Press Release
December 6, 2008

Gordon asks travel agencies to include Intramuros in tour packages

For people, especially tourists who want to get a sense of Philippine history, they should take time to stroll along the old cobblestone streets of Intramuros, the only district of Manila where old Spanish-era influences were retained.

Aware of what the Walled City has to offer, Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon, who spruced up Intramuros through the WOW Philippines campaign during his stint as tourism secretary, wants travel agencies to include Intramuros in their tour packages.

"Travel agencies should include Intramuros in their tour packages because it is really a place to visit. A visit to Intramuros, with its old-world elegance, gives one a sense of going back to the Spanish era," he said.

A visit to Intramuros, with its crumbling walls, cobblestone streets, old churches, colonial houses, forts and dungeons, indeed gives one a sense of going back in time. It's timeless air makes one imagine Spanish Mestizos (mixed race) and Mestizas walking along its streets.

The feeling of nostalgia is further heightened by the sight of horse-drawn carriages galloping down the streets and security guards, dressed as guardia civils that guarded the place in the old days when the Spaniards ruled the country, who had been scattered around the area.

The construction of Intramuros started in 1571 by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, a Spaniard. The Walled City as it is called, covers an area of about 160 acres. Intramuros was a fortress city with walls 6 meters high and a commanding 3 kilometers in length. It is no wonder it was impenetrable.

Intramuros served as the center of political, military and religious power of the Spaniards during the time that the Philippines were a colony of Spain.

Only the Spanish elite and Mestizos were permitted to live inside Intramuros, where at night the city gates were locked down. The natives and Chinese were not permitted to live inside the walled fortress and were resigned to live outside the great walls of Intramuros.

Through the passing of centuries, Intramuros remains a monumental, if ruined, relic of the Spanish period in Philippine history.

Intramuros has retained its old-world quaintness because much of the development of present-day Manila occurred outside its gates, leaving the old walls, streets and churches of Intramuros minimally touched by modernization..

The need of the times brought about some changes within the city itself. These changes, fortunately, have not diminished the old city's charm. The old moats that surrounded Intramuros have been transformed into a golf course where locals and foreign nationals play the sport. The garrison that was Fort Santiago is now a tourist spot where visitors can see how Manila was like during the Spanish Era. There are now sites for cafes such as Starbucks that cater to a variety of clientele and cultural presentations that feature native Filipino heritage have been opened to public audiences.

With many students enrolled in the different distinguished institutions of learning located inside the Walled City , a few food chains has opened a branch inside the city.. This development is quite handy because aside from the students, they also cater to the employees working in the offices inside Intramuros and the foreign visitors, which will surely troop to Intramuros once it becomes part of tour packages of travel agencies.

A visit to Intramuros would not be complete without spending some time looking around Fort Santiago and the two churches - The Manila Cathedral and St. Augustine Church .

Fort Santiago used to be the seat of the colonial powers of both Spain and the United States . It was also a dreaded prison under the Spanish regime and the scene of countless military police atrocities during the Japanese occupation. Here, too, Dr. Jose Rizal, the country's national hero, spent his last hours before his execution on Bagumbayan. (now Rizal Park ).

The Manila Cathedral is the fifth stone church of Manila . It was destroyed and rebuilt several times. From the air, it appears as a giant cross.

St. Augustine Church is the oldest stone church in the Philippines. It was built in 1599; however, it was also destroyed and rebuilt many times. It is an immense structure of thick walls of Corinthian and Ionic designs.

Visitors, especially foreign tourists, will be shortchanged if they will not be given an opportunity to visit Intramuros.

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