Monday, February 26, 2007
JONES BRIDGE TODAY
* * *
Please note:
I very much appreciate my articles and photos appearing on fellow bloggers' sites, popular broadsheets, and local broadcast news segments, but I would appreciate even more a request for permission first.
Thank you!
*
I very much appreciate my articles and photos appearing on fellow bloggers' sites, popular broadsheets, and local broadcast news segments, but I would appreciate even more a request for permission first.
Thank you!
*
Labels: Jones Bridge, Manila
posted by Señor Enrique at 8:06 AM
| 38 comments
Friday, August 11, 2006
THE BRIDGE, THE RIVER & THE YOUTH OF MANILA
A clear and breezy afternoon along the north promenade of the Pasig River is the perfect weather for some college students from nearby schools to enjoy their lunch break.
At the background is Jones Bridge. It was named for William Atkinson Jones, a member of the U.S. Congress and chairman of the Insular Affairs Committee who sponsored the Philippine Autonomy Act in 1916. Jones Bridge was once hailed as Manila's queen of the bridges until it fell into neglect and disrepair in the 1980s. However, some partial restoration has preserved the elegance of its neoclassical architecture.
Pasig River is a 10-mile course that flows from the north side of Laguna de Bay and westward into the salt water of Manila Bay. Laguna de Bay is the world’s largest fresh water inland lakes with its own islands and tributaries.
Pasig comes from the words "sand banks" and the people who once inhabited along its banks called themselves Tagalog (taga ilog). They enjoyed this river and did their bathing, boating, swimming and fishing here. Unfortunately, the river began to die in the 1930s and by the 1990s, Pasig River was pronounced biologically dead; a carrier of disease. The main cause was toxic wastes dumped by factories and industrial firms that once thrived along the river banks. The waters of Pasig River had become less than desirable for any water-based activities as it once was.
As for some of the students of the nearby schools in the vicinity (i.e., Manila Community College and various maritime colleges) who may share the sentiments of those three out of ten Filipinos, or roughly 14 million, who will migrate today if possible (as per the latest Pulse Asia survey), I say go ahead and see the world! Whether you’re motivated by our country’s bleak economic landscape, or by a simple sense of adventurism, traveling does tend to expand one’s horizon. And after spending some time abroad, you might come back with certain wisdom to contribute towards our continued growth and progress as a people despite the infantile behavior of some of our elected officials.
And no matter what anyone says, our youth — unlike the bridge and river — is gifted with the innate intelligence and resilience to prevent a total shutdown of our national consciousness for the good.
Additional sources:
MLQ3/Pulse Asia
Labels: Jones Bridge, life in Manila, Manila history
posted by Señor Enrique at 7:59 AM
| 18 comments
