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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

FIREFIGHTING IN MANILA

THIS WAS THE SCENE IN FRONT of 940 R. Hidalgo Street in Quiapo yesterday, about 14 hours after it was hit by a pre-dawn fire, which quickly spread to the building beside it. Both were two-story residential and commercial structures, made of light materials; causing the fire to spread rapidly, which reached the nearby abandoned Manuel L. Quezon University building.

No one was hurt in this fire that left about P2 million in property damages and several families homeless. Many residents, however, applauded the immediate response of the city's firefighters, including the many volunteer fire brigades with their gleaming trucks from all over Metro Manila. Their expeditious efforts contained the conflagration and minimized the extent of damages.

R. HIDALGO STREET WAS NAMED AFTER Felix Ressurreccion Hidalgo, one of the country's great artists of the 19th century. This street still shows, though in various degrees of decay, remnants of its old glory -- as Manila's premier residential street with rows of grand houses made of wood and stone.

However, back in those early days, fire-fighting was mostly of community or bayanihan effort. Tasked to drag the rickety fire wagon to a fire scene were the city's street sweepers, while volunteers helped in handling the hose, pumping the water, and searching for trapped victims.

There was also the ronda housed in a nipa hut with buckets of water, pails of sand, ladder and other firefighting equipment. Besides fighting fires, the ronda volunteers also acted as peace keepers; patrolling the community equipped with wooden clubs.

It wasn't until the 1890s when the very first motor fire engine arrived in the country, imported by the father of Don Teodoro Yangco, and manned by his own dock laborers. There were also the British merchants of Manila who organized themselves into a fire brigade; setting up their headquarters on Juan Luna Street in Binondo with an acquired steam engine.

But as far as a brigade of professional firefighters in Manila was concerned, It was the American colonizers who began to establish it; comprised of American ex-soldiers and headed by Fire Chief Hugh Bonner. And under his watch, four stations were constructed: Station No. 1 (San Nicolas Fire Station), Station No. 2 (Sta. Cruz Fire Station), Station No. 3 (Paco Fire Station), and Station No. 4 (Intramuros Fire Station). At that time, the firefighting apparatus was still horse drawn.

Fire Brigade, Intramuros, Manila, 1900-1911
(University of Wisconsin Digital Collections)

The most famous fire station was Station No. 1 in San Nicolas. It had one of the first and finest gymnasiums, referred to as Manila's "Cradle of Boxing." American firemen of that station used to gather the neighborhood kids in the gym, furnish them with gloves, and make them slug it out for a purse collected from the station's firemen. Consequently, these kiddie prizefights spawned a bunch of professional boxers that would have its glory days in the 1920s.

AS A LOGICAL RESULT OF American policy to transfer the government's responsibility to the Filipinos, the first Filipino fire chief was appointed -- Jacinto Lorenzo -- on October 19, 1935, before the inauguration of the Commonwealth government.

Chief Lorenzo introduced the use of modern firefighting equipment and techniques similar to those used in America. He also reduced the schedule of duties of firemen from 4 straight days service with 7 hours day off and 15 hours night off to 48-hour duty and 24-hour off duty.

When Chief Lorenzo died in 1944 during the Japanese occupation, his assistant, Capt. Cipriano Cruz, was appointed as his replacement on May 11, 1944. Sadly, many firemen were massacred by the Japanese during the war.

Capt. Cruz rehabilitated the damaged fire stations when peace was restored after the war, and even increased its number to twelve. He also established the Firemen's Training School held at Tanduay Fire Station.

Enjoying a game of handball at Tanduay Fire Station in Quiapo, Manila

AT PRESENT, PURSUING A CAREER as a professional firefighter in Manila does not seem to be so enticing.

Manila Bulletin obtained records that showed while the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) has a total of 15,093 personnel -- with 11,689 assigned to actual firefighting -- the bureau only has 3,742 coats, 3,214 boots, 4,731 helmets, 1,324 gloves, and no trousers with suspenders at all.

As for the breathing apparatuses, while the BFP requires 2,922 breathing apparatuses for its personnel, it only has 105 available nationwide.

The article also mentioned the following:

BFP public information officer Fire Chief Insp. Rene Marcial said based on available data, firefighters -- particularly those who do the actual firefighting -- often end up with serious lung diseases. This is the result of their exposure to smoke whenever they respond to fire incidents.

