The ASEAN 2017, which coincided with the 50th founding year of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) 2017 in Vietnam, was primarily a convergence of some of the famous world leaders.
Buried under the hectic schedule of meetings that come with any global conferences is the little-appreciated detail the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), where the events are held, was a legacy of Marcosian rule; it was built in 1974.
Chiefly, the PICC became the face of the country’s urban and regional planning during Martial Law and, until now, remains an important landmark for global gatherings
It’s a little known fact that it was President Ferdinand E. Marcos who actually put on fast track the urban development of the country. On June 11, 1978, he signed Presidential Decree No. 1517, which officially proclaimed urban land reform in the Philippines. A revisit of the edict would show seven reasons for its adoption under his concept of New Society, namely:
“{It] is declared objective of the New Society to effect social, economic and political reforms attuned to the establishment of a secure national community and to an improved quality of life for all citizens and for all others who may sojourn our shores;
“[The] quality of human life in our times is inescapably determined by the relationship among population, resources, the environment, and intelligent policies;
“[H]uman settlement is an integrative concept embracing the interdependence of man’s environment, human shelters and structures, and the design and organization of human communities consistent with a national framework plan, all for the people’s security and well-being.
“[L]and is the ultimate platform of all man’s activities, and the crucial factor in determining the shape of human settlements;
“[The] basic law of the land explicitly provides for the regulation of the acquisition, ownership, use, enjoyment and disposition of private property and for the equitable diffusion of property ownership and profits which includes land and land resources;
“[The] traditional concept of landownership has aggravated the problem arising from urbanization such as the proliferation of blighted areas and the worsening of the plight of the urban poor and has spawned valid and legitimate grievances in urban centers giving rise to social tension and violent conflicts;
“[A] social reform objective is the New Society is to renew blighted areas, improve the conditions of the urban poor and resolve and redress legitimate grievances arising therefrom, while at the same providing incentives to progressive landowners and developers…”
Marcos’ grand design to achieve a ‘golden age of infrastructure’ in the country started right after he assumed the presidency as a result of winning the November 1965 national elections.
Hoppler, a real estate blog, provides some of the structural landmarks built and associated with the Marcos regime, namely:
Cultural Center of the Philippines was created under Executive Order No. 30 s. 1966, and is found inside a 62-hectare complex in Pasay and Manila. It opened on September 8, 1969. On the other hand, the Folk Arts Theater, or the Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas was inaugurated on July 7, 1974. It has ten sections and an amphitheatre with a seating capacity 8,458.
The National Arts Center or Makiling Center for the Arts at Mount Makiling, Los Baños, Laguna, was established in 1976 in ar 13.5 hectares of the Makiling Forest Reservation. Nayong Pilipino was originally built in 1969 in a 32-acre theme park near the NAIA. It features scaled-down replicas of top tourist destinations and highlights Filipino creativity in arts and crafts. In 2006, it was moved to Clark as a major attraction of the Centennial Expo.
The People’s Park in the Sky was built in 1981 as guest house. Located within the park is The Shrine of Our Lady, Mother of Fair Love and a Doppler weather radar station. Originally known as Philippine Heart Center for Asia, the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City was established through PD No. 673; it was inaugurated on Feb. 14, 1975. Meanwhile, the Lung Center of the Philippines, created under PD No. 1823, was established on Jan. 16, 1981. A fire destroyed much of the center on May 16, 1998; it was reopened on March 1, 1999.
The National Kidney and Transplant Institute, formerly known as the National Kidney Foundation of the Philippines in Quezon City, was established on January 16, 1981 as tertiary referral hospital. San Juanico Bridge, on the other hand, is the country’s longest. It is a steel girder viaduct built on reinforced concrete piers, and its main span is of an arch-shaped truss design. Its construction started in 1969 and completed four years later.
Two other Marcosian landmarks that need to be cited are the Cultural Center of the Philippines, established through Executive Order No. 30 signed in 1966; it is headed by an 11-member Board of Trustees. The Manila Film Center was built in 1981 and completed a year later. It was constructed to host 1st Manila International Film Festival.
The so-called ‘golden age of infrastructure’, which the Duterte administration has promised to surpass, benefitted only Luzon, though.
