINS, the picturesque, roofless remains of a small vine-covered brick and coral church (the first in City of San Fernando, La Union) which I visited way back in 2004, is located 500 m. off the National Highway, near Camp Oscar Florendo. The nuns of the Carmelite Monastery of the Holy Family are the caretakers of these church ruins.

Check out “Pindangan Church Ruins“

Pindangan Church Ruins

It is said to be the home of the sole ghost of a headless stabbed priest who prowls the night, either carrying his severed head or searching for his head. Some have also reported hearing his head calling out for his body to find it. The wind here is known to whisper strange malediction to those that disrespect the location.  My picture of the site was featured in an episode of “Ang Pinaka: Scary Places in the Philippines,” aired during the 6:30 PM GMA News TV last October 22, Sunday.

  • The University of Santo Tomas, where my daughter Cheska graduated (with a degree of B.S. Medical Technology), served as an internment camp during the World War II.  Many prisoners died here of starvation and illness, and is reported by believers to be haunted. An alleged mass grave is located near the UST Museum.  One of the restroom cubicles in the Main Building is also haunted by a female student who hung herself.

Main Building of the University of Sto. Tomas

Other paranormal hot spots are the UST Hospital (haunted by a ghost wearing a red tag, which only corpses in the morgue section wear), St. Raymund’s Building (the comfort rooms on the first floor are haunted by the ghost of a girl was said to have committed suicide because she was bullied for her physical appearance), the Albertus Magnus Building (the Conservatory of Music where the piano is heard playing by itself) and Benavides Park (a.k.a. Lover’s Lane) where, at past midnight, students are greeted by a man wearing a Dominican habit who would later disappear (Sometimes, unfortunate couples hanging out in the park’s benches at night, have also heard a disembodied voice singing mass songs).

  • CLARK AIR BASE, being an American military installation, experienced major bombing from the Japanese during World War II. There are a number of reminders of that bloody past that still exist today and these locations are some of the most haunted in the Philippines.

Clark Museum

The area around the abandoned Clark Air Base Hospital has been rendered off limits to everyone as inhabitants have witnessed apparitions of violent spirits and heard mysterious voices.

Clark Cemetery

Early morning joggers have also reported hearing party music and excited talk coming from inside the obviously empty Home Plate canteen.  At the Clark Museum, the ghost of a serviceman who committed suicide by hanging himself still haunts the place.

Check out “Clark Museum“

  • SAGADA, in Mountain Province, has an authentic culture dealing with death, free of Western influence. The caves of the town, in particular, are rumored to be site of ghostly mischief. According to the locals, whispery voices are heard and wayward shadows or apparitions are seen among the Hanging Coffins as well as graves up in the Echo Valley.

Hanging Coffins

The Igorots, however, generally say that if you show some respect and leave the coffins alone, you’ll make it out of the valley unscathed. At Sumaguing Cave, locals believe that the cave is haunted by the spirits of their ancestors.  I have explored this cave twice and, each time, I always felt an otherworldly feeling as I entered.

Check out “Back to Sumaging Cave“

  • Historic CORREGIOR ISLAND, an island of history and heroism at the entrance of Manila Bay, has played a major role during World War II. Many Filipino and American soldiers died in its defense. During the liberation, the Japanese defenders here committed suicide via harakiri, jumping into the sea or blowing themselves up instead of capture or surrender. The ghosts of Corregidor’s World War II dead were also joined by Muslim soldiers who, in 1968,  were training in Corregidor for a  planned invasion of Sabah in Malaysia but were exterminated during the infamous March 18, 1968 Jabidah Massacre.

Hospital Ruins

At the Hospital Ruins, tourists who passed by have heard footsteps, rumblings of normal hospital activities, and wails of people.

One of the laterals of Malinta Tunnel. Notice the orbs?

Around the bunker area inside the Malinta Tunnel, shouts of people grimacing in pain can also be heard. Witnesses have also reported hearing eerie sounds and seeing a spirit near by. Manifestations would also appear in photos and videos. 

Check out “Ghost Hunting in Corregidor“

  • In INTRAMUROS,  where the historical and the supernatural intersect, the possibility of ghost sightings in the oldest part of Manila is real. It attracts ghosts and ghost hunters in search of kapres, white ladies, demonic spirits, and other entities. In the dying days of World War II, Japanese soldiers reportedly massacred men, women and children in Baluarte de Dilao.

Baluarte de San Diego

Baluarte de San Diego, known as the break-up park for being the site where many a relationship met their demise, is where a crying White Lady often makes appearances.

Manila Cathedral

The Aduana (Customs House) Building, which housed several government offices, is the most haunted building in Intramuros. Many people believe its demonic entities takes lives.  At Plaza Mexico, there have been sightings of reapers, or hooded figures who chase after wandering spirits. Many of the retail and commercial spaces along the wall of Puerta de Sta. Isabel have now been abandoned, supposedly because of numerous reports of hauntings. An ordinary-looking tree, along Arzobispo Street, has earned the gruesome nickname the Suicide Tree after a student, supposedly from Mapua Institute of Technology, killed herself by hanging.  Headless priests supposedly make regular appearances at the Manila Cathedral.

Fort Santiago

Fort Santiago, where National Hero Jose Rizal was jailed, was used by the Japanese as a prison and torture chamber during World War II.  It is imprinted with the agony and sufferings of its many prisoners and is now also extremely haunted with ghosts of prisoners who drowned in its underground dungeons.

Check out “RevisitingFort Santiago“