The legacy of a hundred years

The bronze sculpture Binhi ng Kalayaan (Seeds of Freedom) was installed at the Rizal Park during the Philippine Centennial in 1998. It is a monument dedicated to the men and women, many of whom are and will remain unknown to us, who fought for the freedom of the country against Spanish colonial rule. It also serves as a marker for the time capsule buried underneath it, which contains many documents and memorabilia related to the events of that great struggle.


As is quite common in this country, I couldn't find the name of the artist anywhere on the monument, but the plaque did have the name of the President during the time it was installed: Joseph Ejercito Estrada.

Joys and sorrows

La Madre Filipina is a monument dedicated to the Filipino mother at the Rizal Park. The plaque simply says that it was created by Martinez and retouched by F. Caedo, neither of whom I can find any information about.

Leisurely Saturday morning

This is the wide, paved promenade around the large decorative pool in Rizal Park in yesterday's photo.

Off

THEME DAY: FOUNTAINS • Just my luck that the fountains in the large decorative pool at the Rizal Park weren't on when my cousin and I went on an impromptu photo walk. Even the swans should have been spouting water—I took a close look and there are pipes inside their mouths.




Get your (virtual) feet wet in fountains all over the world with City Daily Photo bloggers. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Refuge

Hidden among the tall office and condominium buildings of Ortigas Center is the tiny Ortigas Park, which has several cafés nearby. We were there on New Year's Eve—the first time I've been there—and most of the benches were occupied, I assume by residents of the many condominiums in the area. Metro Manila needs more havens like it.

A brotherhood of heroes

Many of the leaders of the Philippine Revolution of 1896 were members of one of the oldest fraternities in the world: Freemasonry. This Centennial Memorial Clock was a project of various lodges and individual members of the Philippine masons during the hundredth anniversary of the country's independence from Spain and stands across the shrine of the most renowned Filipino mason and our National Hero, Jose Rizal.

Open wide!

Another childhood favorite in the playground at the Rizal Park is this hippo. My sister, cousins and I felt like we were on top of the world when we were sitting in his open mouth. Now, I don't think I'd even fit in the tunnel in his chest. I think he needs a (paint) bath too—he looks like he's been wallowing in the mud for too long.

Childhood memories

I was so surprised to see that the playground in the Rizal Park that we used to frequent on weekends when we were kids is still there, and with the same structures too. This playhouse was one of my favorites.

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.

She had so many children, she didn't know what to do;

She gave them some broth without any bread;

Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.

About a Filipino and two colonial governments

The remains of Philippine national hero Jose Rizal are now interred at the site where he was executed by the Spanish colonial government on December 30, 1896. The area was called Bagumbayan (New Town) then and was located just outside the old walled city of Intramuros. It is now called Rizal Park in honor of the man whose great sin was to ask—he was a writer and didn't even take up arms—that the rights of Filipinos be recognized in their own country. The bronze and granite Rizal Monument was planned and constructed during the American colonial era and designed by the Swiss sculptor Richard Kissling. It is guarded continuously by ceremonial guards called the Kabalyeros de Rizal (Knights of Rizal).

Encircled

The lovely landscaped gardens and fountains of Greenbelt Park at the center of several malls which are, in turn, surrounded by the high-rise commercial and condominium buildings of the Makati Central Business District. The only building I recognize in this cluster is the tallest one on the right: the BSA Tower, a condotel.

Natural or man-made, take a refreshing dip in Watery Wednesday.

Danger in disguise

No, it's not a rock. It's found underwater in the coastal areas of the western Pacific Ocean, but neither is it coral. It just happens to be one of the most venomous fish in the world, though I saw it safely behind glass at the Manila Ocean Park. The Estuarine Stonefish (Synanceia horrida) camouflages itself among rocks at the bottom of tropical reefs, where it lies in ambush for shrimp and small fish to swim by. If you are having a difficult time seeing the fish, try to locate its deeply-frowning mouth on the left, then its dark eye bugging out, one fin at the bottom of the tank, and finally, the venomous spines which run along its top. See it now?

I don't want to meet their cousins

The Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) is a relatively small freshwater crocodile found only in the Philippines and is named after the island of Mindoro in Luzon. The largest specimens do not grow longer than 3 meters (10 feet) and most are smaller. It is in the critically endangered list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) though thankfully, several conservation societies have created captive breeding and releasing programs for it. These Philippine crocodiles are in the Agos (flow) section of the Manila Ocean Park.



