MAPÚA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, INDUSTRIAL DESIGN AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

1ST Quarter, S.Y. 2019-2020

AR135
ARCHITECTURAL ESSAYS AND REVIEWS

MAGAZINE ESSAYS

SUBMITTED BY:
PEREZ, JOHARA WINEL M.
AR-3 / 2015121214

SUBMITTED TO:
AR. LEIRON MARK DE GUZMAN
Advocacy: Learning Baybayin
Argumentative Essay

Article: Learning Baybayin: Reconnecting with our Filipino roots

Author: Rhea Claire Madarang
Source: Rappler
August 30, 2018 | Posted Online

Article: The Life, Death, and Resurgence of Baybayin

Author: Bonifacio Comandante
Source: Esquire
August 11, 2017 | Posted Online

As colonists set their foot on our land, our tradition, beliefs and way of life
has changed. Even our own writing system has been modified throughout the years
which causes majority of the Filipinos today to be unaware of our ancient scripts.
This kind of transition in our heritage led us to waver our real identities as Filipinos
and have a strong search for it. By having a writing system, it is used as a
representation for communication by visually encoding and decoding languages in
a systematic way. We cannot deny that the origins of writing goes far beyond ancient
civilizations and varies differently based on their locations. Although each has a
distinct form, it held great importance to the civilization who used them and to the
people in the course of this present day as it provides not only a way of imprinting
information through symbols but also learning what it really wants to convey.

Baybayin is an alphasyllabary, which means that the characters are standing

and dependent on syllables based on consonants, as opposed to the alphabet
corresponding of single letters. This indigenous script of the Filipinos was widely
used by our ancestors even before the colonizers came. By the emergence of the
Baybayin script in the society comes the idea of raising awareness and a proposal to
make Baybayin the country’s national writing system. This could be one of the
reasons why the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture has approved
House Bill 1022 or the proposed National Writing System Act providing the signage
or labels on streets, buildings, products, and publications. In the midst of this sudden
proposal as an effect of a strong search for identity and sense of the Filipino pride,
are we really prepared to make Baybayin a part of us? By analyzing its benefits and
drawbacks, we can have a clear grasp of whether we should embed Baybayin in our
daily life.
It sparks nationalism and preserves culture.

One of the advantages Baybayin has to offer is its connection to the Filipino
roots. Filipinos take pride in the things that will make them feel unique and proud of
who they really are. The desire to fill the void of being a colonized country by
searching for identities through the past somewhat brings relief and pride. Indeed in
some ways, Baybayin has been reclaimed as a symbol of Filipino national identity.
As for preserving the tradition, Baybayin can also aid in the country’s cultural
heritage and hailing it as our national writing system will not just develop our own
culture, but also promote our nationality around the globe.

It is a Tagalog Script.

Baybayin does not encompass the entirety of the Philippines’ writing systems.
Baybayin is, in fact, only one of a number of writing systems that were in use before
the Spanish arrived on our shores. It is believed that there were at least 16 different
types of writing systems present around the Philippines prior to our colonization. By
implementing the House Bill 1022, which makes Baybayin as the primary writing
system, the other native scripts like the Kulitan of Pampanga, Haninu’o and Buhid
of Mindoro, Kurdita of Ilocos, Tagbanwa of Palawan might vanish. Although the
preservation of the scripts will give a chance to reclaim our identity, we should find
a way to improve the system that will be fit for the nation instead of holding onto
one but may disrupt the importance of other native scripts.

It is confusing.

One of the reasons baybayin was replaced by the Roman alphabet was because
Baybayin lacks a certain ground of rules. The many variations of the scripts caused
confusion over the use of punctuations. A set of punctuations like a mark should be
placed at either top or bottom, while a cross is added to cross out the vowel and make
it a stand-alone consonant if one desires to change the sound. As the time evolved,
a chance for it to become a law in the future is still a blur. The script should have
concrete set of rules to make it more efficient and adaptable.
It is a long process.

Adapting to a new writing system would cause great headaches to people who
are not familiar with it. It would take decades for this script to be revived, and until
now, it creates a huge debate among Filipinos. It may be possible to go through the
changes, but the committee should not be rash and should think widely of the people
that will be affected if this gets implemented.