At the same time, given their primodial role of saving people’s lives, firemen are duty-bound to enter burning buildings or houses if they suspect or if there are signs that there are victims trapped inside – even with insufficient protective gear or without a breathing apparatus.

Not only does the BFP suffer from shortages of protective gears for its personnel, it is also short on firefighting equipment.

Fire Supt. Enrique Linsangan recalled an incident when a firefighter died when he fell from the aerial ladder he was stepping on while trying to help contain a fire. It later turned out that the fire ladder was already dilapidated.

Another risk factor is the location of the fire scene and the culture of the people living in the area. Linsangan said there were past incidents when responding firemen were stabbed or attacked in some other way by fire victims who blamed them for failing to save the lives of their relatives or their properties.

Some people, desperate to save their house from fire, also resort to grabbing the firehoses from firemen and training them on their house.

There have also been cases when firefighters get stoned after arriving late at a fire scene or being accused of choosing which house to save.

With all these challenges, a firefighter must be physically fit to meet the hazards of his work and must have the stamina to engage in strenuous activities for hours with little time to rest, a fire officer said. He hastened to add that firefighters like him must learn to live one day at a time, treating each day as if it was their last.

With all the risks and challenges they face in order to save lives and properties, do firefighters get enough compensation?

The answer is a resounding "No." Most of those interviewed by the Manila Bulletin said they could hardly make both ends meet with their meager salary.

A neophyte firefighter receives P7,119 basic monthly pay and P3,500 allowance. But they actually receive less than P10,000 a month because of tax and other deductions.

Although firefighters have ranks similar to police officers, they receive less benefits from the government than their police counterparts.

Many firefighters are informal settlers. Those interviewed by the Manila Bulletin said with their measly salary, they could not provide fully for their families. They complained that while many government employees are given affordable housing by the government, there is no housing program offered yet to BFP personnel.

Read complete article here.


However, according to a GMA News report, a bill seeking to modernize BFP has passed the committee level and will be up for plenary debate when Congress resumes session Nov. 10.

Essentially, House Bill 5228, if passed in to law, will create an P8-billion Fire Protection Modernization Trust Fund.

Furthermore, according to the report:

The bill is in line with state policy to ensure public safety and promote economic development by stopping destructive fires that result in loss of lives and property.

It aims to modernize and adequately equip the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and make sure it is manned by competent and highly motivated personnel.

Also, it aims to acquire basic and modern firefighting equipment and facilities, especially in the local government units.

Under the proposal, the Fire Protection Modernization Program (FPMP) shall have key components to be implemented over a period of three years.

Read complete article here.

Scene from COMELEC building fire (March 10, 2007)

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ADDITIONAL SOURCES:

History of Firefighting - Bureau of Fire Protection

"The Fire Fighters" - from Manila, My Manila
by Nick Joaquin



RELATED LINKS:

A Fire in Quiapo

Aftermath: The COMELEC Fire

Manila's Volunteer Firefighters

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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!

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Visit: MANILA PHOTOJOURNALISM


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Labels: life in Manila, Manila firefighters, Manila history

posted by Señor Enrique at 6:51 AM | 6 comments

Sunday, November 09, 2008

MANILA'S LEGENDARY MAYOR: ARSENIO H. LACSON

Labels: Manila history, politics, street name change

posted by Señor Enrique at 7:57 AM | 36 comments

Sunday, November 02, 2008

THE ARLEGUI & SAN RAFAEL INTERSECTION

Bounded by Quezon Boulevard on the west and the Malacañang Palace Compound on the east, San Geronimo was renamed Arlegui Street in honor of the Filipino property owners of this San Miguel area; whereas, San Rafael Street was named after Raphael, the Archangel, who was also known as the Medicine of God, for he was appointed to cure the sickness of the body and the spirit. It was on Arlegui where the first known Colegio Filipino, later renamed National University, opened in 1902.

On the early morning of February 4, 1945, boisterous shouting coming from near Malacañang roused the residents off their beds. The crowd that had already gathered at the intersection of Arlegui and San Rafael was jubilant; buoyed by the sight of an American flag that proudly waved from the flagpole inside the Palace grounds. And the guards at the gate were no longer Japanese but American GIs; smiling and waving back at the Manileños, teary-eyed with joy. However, the Yankee sentries also gestured at the crowd not to come near the Palace gates just yet.

