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| Compound where Americans from the embassy live. |
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| Large Ferris Wheel |
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| Entrance to the amusement park |
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| Love this billboard! |
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| Naval ships |
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| American Embassy |
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| We had a difficult time getting this picture as the guards kept whistling us away. |
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The Philippine Flag and Its Symbols
The Philippine flag evolves in different designs as the time went on. Since in the Spanish era, some Filipino secret societies already use flags during their revolution. Their flags are usually a red rectangular shape with symbols of a sun in it. In 1897, another flag was born in the design concept of Emilio Aguinaldo. This is now the very basis of the design of the present Philippine National Flag as proclaimed in 1998.
The official Philippine Flag is rectangular in form with an aspect ratio of 1:2, meaning the length of the flag is twice longer than its width. It has a horizontal band of two colours of equal size, having on top is the royal blue and red at the bottom. The left end (viewer’s left) of the flag has a white equilateral triangle (3-sides equal to the width of the flag) which inside has symbols of 3-stars at each corner and a sun having 8-rays is in the center of the triangle.
The Flag Symbols and Meaning
The blue colour of the Philippine flag is the symbol for peace, truth, and justice. The red is the symbol for patriotism and valour. The white triangle is the symbol for equality and fraternity. It is also symbolize the Katipunan, the secret Filipino society who stands against the Spanish rule. The three golden stars in the corners of the triangle, represent the three major group of island in the Philippines, namely the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The golden sun at the center of the triangle is the symbol for unity, freedom, people's democracy, and sovereignty. The sun has eight rays around it. Each ray represents one of the first eight provinces that started the 1896 Philippine revolution against Spanish colony. These provinces are Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Laguna and Batangas.
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| The Manila Hotel where Douglas McArthur lived during WWII
Intramuros (Latin, "within the walls") is the oldest district and historic core of the City of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Also called the Walled City, the original citadel of Manila was the seat of government when the Philippines were a component realm of the Spanish Empire. Districts beyond the walls were referred as the extramuros of Manila, meaning "outside the walls".[2][3]
Construction of the defensive walls was started by the Spanish colonial government in the late 16th century to protect the city from foreign invasions. The 0.67-square-kilometre (0.26 sq mi) walled city was originally located along the shores of the Manila Bay, south of the entrance to Pasig River. Guarding the old city is Fort Santiago, its citadel located at the mouth of the river. Land reclamations during the early 20th-century subsequently obscured the walls and fort from the bay.
Intramuros was heavily damaged during the battle to recapture the city from the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War. Reconstruction of the walls was started in 1951 when Intramuros was declared a National Historical Monument, which is continued to this day by the Intramuros Administration (IA).
American colonization
After the end of the Spanish–American War, Spain surrendered the Philippines and several other territories to the United States as part of the terms of the Treaty of Paris for $20 million. The American flag was raised at Fort Santiago on August 13, 1898 indicating the start of American rule over the city. The Ayuntamiento became the seat of the Philippine Commission of the United States in 1901 while Fort Santiago became the headquarters of the Philippine Division of the United States Army.
The Americans made drastic changes to the city, such as in 1903, when the walls from the Santo Domingo Gate up to the Almacenes Gate were removed as the wharf on the southern bank of the Pasig River was improved. The stones removed were used for other construction happening around the city. The walls were also breached in four areas to ease access to the city: the southwestern end of Calle Aduana (now Andres Soriano Jr. Ave.); the eastern end of Calle Anda; the northeastern end of Calle Victoria (previously known as Calle de la Escuela); and the southeastern end of Calle Palacio (now General Luna Street). The double moats that surrounded Intramuros were deemed unsanitary and were filled in with mud dredged from Manila Bay where the present Port of Manila is now located. The moats were transformed into a municipal golf course by the city.
Reclamations for the construction of the Port of Manila, the Manila Hotel, and Rizal Park obscured the old walls and skyline of the city from the Manila Bay.[15] The Americans also founded the first school under the new government, the Manila High School, on June 11, 1906 along Victoria Street.[16]
Coat of arms
Motto: Insigne y siempre leal Ciudad de Manila
Distinguished and ever loyal City of Manila
 Oops, it wouldn't copy! Check out the hyperlink
Map of the present territory of the City of Manila, with Intramuros highlighted in yellow
World War II
In December 1941, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded the Philippines. The first casualties in Intramuros brought by the war were the destruction of Santo Domingo Church and the original University of Santo Tomas campus during an assault. The whole city of Manila was declared by General Douglas McArthur as an "Open City" as Manila was indefensible.
In 1945, the battle for the liberation of Manila began when American troops tried to occupy Manila on January 1945. Intense urban fighting occurred between the combined American and Filipino troops under the United States Army and Philippine Commonwealth Army including recognized guerrillas, against the 30,000 Japanese defenders. As the battle continued, both sides inflicted heavy damage on the city culminating with the Manila massacre. The Imperial Japanese Army was pushed back, eventually retreating into the Intramuros district. General MacArthur, though opposed to the bombing of the walled city, approved the heavy shelling which resulted in deaths of over 16,665 Japanese alone within Intramuros.[17] Two of the eight gates of Intramuros were badly damaged by American tanks. The bombings leveled most of Intramuros leaving only 5% of the city structures; the walls lost 40% to the bombings.[18][19] During the battle in Manila, over 100,000 Filipino men, women and children died from February 3 to March 3, 1945.
At the end of World War II, virtually all of the structures in Intramuros were destroyed, with only the damaged Church of San Agustin still standing.[20][21][22]
More to come! |
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