Mayor Lim urges architects to help preserve, restore Manila's glory

MANILA, Philippines – Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim wants Filipinos, especially the youth, to appreciate the old glory of the capital city that he heads. That's why he's been urging architects to help the National Historial Institute reserve and restore the city's old structures. He repeated his appeal Wednesday night in his keynote address at the induction of the new officers of the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) District B-2 at the Manila Pavilion Hotel. "Please help me teach the younger generations to appreciate Manila’s old glory and structures and not to look at them as old, decrepit buildings," Lim said. "Every chipped portion of an old building, the cobblestone walkways, the green moss between bricks are all silent witnesses to our rich history." He also challenged the 24,000 UAP members to build new structures that would capture the essence of the Filipino. Quoting French priest and writer Ernest Dimnet, Lim said: “Of all the arts, it is the one which acts the most slowly but the most surely on the soul." He cited Filipino architects like Juan Nakpil, Leandro V. Locsin, Pablo Antonio, Juan Arellano, Bobby Mañosa, Carlos A. Santos-Viola, and Jose de Ocampo – all of whom designed notable structures. Nakpil and Locsin have been declared National Artists. "Now is the time to leave the mark of the Filipino in public works and facilities," he added. "If you are able to do this, then truly the Filipino has arrived." "With a membership of 24,000, I would say that if you are evenly distributed in over 7,000 islands of the country, we would at least have three architects per island," Lim said. "With that kind of configuration, we should have the most ultra modern skyline in Asia." - GMANews.TV