Unbeknownst to many of the residents, the night before, guided by the guerrillas led by Edwin Ramsey, the 1st Cavalry unit arrived at the Palace gates only to find a handful of Japanese soldiers and the members of the Presidential Guard Battalion. Without any resistance, the latter, comprised of Filipinos, gladly surrendered; their lives were spared. The three or four Japanese soldiers, on the other hand, were peremptorily executed on the spot.

The next day, as the jubilant San Miguel residents milled around on Arlegui Street, some of Ramsey's guerrillas came out of the Palace gate with a pushcart filled with the corpses of the last Japanese in Malacañang. The bodies were dumped on a nearby vacant lot, drenched in gasoline and set on fire. Throughout that day, the neighborhood that surrounds the Arlegui and San Rafael intersection stank of burnt bodies.

And this fateful day, February 4, 1945, also marked the beginning of the month-long battle of what was to become the worst and most devastating urban fighting in the entire Pacific theater -- the Battle for Manila.

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Please note:
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Labels: Battle for Manila, Manila history

posted by Señor Enrique at 8:52 AM | 14 comments

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

THE 19TH CENTURY FILIPINA MINUS MARIA CLARA

There were some people who came up to her and with whom she exchanged warm greetings with. And despite her understated black outfit, she exuded an alluring presence that prompted me to ask a bystander who she was. "Gloria Diaz," he said. Like a long-time fan, I approached her to ask if I could take a picture; she gladly obliged.

When she made the international news as a beauty queen, I was barely on the threshold of young adulthood. From what I was to learn later on, she wasn't even in the short list of the judges' favorites, though in the end, 18-year-old Gloria Diaz won the 1969 Miss Universe title on account of her wit, intelligence and confident demeanor. Besides having brought much pride to the Filipinos at that time, she also ushered in another modern image of the Filipino woman. Gone for good was Maria Clara.

The fictitious, though legendary, Maria Clara, represented an image of a Filipino woman as demure, subservient, timid, meek, fearful, deeply religious, and a perennial homebody; characteristics which the friars and old folks promulgated for our young women to emulate. However, a critical observation of Rizal's novel will reveal the author's pity and contempt for such human foibles, including the masochism exemplified by Sisa. Hence, Rizal had both characters killed.

Regrettably, our local chauvinists may actually believe, or would like to believe, the typical Filipina during the Spanish times reflected Maria Clara's docile disposition. But nothing could be farther from the truth. The 19th-century Filipinas were already an emancipated lot. Our local women during the time of Noli Me Tangere, for the most part, were active participants in the economic and political arenas.

According to an essay by Prof. Ma. Luisa T. Camagay, we ought to remember the 89 teachers and teacher assistants who were removed from their posts for their alleged involvement in the 1889 Revolution; some were accused of having acted as couriers and informers of the Katipuneros.

Moreover, cognizant of the power of collective action, the women workers of a tobacco factory staged a walkout in 1816 after having had enough of intolerable working conditions. One of their demands was for the tobacco leaves be given to them ready for rolling since, they claimed, they were not being paid for the added tasks of cleaning and stretching the leaves. In response, management acted immediately and favorably on all their complaints and demands.

The job of cigarrera ranked first as a career option for Filipino women in the 19th century Manila mainly because the tobacco monopoly, which was at the time a huge government business, aggressively recruited the women into the factory system. As a result, the demand created a shortage of women labor force; thus, it was the men who got the jobs of housemaid, washer, or nurse.

There were also the enterprising Filipinas, from the upper and lower class, who engaged in lucrative commerce inside or outside the home. Many educated natives or mestizas operated stores that sold exquisite fabrics and materials of sinamay, jusi and piña wherein they employed embroiderers. Oftentimes, these store owners also became principal moneylenders in their town or barrio. On the other hand, for those in the lower class, being an entrepreneur meant peddling betel nuts or fruits in season. Others became milkmaids.

Besides the manual and semi-skilled jobs, there were also the licensed professions which many Filipinas took prominent roles in, such as that of being a teacher or midwife.

There were also those who engaged in the world's oldest profession -- prostitution. They were called many names at that time: mujeres publicas, vagamundas, indocumentadas, prostitutas. Such line of work was frowned upon back then as now, but 19th century Manila society, including the almighty church, were surprisingly more forgiving: if caught, a prostitute could languish in jail or deported to far-flung Davao or Palawan; however, one could be saved from such wretched fate by an offer of marriage or by the parents' petitions certified by the friar-curate.

