I am hopeful that the city I grew up in will one day be a type of place that tourists don’t simply skip in their itineraries.
I have been in a love-hate relationship with Manila for a long time. Despite my frequent complaints about the lack of pedestrian-friendly spaces in the city, I have frequented Intramuros and Binondo multiple times in the past few years and have never tired of both places.
Typically, people will only go to these places if they have a good reason to do so. For me, I keep coming back because I believe there is a deep, underlying potential with Intramuros and Binondo — that one day, they could become one of the first places we think of when giving recommendations to tourists.
Imagine if all of Intramuros became a car-free zone similar to certain old cities in Europe, and Ongpin Street in Binondo is converted into a walking street similar to the bustling street food markets of Taiwan. In fact, with Intramuros and Binondo, we already have the convergence of East and West right here in Manila: a European-style walled city and the oldest Chinatown in the world existing harmoniously.
In Intramuros, there are many museums and Spanish-colonial architecture that are a delight to the senses, whereas in Binondo, there is a rich selection of Chinese food that will leave you wanting more. To top it all off, they are just a 20-minute walk away from each other, at least between the Manila Cathedral and Binondo Church.
Given these points, it seems to make sense to invest a good part of the country’s tourism budget in the rehabilitation and development of these two places. For instance, there is room for improvement in making these areas less car-dependent and providing more spaces for pedestrians and tourists to get around safely and conveniently.
Some points of reference are the pedestrian-friendly areas of the Ximending Walking District in Taipei, the Myeong Dong Night Market in Seoul, and the Nishiki Market in Kyoto. There are, of course, many hurdles to achieving this kind of vision — one of the most challenging of which is getting the buy-in of different stakeholders. However, once we find a way, it could attract many people and improve the local economy.
For now, it is unfortunate that Manila has had a bad reputation for being congested, dirty, and unsafe. According to the 2024 Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index, Manila placed 93rd out of 100 cities in terms of sustainability efforts and their performance across the pillars of planet, people, and profit. Within Southeast Asia, Manila is considered the least sustainable. In addition, Manila was assessed as the fifth riskiest city in the world according to the Forbes Advisor. The city was assessed based on crime, personal security, health security, infrastructure security, and digital security risks.
What would it take for Manila to become like our neighboring cities such as Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, and now even Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, among others? Is the window of opportunity closing, or are we just not ‘opening the window’ wide enough? Another important question to ask is: How does good governance come into play?
At this point, when the world is saturated with knowledge and information, we do not need to look too far nor think too deep for the solutions. For instance, according to SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, there are several targets that our capital city may consider, including providing safe and affordable housing, affordable and sustainable transport systems, and access to safe and inclusive green and public spaces, among others. These targets must be a priority, because not only could these help improve the quality of life in the city but also inevitably make Manila an attractive tourist destination.
I would like to end this article with a positive and forward-looking note. If we look around Metro Manila (not just Manila itself), there have been many recent urban developments that focus on the well-being of its people. The LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project, Metro Manila Subway, MRT-7 Extension, Pasig River Urban Development Project, and the Taguig City Integrated Terminal Exchange, which was recently inaugurated, are a few examples. By no means has the development process of these projects been smooth, but we cannot deny the fact that they ultimately benefit the common folk.
Manila is and will continue to be a love-hate relationship for people like me until the foreseeable future. I am not sugarcoating any of it. However, I am hopeful that the city I grew up in will one day be a type of place that tourists don’t simply skip in their itineraries.
Ian Benedict R. Mia is a part-time lecturer at the Department of Management and Organization of De La Salle University (DLSU). He works full-time as a Corporate ESG Researcher at one of the top ESG Ratings firms globally. He can be reached at ianbrmia@gmail.com.
The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.