The recent NCR Plus Bubble’s Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) spawned a number of meme-worthy statements from implementors due to vague policies. The national police chief almost broke the internet with his declaration that cities are considered “tiny bubbles” where movement is confined within their city of abode.
In no time, netizens were flooding social media with Nora Aunor’s 1960s hit song “Tiny Bubbles” as a critique to the ill-advised concept. The tiny bubbles never really got enforced, but it prompted travel-starved urbanites to look inward and rediscover their local wonders hiding from plain sight.
An intriguing tiny bubble is Pasay City, one of the metro’s checkered ancient settlements whose Old World charm is often overshadowed by its urban blight or the mammoth bayside mall complex. It may not have the magnetic pull of heritage villages like Vigan, but well-preserved mansions and buildings of the old Pasay are head-turners just the same.
It is best to explore on bike, so you can navigate the inner roads at a relaxed pace and have an unobstructed view of the interesting spots. Due to the lockdowns in some granules of the city, you have to content yourself with a visual tour and architectural appreciation of the historic structures.
Churches. Pasay is home to lesser-known but equally historic houses of worship tucked inside the narrow streets. Not to be missed is the circa-1850s Sta. Clara de Montefalco along Burgos St., home of the city’s patroness, Sta. Clara, and the Isabelo Tampinco-sculpted El Glorioso Patriarca Jose y El Nino Rey statue.
Other must-sees are the Our Lady of Sorrows Parish along Harrison St. where Ninoy and Cory Aquino tied the knot in 1953 and the Our Lady of the Airways at the NAIA Road which has a halfway house for passengers in distress.
Another notable church is the San Juan Nepomuceno in Malibay, which takes pride in its century-old Holy Week cenaculo tradition and an elegant altar stained glass crafted by Kraut Art Glass, a home-grown industry which also originated in the city.
The church is also home to the famed San Juan Nepomuceno Band, one of the country’s top brass bands conducted by Maestro Herminigildo Ranera of the UST Conservatory of Music.
Meanwhile, the decades-old Pa Ong Kong Buddhist Temple along Harrison St., dedicated to the patron saint Bao Gong, is the most popular house of worship in the Chinese community.
Ancestral Mansions. As a Spanish-era settlement, the city has scores of old houses owned by prominent Filipinos which have withstood the ravages of time. With their checkered past and impressive architecture, they are the so-called living museums, and entry is restricted even during the pre-pandemic years.
The local government and the tourism council under former Tourism Secretary Mina Gabor have been conducting an inventory of the city’s heritage structures over the past years until Covid-19 struck.
A certified eye candy is the Dr. Galvez Mansion along Donada St., which is like a haciendero house in Negros, whose grandeur can be admired behind the iron fence. Just across it is Arellano Law School which sports an American-period neoclassical look.
If you pedal and scout hard enough, you will be able to make out architectural and art deco gems in the mish-mash of the urban jungle.
Something to look forward to under the new normal is the residence of National Artist for Architecture Pablo Antonio along Zamora St., which has undergone an adaptive reuse as My Mother’s Garden, an al fresco, by-appointment fine dining haunt.
Museums. While old Pasay may be a virtual living museum and many old houses can be converted into one, the city doesn’t have its own repository of heritage.
The 35-room Henry Hotel Manila along Harrison St. is a boutique tavern which is a museum in its own right. This post-war mansion, was repurposed into a nostalgic lodging in 2014, each cottage is designed with 1940s Scala grilles inspired by the Art Deco style and Baldoza tiles.
You can go house-hopping from Artelano 11, Avellana Art Gallery and to Jojie Lloren’s Atelier, and savor a cozy and hearty meal at Apartment 1B.
Museo Maritimo of the Asian Institute of Maritime Studies (AIMS) along Roxas Blvd. is the country’s first maritime-themed museum which showcases the archipelago’s rich maritime history. A collaboration with Hiniraya Cultural and Heritage Foundation and ICOM Philippines, it is a tribute to the contribution of Filipino seafarers in nation-building.
Co Tec Tai Museum along Taft Ave. is the first and only medical museum in the country, which has an extensive display of anatomical models of the body’s organ systems, among others.
If you are a newly minted plantito or plantita, Cartimar Shopping Center is a haven for plants and garden supplies, and for pets, pet food supplies, and recreational stuff to help you maintain your mental health during the quarantine.
With so much to see around our cities, the “tiny bubbles” can be a cool idea after all.