Without a doubt, Manila during the 19th century was neither an idle nor a dependent existence for the Filipinas. On the contrary, there were those who attribute the wealth of some prominent Filipino families as having been the direct result of the tireless enterprising energies of the Filipino woman.

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Please note:
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Labels: Manila history

posted by Señor Enrique at 7:16 AM | 22 comments

Saturday, October 25, 2008

A MORE SOLEMN TRIBUTE, PLEASE

The marker is all that's left on this site that only two months ago used to be a memorial intended to preserve the memory of more than 1,000 women -- comfort women -- who were continually raped by the Japanese occupation forces during the Second World War.

As stated on my previous post, Remembering the Victims of Military Sexual Slavery, the original memorial's entire presentation and setting (located on Plaza Lawton facing the Manila Post Office) seemed capriciously smarmy; an outrageous disrespect for the victims.

Hence, kudos to Mayor Lim and his officials for the expeditious removal of the offensive statues.

As replacement, may I suggest a more solemn image and appropriate location. The mayor may want to send a couple of officials from his Historical & Heritage Commission to the Annual Invitational Sculpture Exhibition, currently going on, so as to select the ideal artist or artists to be commissioned to create the new image or set of images for this tribute.

The exhibition, ANYO, a gathering of contemporary Filipino sculptors, is presented by Art Informal. It features the works of Augusto Albor, Salvador Joel Alonday, Noell EL Farrol, Riel Hilario, Renato Ong, Uly Veloso, Jo Gerlado, Leeroy New, Raymar Gacutan Pablo Capati III, Pete Cortes, Joey de Castro, Christina Quisumbing Ramilo, Mervy Pueblo, Stephanie Lopez, Anna Varona, Alex Tee, Angel Inocentes, Clinton Anniversario, to name a few.

The exhibit opened last Thursday and will run until November 8.

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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.
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Labels: art matters, Manila history

posted by Señor Enrique at 7:22 AM | 14 comments

Friday, October 24, 2008

FR. ANTONIO SEDENO, THE ARCHITECT

This towering structure is a condominium apartment building on Escolta that overlooks the river. I can only imagine how spectacular the views from one of its top floor units; aside from the glorious sunsets, there's also the layout of the historic Intramuros right before you.

Manila has some interesting architecture, both old and new; though, not as dramatically innovative as those designed by Frank Gehry. Nonetheless, we have a few to be proud of; like the creations of Leandro Locsin which are quite marvelous.

And when speaking of Manila architecture, someone worth remembering is Fr. Antonio Sedeño.

He was one of the first Jesuits to arrive in the Philippine archipelago in 1581 as missionaries and custodians of the ratio studiorum, the Jesuit system of education developed around 1559. Within a decade of their arrival, the Jesuits, they've founded the first school in the Philippines: Colegio de Manila (also known as the Colegio Seminario de San Ignacio) in Intramuros in 1590 (at the site where the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila now occupies). It formally opened in 1595.

When Fr. Sedeño arrived in Manila, its cityscape was comprised mostly of structures made of bamboo and nipa. Thus, in constructing the Jesuit motherhouse, he applied his knowledge in the craft of masonry and the art of architecture, and built it with brick and stone. The innovative structure so impressed the locals; one of whom was Domingo de Salazar, the first bishop of Manila, who immediately commissioned Fr. Sedeño to build him a residence made of masonry. After which, Governor Santiago de Vera tasked the Jesuit to rebuild the city's main fort at the mouth of the river; for which the brittle stone from the Pasig quarries were used. It later became known as Fort Santiago.

Eventually, the architecture of Manila's newly-constructed structures reflected Fr. Sedeños style of stone walls and tile roofing.

Other than teaching the native Filipinos how to make cement, brick and tile, Fr. Sedeño also shared his knowledge in the fine art of painting. And through the school that he founded, his students learned the fundamentals of science and theology. He was of an enterprising spirit as well; starting a local silk culture so the silver might remain in Manila and not be spent on China.

It should also be noted that out in the islands, Fr. Sedeño also built several structures, including those made of lime kiln. You may read about a house he built in Cebu here.

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Please note:
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Labels: architecure, Manila history

posted by Señor Enrique at 10:27 AM | 4 comments

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

MOTHER IGNACIA DEL ESPIRITU SANTO

This photo of a nun I had taken at Santa Cruz, Manila, reminds me of Ignacia Incua; otherwise known as Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, a mestiza born in Binondo on February 1, 1663, to Jusepe Incua, a Chinese, and Maria Jeronima, a native Filipina. Her affluent family gave her a Christian education. She grew up very much enraptured by the story and teachings of Jesus.

