A substantial open green area that showcases Manila at play, 58-hectare
(143-acre) Rizal Park is one of the largest parks in South East
Asia. It is also known as Luneta, after the area it replaced. Its local
significance can be gauged by the fact that it is named after Dr José
Rizal, the great Philippine anti-colonial fighter and thinker. He is
memorialised in the Diorama of the Martyrdom of Dr José Rizal,
which becomes a son et lumière exhibit after sunset, and his
remains were interred in the Rizal Monument in 1912. The many ornamental
gardens include a re-creation of the entire Philippines archipelago in
the eastern ponds. There is also a Japanese Garden, a Chinese
Garden, an Orchidarium, a chess plaza and a skating rink. The
museums and public buildings within its precincts include the Museum
of the Pilipino People (see below). In the morning, residents
assemble to practice tai chi, Philippine stick-fighting or sundry forms
of martial arts, while on most Sundays, there is a free ‘Concert at
the Park’ in an open-air auditorium.
Paco Park
It is a 4,114.80 square meter recreational garden area and was once
Manila's municipal cemetery during the Spanish colonial period. It is
located along General Luna St. and at the east end of Padre Faura Street
in Paco district in the Manila, Philippines.
History
Spanish colonial period
Paco Park was originally planned as a municipal cemetery for the well-off and established aristocratic Spanish families who resided in the old Manila, or the city within the walls of Intramuros during the Spanish colonial era.
Most of the wealthy families interred the remains of their loved ones inside the municipal cemetery in what was once the district of Dilao (former name for
Paco). The cemetery was built in the late 1700s but was completed several decades later and in 1822, the cemetery was used to inter victims of a cholera epidemic that swept across the city.
The cemetery is circular in shape, with an inner circular fort that was the original cemetery and with the niches that were placed or located within the hollow walls. As the population continued to grow, a second outer wall was built with the thick adobe walls were hollowed as niches and the top of the walls were made into pathways for promenades.
A Roman Catholic chapel was built inside the walls of the Paco Park and it was dedicated to St.
Pancratius.
On December 30, 1896, Philippine national hero Dr. José P. Rizal was interred at Paco Park after his execution at
Bagumbayan.
Second World War
In 1912, burial or interment at the Paco Park ceased. It had been the burial ground for several generations and descendants of those who were buried in the park had the remains of their ancestors transferred.
During the Second World War, Japanese forces used Paco Park as a central supply and ammunition depot. The high thick adobe walls around the park was ideal for defensive positions of the Japanese.
The Japanese just before the liberation of Manila in 1945, dug several trenches and pill boxes around and within the Park with three 75 millimeter guns to defend their fortification against the charging 148th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Battalion of the United States Army with the Philippine Scouts & the Commonwealth of the Philippine Army.
Into the Eighties
The park was converted into a national park in 1966 during the term of President Diosdado
Macapagal. Paco Park’s grandeur was slowly restored after the war and since then has remained as a public park and promenade for many teen age sweethearts who could spend quiet moments along the park’s benches and private alcoves.
Paco Park and its care was placed under the responsibility of the National Park’s Development Committee
(NPDC) during the regime of President Ferdinand E. Marcos.
During the Marcos period, through the efforts of former First Lady Imelda R. Marcos, culture was given emphasis and priority in the country and Paco Park was one of the few venues chosen to host events related to culture.
On February 29, 1980, then Press and Cultural Attache of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in the Philippines, Dr. Christoph Jessen with then NPDC Vice-Chairperson Teodoro Valencia started a classical concert within Paco Park as part of the celebrations for the “Philippine-German Month,” and the program became a tradition, a weekly fare held every Friday afternoons and called the, “Paco Park Presents.”
This event featured and highlighted the exchange of Filipino and German musical artists who performed at Paco Park and it served as a means to strengthen the bond between Germany and the Philippines.
In 1998, the celebration of Philippine-German month was moved from February to March, with the concert starting at 7:00 P.M. But Paco Park Presents continues to celebrate its anniversary every February.
The park is open Monday to Sunday (except on Wednesday) from 8:00AM to 5:00PM and every Friday by sunset,
"Paco Park Presents" feature the finest musical artists and chorales, local and guests performers for an evening of classical and traditional Filipino music.