Pinoy Trivia: The Tagalog word for crocodile is buwaya, which is the most common term and image we use to depict corrupt law enforcers and politicians who prey on innocent people. Poor crocodiles.

Natural or man-made, take a refreshing dip in Watery Wednesday.

An oasis from consumerism

A small pond within a small park in the middle of the Greenhills Shopping Center in the City of San Juan. It is right next to the tiangge (bazaar) and is outdoors, hence the covered walkway between buildings. I wonder if the thousands of shoppers that pass through the park everyday notice just how lush it is.

Urban or rural, natural or man-made, take a sightseeing tour of our world's diverse scenery!

How many triangles do you see?

The dome over the entrance hall of the Manila Ocean Park. And no, you don't have to answer the question.

First Filipino Saint

Lorenzo Ruiz (c. 1600–1637) was a Chinese Filipino layman with two sons and a daughter who lived in Binondo, Manila's Chinatown. Falsely accused of killing a Spaniard, he was granted asylum on a ship with three Dominican priests. When the ship landed in Japan, the group was arrested for their Christian faith and tortured. Lorenzo refused to recant his faith and was finally subjected to the horrendous form of torture called tsurushi. After two days hanging upside down in an enclosed pit, he died from bleeding and suffocation. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II during his visit to Manila in 1981 and canonized in 1987. This statue of him stands in the small Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz in front of the Binondo Church, which is formally titled the Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz.

A Spaniard in a Roman plaza in Manila

In front of the Manila Cathedral is a small park with a fountain and a bronze statue. During the Spanish colonial period, the open space was called the Plaza Mayor and was the site of bull fights and other public events. In 1797, the Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines Rafael Maria de Aguilar y Ponce de Leon turned it into a garden. The bronze statue of Carlos IV, king of Spain from 1788 to 1808, was installed in 1824 as a tribute for his sending the first smallpox vaccine to the Philippines. During the American period, the park was named Plaza McKinley after William McKinley, who was then the president of the United States. Since 1960, it has been called Plaza Roma because of a reciprocal agreement between the Philippine government and the Vatican (there's supposed to be a Piazza Manila somewhere in Rome).



The Intramuros Administration says that they refurbished the park in 1980. I think it's about time that they reconditioned the bronze statue again.

Can you see it?

The Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) is a relatively small freshwater crocodile found only in the Philippines. It doesn't grow more than 3 meters (about 10 feet) in length and is found mostly in the northern part of the country. In fact, it is named after the island of Mindoro in Luzon. Unfortunately, it is in the critically endangered list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), originally because of commercial exploitation but now because of human encroachment on its preferred habitats and also because of bad fishing methods. As of August 2009, the IUCN reports that the total population surviving in the wild is estimated at only 100 mature individuals. Thankfully, several conservation societies have created captive breeding and releasing programs for it. Together with awareness and education campaigns for local communities, the programs might just succeed in bringing it back to healthy population levels. The Manila Ocean Park has several Philippine crocodiles in its Agos (Flow) section, where I (barely) saw this one enjoying a quiet moment under the rainforest waterfall.

Natural or man-made, take a refreshing dip in Watery Wednesday.

19th century promenade

One of the fountains in Plaza Moriones, a park just outside the main gate and moat of Fort Santiago, one of the oldest fortifications in the City of Manila. During the 19th century, it was a promenade for the residents of Intramuros. Now, the gardens can be rented for special events such as wedding receptions.

Natural or man-made, take a refreshing dip in Watery Wednesday.

The eye of the storm

In the center of all the Greenbelt malls is the park that gives the area its name. Within the park, surrounded by hundreds of shops and restaurants, is the little Greenbelt Chapel. It was built in 1983 and many of its design elements were created by noted glass sculptor Ramon Orlina. I hope I can visit it soon to take photos, but for now, we have to end our short Ayala Commercial Center walk. And I leave you with an image that is very representative of today's Manileño—a religious center amidst all the commercialism and consumerism of the city. I find it both ironic and hopeful.

Roundabout park

A rotonda (roundabout) within the Ayala Commercial Center gives vehicles access to The Link, Makati Shangri-La, 6750 and Glorietta (a different entrance from the one in my photo though). Not one to waste even the smallest piece of real estate, Ayala Land turned the little lot inside the rotonda into a tiny park with landscaped gardens. The tent would make it a perfect venue for the center's events too.