At age 21, she declined a marriage proposal by a Spaniard, Captain Ricardo de Lodero y Salvacion; opting instead to devote her entire life to God. However, being not of pure Spanish blood, she was denied entry to two religious houses: Beatero de Santo Domingo and Santa Clara Monstery.

Without any other choice, she led a life in seclusion in a house across the San Ignacio church to make it easy for her and her companions to attend mass and engage in other spiritual exercises. This house was later founded as the Beaterio de la Compañia, located at the corner of Calle Victoria and Calle Santa Lucia in Intramuros. It was to become the first all-Filipino religious congregation for women in the Philippines -- Religious of the Virgin Mary (RVM, 1684).

The initial 50 members -- known as the beatas -- were comprised of lay sisters dedicated to prayer and charitable work. They supported the congregation by doing manual work and begging out in the streets. They also helped women make a spiritual retreat following the Ignatian method; assisting them in their preparation for confession and communion, and reading spiritual works for them in Tagalog. The Beaterio also admitted pupils, all girls, who received fundamental education and training in home economics.

Under the leadership of Mother Ignacia, the beatas endured hardships, lived in extreme poverty, garbed in coarse black habit, existed on austere diet eaten on communal banana leaves, and slept in dark rooms. On top of such rigid puritanical existence, Mother Ignacia also led a severe penitential life by practicing self-flagellation and -mortification, such as lying prostrate on the floor and begging others to step on her. At other times, she was seen dragging a heavy wooden cross on her shoulders, or arms outstretched like a cross for hours on end. Hers was an astounding life filled with severe self-inflicted pain, as if desperately absolving herself from some massive guilt that gnawed at her soul.

On the day she died on September 10, 1748, she was found motionless as she remained kneeling on the communion rail of the San Ignacio Church long after receiving communion. During her interment, she was given full honors by the Spanish administration and church authorities.

Pope Benedict XVI has issued a decree bestowing Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo the title "venerable," two steps away from sainthood. The sisters of the congregation she founded, now known as the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary, currently maintain St. Mary's College for Girls in Quezon City and run 11 colleges, 63 high schools, and 30 elementary schools throughout the Philippines. It owns more than 700 houses in the country and three in America: in Arkansas, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and in Sacramento, California.

Historically, Mother Ignacia is known as the first Filipina to found a congregation for women.

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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.
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Labels: Manila history, religious

posted by Señor Enrique at 10:53 AM | 20 comments

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

THE 'SWEET' WATER OF MANILA BAY

During the early American colonial period, a fisherman noticed bubbles like a string of pearls on the surface of Manila Bay. His curiosity led him to get a taste of it and much to his surprise, he found it to be sweet. He returned to the spot with a priest in tow who was quick to proclaim it a miracle.

Word soon got out about this sweet water; prompting boatloads of people from the nearby Tondo district to come. Most were indeed awed by the sweet-tasting water on the spot where the bubbles were now forming the shape of a cross. They filled bottles with the sweet miraculous water to take home and share with neighbors. Two days later, a major cholera outbreak hit Tondo.

An American physician, Dr. Victor Heiser, investigated the possible cause of the epidemic which led him to the site of the bubbles on the surface of Manila Bay; discovering soon thereafter the cause and what made the surrounding water taste sweet: a busted sewage pipe.








Katherine Mayo's book, Isles of Fear, gives a glimpse of Manila's state of health during the early part of the turn of the century. Below is an excerpt:

When we took over the Philippines, the task of sanitation confronting us was so enormous as to seem impossible. Smallpox was carrying off a regular annual toll of 40,000 persons. Asiatic cholera came in frequent and devastating waves. Infantile mortality--due chiefly to beriberi, which meant malnutrition, and to tetanus, which meant dirty handling at birth, reached 773.4 per thousand. Beriberi among adults killed its multitudes each year.

The city water of Manila was poisonously contaminated and nowhere else in all the Islands was there a reservoir, a pipe-line or an artesian well. In the city cemeteries, four or five bodies were often crowded into a single grave, only to be tossed out a few months later to lie exposed in heaps in the open air.

The city of Manila, with a population of over 200,000 persons, had no sewage system, whatever and lay encircled by a moat among a network of canals, all of which were filled with half-stagnant house sewage constantly stirred about by cargo craft in passage.