Paco Park has become a very popular venue for weddings and receptions for couples who prefer a garden-like settings. The Chapel of St. Pancratius is under the care of the Vincentian fathers who also manage the nearby Adamson University.
Fort Santiago
One of the oldest and most dramatic colonial buildings in the
Philippines, Fort Santiago was built to guard the entrance to the
Pasig River and dates back, in its oldest sections, to 1571. Its most
famous prisoner was the national hero, José Rizal, who spent his last
days here before his death at the hands of the Spanish in 1896. More
recent memories of tyranny include the legacy of wartime Japanese
occupation, when Philippine freedom fighters suffered and died here. In
another cell block, American POWs were left to be drowned by the rising
tide – this was one of the rumoured resting places for the legendary
wartime trove of Yamashita’s Gold and the victims’ last resting
place has been much disturbed by treasure seekers. The Japanese used
Fort Santiago as their final redoubt against American forces and the
fort was correspondingly damaged. It has been rebuilt as a park, with
its own resident theater company. At its heart is the Rizal Shrine,
which contains very crypto-Catholic relics of the hero – one of his
vertebrae, the first draft of his novel Noli Me Tangere or
Touch Me Not (1887) and the original of his death poem.
Rajah Sulayman Park
It is on the other side of Roxas Boulevard, across Manila Bay. The changing
pattern of the fountain by the park and the dazzling lights adds to the
pleasure whether during the day or night. And the historic Malate Church is
just across the park.
The Manila Bay
Manila Bay is a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. The entrance is 19 km wide and expands to a width of 48 km.
Mariveles, in the province of Bataan, is an anchorage just inside the northern entrance and Sangley Point is the former location of Cavite Naval Base.
On either side of the bay are volcanic peaks topped with tropical foliage: 40 km to the north is the Bataan Peninsula and to the south is the province of
Cavite.
Across the entrance to Manila Bay are several islands. The largest is
Corregidor, which is 3 kilometers from Bataan and, along with the island of
Caballo, separates the mouth of the bay into the North and South Channels. In the south channel is El Fraile Island and outside the entrance, and to the south, is Carabao Island. El
Fraile, a rocky island some 4 acres (16,000 m²) in area, supports the massive concrete and steel ruins of Fort Drum, an island fortress constructed by the United States Army to defend the southern entrance of the bay. To the immediate north and south are additional harbors.
The bay was the setting for the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898 and the siege of Corregidor Island by invading Japanese forces in 1942.
Intramuros
The original city, founded in 1571 by the Spanish, Intramuros is
located on the southern bank of the Pasig River. Substantial sections of
the encircling wall, which was begun in 1590, remain, including a number
of decorated gates. In fact a poorly defensible site, Intramuros was the
locus for most major conflicts and invasions to befall the
pre-independence Philippines, culminating in the devastating Battle for
Manila, between the Japanese and Americans, in 1945, in which over
100,000 locals died. The surviving walls have been restored and many
attractive historic buildings still remain within their precincts, while
a walk beneath their ramparts gives a colonial experience hard to match
in modern Asia.
Manila Zoo
On July 25, 1959, the Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden opened its doors to the public. It serves as one of the educational centers in the country where the viewing public can observe, discover and learn interesting facts about the beauty of Philippine fauna and flora.
Manila Zoo has a land area of 5.5 hectares and has a current population of about 500 animals. There are 106 species, among which are 30 different kinds of mammals, 63 reptile species and 13 types of birds. In addition to popular zoo occupants such as elephant, tigers lions and the hippos, Manila Zoo also houses several endemic and indigenous species of animals like the bearcat,
long-talied macaques and crocodiles.
Located along Adriatico St., Manila, the Zoo also has canteens, souvenir shops, boating rentals at the lagoon and several playgrounds that cater to children and tourists.
With a good mix of education and entertainment purposes, the Manila Zoo does its best to appeal to everyone.
As of July 2003, all of the animals in the Animal Gallery and all of the birds in the Bird Gallery can be seen at the Manila Zoo.
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