Kenneth Whiting (AV 14) - Naval Cruise Book

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The new and ultra-modern University of Manila. The B . - . - . .;;:ppines. Rare. War ii, 11 iius Leeri completely restoieu impression of living in a small town. Social habits and dress are sophisticated, society is cosmopolitan. Filipinos in Manila wear western clothes almost exclusively and almost all speak English. Although evidences of the heavy destruction of World War II are everywhere visible, the city is for the most part reconstructed. There is, however, a severe housing shortage. Shacks and lean-to ' s (barong barong) without plumbing serve as shelters for vast numbers of people. But Filipinos have the highest standard of liv- ing and the highest rate of literacy in the Orient. A land where sobriety is a virtue, most of the people lead a simple agricultural life. Only a small percentage is employed in industry. Class distinctions are very marked, with the great masses of farmers belonging to the lower class. The middle class is small and is com- posed of government workers, teachers and professional workers. The upper class is com- prised of large landowners and wealthy mer- chants. As an expedient though, seemingly everyone has pitched in on the job of rebuilding the war- torn damage, and in most quarters the barriers of class distinction has been lowered some- what. Downtown Manila, trees have recently been planted along Dewey Boulevard, and it will eventually be a shady bayside drive. But the one outstanding attractive feature of the city is Manila Bay. Rimmed by low hills and islands flooded with frequent flambuoyant sun- sets, it spreads from the horizons of the Bay across the city to the eastern hills. Although we had only a six-day stay, many of us made friends there. And getting to know these friendly but fiery people, it isn ' t difficult to understand their almost neurotic zest for House of Parliament — This was headquarters for the General Staff during the Japanese occupation. There are still many horse-drawn taxis on the streets of Manila.

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THE PHILIPPINES Entrance to the old Walled City located just outside the business district of Manila. Odds have it that when that fellow, Magel- lan, threaded his way through the passages of the 7000 islands that make up the Philippine Archipelago in his search for a prize package for Spain, his fondest dream failed to stretch so far as to visualize that some 400 years hence this strange land would become one of the strongest and proudest nations in Asia. Nor could he visualize that the big island, Luzon, would be the site for a capital city of well over a million people. This is Manila today. On go ing ashore for a fast look, the first noticeable aspect was its contrasting features. The whole city is an agglomeration of the new and modern and the very old; of the bringing together a group of villages to form one city. A mixture of western and oriental, it is huge and unplanned, and sprawls along the coastal lowlands of the bay and the sluggish Pasig River. Unlike in the western nations, there is little or no zoning. There are factories next to large, elaborate homes with extensive landscaped gardens. Clusters of nipa or corrugated iron huts lean against air-conditioned offices and public buildings, moving picture houses and night clubs. And although the population is well over a million, one ' s surroundings give the 57

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WE TOURED THE CITY A stone gate-house guard- ing one of the entrances to dungeons. Typical Filipino lass. AND MET THE PEOPLE A place out of the sun.