Movie scenes from Old Macati City

Aside from relishing memories of my problem-free childhood, one reason why I enjoy watching old Tagalog movies (particularly those from the 70s, 80s, and early 90s) is that –more often than not– they contain so many scenes of classic Philippine landmarks, particularly Metro Manila where I grew up.

It’s so interesting and fun to see how Filipinos back then used to dress up. You’ll notice how places change so fast. Many landmarks such as downtown Manila, Macati City, and Quezon City didn’t have much skyscrapers and multinational fastfoods back then (and the air pollution was a wee bit tolerable compared to our times). Not too long ago, there were not much traffic jams, no MRT, no Skyway, no pesky MMDA peeps. The people had no cellphones; they make do with telephone booths which had those familiar red phones where you had to insert a couple of twenty-five-centavo coins which still had the butterfly emblem in them (don’t you just miss them?). And you’d always make fun of how Filipinas used to sport their hair, and how crazy young Filipinos were for small-sized Crispa tees! The street jargon used during those days sound funny today. Not to mention the wheels they used to drive — you’d say that they might be towed if spotted in major highways nowadays!

The YouTube clip in this blogpost (uploaded by rontorres01), is from the action flick Partida starring the late, great National Artist for Film (who should have been our president if not for some opportunist who, thankfully, will leave Malacañang after this year’s summer elections), Fernando Poe, Jr. It was shot in 1985, if I’m not mistaken. The first few minutes of the film will feature a high-octane car chase scene (impossible to accomplish these days) in Macati City. Metro Manileños will notice familiar places where the action scenes took place: Osmeña Highway, a brightly lit Magallanes interchange (sans the Skyway!), and Ayala Avenue without its gigantic buildings and horrible traffic that we are all familiar today.

Could it be that FPJ et al deliberately prolonged this Macati scene for posterity?

Enjoy if you may.

Three pre-Christmas tragedies

Sadly, three tragedies hit the Philippines moments before Christmas day…

1.) Mayón Volcano has been terrorizing natives of Albay PHIVOLCS scientists for months. Thousands of families have already been evacuated from their homes to protect them from the volcano’s impending wrath. Now, PHIVOLCS declared that it’s only a matter of days –or even hours– before the World’s Most Perfect Cone displays its fiery power.

2.) Yesterday, more than 1,000 families from both cities of Pásay and Macati lost their homes from a monstrous flame. The blaze started at around 10 A.M. in a house on Bonifacio Street in Barangay Bangkal, Macati City, after its owner left an open stove unattended. This means that countless residents from the two mentioned cities might end up experiencing Christmas Eve without comfortable roofs above them.

3.) And just this morning, around 2:30 A.M., at least three people were killed and at least 24 others were still reportedly missing after a passenger ferry smashed into a fishing boat off the coast of Maragondón, Cavite.

Heartbreaking news indeed.

The year 2009 is overwhelmed with disasters, natural or manmade. The most memorable were the back-to-back typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng which wreaked havoc in Metro Manila and much of Luzón. As the year is about to end, Filipinos are hoping for brighter days ahead.

True, there is no such thing as a perfect day. There is no perfect month. And each year, it’s impossible for tragedy not to strike. Be that as it may, Filipinos are already strengthened by the very tragedies that have smothered them. The Filipino race is a resilient and sturdy race. No amount of tragedy will ever bring us down.

Christmas cheer shall continue no matter what.

The race for VP: Game ná!

Actor and popular TV game show host Edu Manzano has joined the race for VP!

Erap Estrada and his VP mate, Macati Mayor Jejomar Bínay has welcomed Manzano to the 2010 Philippine National Elections. As if they have a choice.

It seems history will repeat itself. In 2001, Manzano, who was then the Vice Mayor of Macati, ran for mayor of that city. But he lost to incumbent mayor Bínay. Next year, Manzano will again have to face his former nemesis. But the battleground will no longer be local but national.

Will Manzano redeem himself the next time around?

Next year, Edu will no longer be a game show host. He will be a contestant himself, but in a different game!

Game ná!