No food law obtained and the vilest sort of food products were shipped into the country and consumed there. Dysentery carried off its annual thousands. Leprosy existed everywhere and spread unchecked. For some million wild people living in a primitive state no effective attempt had ever been made to furnish medical relief.

In all the archipelago not one modernly equipped hospital existed. Countless deaths occurred, as well as countless shocking deformities resulting from injuries or sores, all of which could easily have been escaped through ordinary skilled attention.

In the days prior to American control, the maritime quarantine was conducted upon a basis of graft, with the inevitable result that an outbreak of any dangerous communicable disease, like plague, cholera or smallpox, in the nearby foreign countries, meant the early introduction of the disease into the Philippines. There was no proper inspection of animals before slaughter and suitable slaughter-houses where this work could have been done were conspicuous by their absence. Malaria prevailed in hundreds of towns, without quinine being available to combat it. It was no infrequent experience to find imitation quinine pills being sold at fabulous prices in the stricken districts, and the poor populace had no one to whom to apply with the hope of receiving relief. . . .

Sections of Manila having a population of from 5,000 to 25,000, were built up with houses so closely crowded together that there was no room for streets or alleys, and egress from these sections had in many instances to be made by the residents crawling under one another's houses. Manila is located on a tidal flat, and ... at high tide about half the city was inundated. As this flat land consisted of soft oozy mud [and as provisions for human waste were of the rudest if they existed at all] the conditions can be better imagined than described.

There was no governmental provision for the insane, and it was no uncommon sight to see these unfortunates tied to a stake under a house or in a yard, with a dog-chain, and it often happened that during fires, which are so frequent in towns built of ñipa [palm-leaves] they were burned because no one thought to release them. Foods and perishable provisions were sold under most filthy conditions. . . . Tuberculosis was responsible each year for perhaps 50,000 deaths through the archipelago. No effort whatsoever was made to teach the people how to deal with this scourge.

In 1913, after ten years of work, Dr. Heiser was able to report an enormous progress. Not only the six provinces, but every part of the archipelago to which it was possible to convey vaccine in a potent condition had been almost entirely freed from smallpox. Over ten million vaccinations had been performed. Five thousand lepers had been segregated--a thing new in the Orient--and the spread of leprosy had been brought under control. Plague had been completely extirpated.

Cholera had lost its terrors. Amoebic dysentery had been greatly reduced, partly by educational work, partly by the introduction of better drinking water.

Manila had been given a clean and modern water supply and a modern sewer system--the first in the Orient--on which her death-rate dropped more than 1800 annually. Her horrible moat and canals had been cleaned of their centuries' accumulation of sewage. Her streets, that had been channels of filth, were swept daily and her garbage nightly removed, so that she was now one of the clean towns of the world. Crematories had been built and decent cemeteries provided, where the dead, singly interred, might lie in peace till Doomsday.

Wide streets and alleys had been cut through the congested districts, affording light, air and a means of approach, so that garbage carts could get in; and so that, on the appearance of a dangerous communicable disease, the case could be quickly reached and quickly removed to a modern hospital built for that purpose. This detail alone--this making of entrance-ways--effected an inestimable improvement in the health of the city.

A modern insane hospital had been erected in Manila. We had also built a large General Hospital--the best-equipped in the Eastern hemisphere, comparable with the best in Europe or America. Here were treated 80,000 persons a year in the out-patient clinic alone--persons to whom no sort of relief had before been available.

A nursing school, with over 300 young Filipino men and women as students, by 1913 had already graduated two classes. A medical school, under high-class American specialists, was graduating local doctors from sound, stiff courses. A modern hospital had been constructed in the very heart of the wild man's country, where it was doing excellent work.

An anti-tuberculosis campaign had been organized with well-scattered dispensaries; with treatment camps and a mountain hospital for incipient cases; with a hospital in Manila forchronic patients; and with an active educational section that did all that is done in the most enlightened American community.

The jails throughout the Islands had been cleaned, and the loathsome skin diseases of the prisoners cured. Beriberi's cause and cure had been discovered and its huge death-rate cut low.

Food laws had been framed and enforced. Model sanitary markets had been built and the sale of all perishable foodstuffs severely restricted thereto--a provision that gives the purchaser the maximum choice for the minimum effort, that gives the dealer the advantage of close contact with his competitors and that gives the Health Service the advantage of being able economically to control the public food supply with a small inspection force.

And in Manila, first of all the world, was invoked the control of "carriers" in hotels and restaurants--a rule whereby no servant may work in any place where food is sold without a health certificate showing that he is free from germs likely to convey disease.

These few points just enumerated are far from covering the ground of actual accomplishment. But they will show why it was that, during the last four years of the period in question--the period from 1900 to 1913--representatives from Japan, China, Great Britain, France, Holland, Spain--from practically every nation concerned in the Far East--came to the Philippines to study the new methods that had brought about such amazing results. The effect, in many countries, was great. The experiment that their medical experts had laughed to naught, as the dream of an altruist, had been put to the test of practice on a large scale, had stood the trial of years and now wore the crown of indisputable and brilliant success. The medical literature resulting was proving of unequalled scientific value. The example, altogether, was of the sort that enforces a following.

And not the smallest of the results was an indirect one--the drawing together in hitherto unknown friendly council and co-operation of the medical men of all the Far East, to thé great saving, everywhere, of life, effort and human values.

This giant American achievement in the Far East is largely due to the genius, devotion and great administrative ability of one man, Dr. Victor G. Reiser. Dr. Heiser, in the beginning of his Philippine work, set himself the task of saving 50,000 lives a year. When he laid his office down he had bettered that number by an annual 25,000.

Click here for the free online edition of Isles of Fear.

Labels: health issues, Manila history

posted by Señor Enrique at 7:53 AM | 14 comments

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

MARITIME PIRACY AND ECONOMIC CHAOS IN OLD MANILA

According to the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center, there has been an alarming surge in pirate attacks worldwide. Africa remains the world's top piracy hotspot, with 24 reported attacks in Somalia and 18 in Nigeria this year.

Recently, Somali pirates seized the cargo ship Faina off the coast of Somalia on Thursday as it headed to Kenya. The Ukrainian-operated ship is carrying ordnance ordered by the Kenyan government, which ncludes 33 Russian-built T-72 tanks and a substantial amount of ammunition and spare parts.

The pirates are demanding a $20 million ransom to release the Faina and its crew. Although the Kenyan government stands firm in its policy not to negotiate with pirates or terrorists, what's on board deeply concerns five nations — Ukraine, Somalia, Russia, the United States and Britain — and have been sharing information to try to secure the swift release of the ship and its 21-member crew.

Meanwhile, in America, in its attempt to thwart a shattering financial crisis with major global repercussion, the Bush administration and congressional leaders agreed on a deal to authorize the biggest banking rescue in U.S. history — the $700 billion bail out program.

According to the Wall Street Journal, at its core is Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's concept of buying impaired mortgage-related assets from financial firms — giving them cash to replace the toxic debts that have put them in danger or dissuaded them from lending. The plan is to help the firms restore their capital bases as well as the trust that enables them to borrow and lend at reasonable terms. Without this, officials worry that the credit markets, the lifeblood of the U.S. economy, would grind to a halt.

An extraordinary week of talks unfolded after Paulson and Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, went to Congress 10 days ago with ominous warnings about a full-blown economic meltdown if lawmakers did not act quickly to infuse huge amounts of government money into a financial sector buckling under the weight of toxic debt.

These two crises — maritime piracy and economic turmoil — in one fell swoop, at one point during the 16th century, similarly roiled in and shocked Manila.

In the early morning of November 4, 1587, in the bay of Augua Segura or Puerto Seguro, now named San Jose del Cabo somewhere in the tip of Baja California, the English pirates led by Thomas Cavendish sighted the galleon ship Santa Ana, on her way to Cabo San Lucas at the tip of Lower California to make a landfall and check her course prior to continuing on to Acapulco.

Cavendish's ships, the Desire and Content gave chase with all sail. It was afternoon when they came up broadside with the Santa Ana — tagged as the "great rich ship" — under the command of Tomas de Alzola. It left the port of Cavite the last week of June, some four-and-a-half months earlier.

The English ships attacked the Santa Ana with full force, killing and maiming many of its men who fought valiantly and refused to surrender. After about six hours of intense resistance and having suffered heavy loses — with the hull of Santa Ana also sustaining a canon blast at the waterline — Captain Tomas de Alzola finally hung out a flag of surrender.

In spite of the the disparity in size of the ships — the Santa Ana had a tonnage of 700, while the Desire and the Content were of 120 and 60 tons, respectively — the odds of the battle was overwhelmingly in favor of the British. The Santa Ana lacked the necessary artillery and fire power. Cavendish's Desire alone mounted eighteen guns, while the Content had ten.

In a report to the king from Manila, Governor de Vera wrote that the capture of the Santa Ana came as a surprise since the galleon routes were kept a secret and no other but Spanish ships had been sighted on the these galleon routes for years.

Cavendish and his men were all praise, however, for the courage of Captain Alzola and his crew, which included Filipinos, for fighting up to the end.

The Santa Ana carried 122,000 pieces of gold and a cargo of fine pearls, silks, satins, damasks, musks, and other merchandise of the East Indies, as well as ample supply of all kinds of foods and wines. The royal treasurer in Manila provided a more detailed report: the Santa Ana carried 2,300 marks of gold, equivalent to 84.2 pounds avoirdupois; not to mention a large amount of gold that had not been registered. The total sale value of the Santa Ana's cargo in Mexico would have been over two million pesos, which represented an original investment in Manila of more than one million pesos.

The Spaniards in Manila were further infuriated upon fully realizing the extent of Cavendish's depredation, which consequently, created a severe economic meltdown in Manila. Bankruptcy, poverty and severe despondency were experienced by many members of the city's trading community, including a substantial number of inhabitants and soldiers.

Besides the daring piracy that Cavendish conducted in the waters considered by the Spanish as the exclusive domain of their king, it was his youth (barely in his twenties) along with an inferior sea vessel manned no more than fifty men — who trespassed their domain and got away with it — that ultimately left the Spaniards in Manila feeling unbearably weak and inadequate.

During the 250 years of the galleon trade, the sea claimed dozens of ships, thousands of men and many millions in treasures. As the richest ships in all the oceans, the galleons were the most coveted prize of pirates and privateers. Four were taken by the English — the Santa Ana in 1587, the Encarnacion in 1709, the Covadonga in 1743, and the Santisima Trinidad (the largest ship in her time) in 1762.

The first to fall was the Santa Ana, a prize catch that went to the Englishman Thomas Cavendish. His brazen act of maritime piracy eventually precipitated an economic turmoil that startled the Spanish regime in old Manila.

Related link:

The Filipino Seamanship

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© 2008 Señor Enrique

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Labels: business, current affairs, galleon trade, Manila history, Philippine history

posted by Señor Enrique at 4:13 AM | 6 comments

Thursday, August 28, 2008

HISTORIC WASTELAND

Labels: Avenue Theater, Manila history, Manila movie theater, Rizal Avenue

posted by Señor Enrique at 7:27 AM | 8 comments

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

CHINESE GENERAL HOSPITAL

The Chinese General Hospital located in Blumentritt, Santa Cruz, Manila, dates back to the Spanish Period. It was one of Carlos Palanca Tan Quien-Sien's community affairs and philanthropy projects. In 1891, along with other wealthy Chinese businessmen such as Chan Guan and Mariano Velasco, he raised the necessary funds and even provided a building for the hospital himself.

Its subsequent funding came from the regular donations provided by the business owners of the Chinese community. Two years after its door first opened, it was officially registered as Hospital de Chino under the Spanish Government.

From its inception as a medical clinic where treatment was free of charge for the Chinese community, it has since expanded into a full-service hospital. In 1917, a major fund raising campaign was launched in which the Chinese community immediately responded by donating a total of P200,000. The windfall funded the construction of the first Chinese General Hospital (CGH) with updated facilities.

The new hospital was inaugurated in 1921 with Dr. Tee Han Kee as its first medical director. He was then the most famous Chinese physician in the country, and had also served as consultant for the Philippine Health Service because of his expertise on bubonic plague, which is believed to have been a mutated swine virus.

In that same year, Dr. Tee Han Kee also founded the Chinese General Hospital College of Nursing and Liberal Arts (CGHCNLA). With him were three physicians who organized the training school. The Sisters of the Immaculate Conception based in Hong Kong and Canton, China also provided Dr. Tee Han Kee with the much-needed assistance to start the school. The first batch of five sisters arrived in August 1921. Mrs. Praxedes Co Tui, a registered nurse from the Philippine General Hospital was appointed as Chief Nurse and Principal of the School of Nursing.

Labels: Manila history, medical institutions

posted by Señor Enrique at 5:52 AM | 17 comments

Life in Manila as observed by a former New Yorker who with a laptop and camera has reinvented himself as a storyteller. Winner of the PHILIPPINE BLOG AWARDS: Best Photo Blog in 2007 and three Best Single Post awards in 2008.

 

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