The revival of Baybayin in our daily life could reconnect our Identity as
Filipinos, but despite of bringing this significant writing to light, controversies
uproar as our generation of today have different opinions. As a human, we always
try to seek and make rational decisions, but as a Filipino, we don’t always make
unified decisions because of our own opinions. We always say that we should think
about it as a whole and take part in what is more efficient for our country but making
a decision and taking a side is a difficult choice for this kind of topic. If one wishes
to take the side of practicality, he/she would not dare to learn the writing since it
would take a huge amount of time, but since Filipinos also have a strong sense of
yearning for identity, one may choose to have a sense of fulfillment through learning
the past. Preserving the Baybayin script is just one of the many ways to enrich our
culture, but should we really take it as a sign for fulfilling our identity or a step to
fulfill our duties as a citizen of our country?
Architecture: Rethinking Urban Public Spaces
Argumentative Essay

Article: Metro Manila needs more public parks and green spaces.
Author: Ragene Andrea Palma
Source: CNN Philippines
August 20, 2019 | Posted Online

Article: How Will Urban Planning Save Metro Manila?

Author: Lamudi
Source: GMA News, CNN Philippines, ABS-CBN News, Manila Times
March 4, 2019 | Posted Online

Article: Cities should be made for Humans, this Architect has a Point
Author: Duey Guison
Source: ABS-CBN Lifestyle
Sep 10, 2015 | Posted Online

Article: Open public spaces

Author: Elshamae Robles
Source: The Manila Times
March 13, 2018 | Posted Online

Public Space: An Essential Tool for Growth in Cities.

Considering how open spaces could have a tremendous impact on the benefit
of a city, if truth be told, it is not always the highest priority here in the Philippines.
In a world where rapid globalization occurs, our government seems to set their
attention mostly on the economic growth of the country. By having a glimpse of the
situation, it gives an impression of progress. But when taking a closer look, is it
really what we had expected? It appears that it came to a point where the idea of
growth is making our country more business-driven instead of being people-driven.

Public spaces can be known as the living area, garden, or heart of the city. It
is a place where people gather and relax while having fun at the same time: A place
provided for social interaction, recreation, and accessibility that can also aid in
building better communities. When designed carefully, it brings much more than
aesthetic. It creates unity and diversity among communities, brings peace and
comfort to people, and can be a place wherein people can freely express themselves.
It can also pave the way for greater accessibility - whether social or economic
aspects. By utilizing different kinds of green feature within the space, it helps to
improve the environment and display a fresh, vibrant, and healthy surrounding. In
determining what is deemed to be a good space, there is no doubt that public spaces
render perks for the people and the city.

It is pleasant to hear what a good space can provide. But if a public space can
be an asset, there is also a possibility of it being a liability. When designed poorly, a
public space fails to execute its purpose. The absence of seating accommodation,
gathering points, and features are just a few factors that may contribute to the failure
of public space. Inaccessibility or poor handling of maintenance can also be at fault.

Predicament on Green Spaces

One of the issues in Metro Manila is the unavailability of open spaces.

According to the World Health Organization, it is recommended that a person should
have about 9 m2 access to an open space; Based on research conducted by the Green
City Index, one Filipino should have an average of 5 m2 of access to it. When
compared to Singapore’s green space of 47 percent, it is embarrassing how Metro
Manila only contains less than 5 percent of its green space: given that Singapore has
a land area of 721.5 km2 while Metro Manila has an area of 619.6 km2 which only
have a 100 km2 difference.
Even by looking at the aerial view
of Metro Manila, you can tell how small
the area of availability is for green spaces.
It is insane how a huge amount of space is
given to the development of commercial
infrastructures which causes a limit to the
amount of space that should be for public
spaces.

It’s still a blur whether or not these

spaces would grow or worse, vanished
slowly with time. Let’s hope that the latter
wouldn’t occur.
A vision for Metro Manila

We all dreamt of making Metro Manila a better place. Throughout the years,
we have seen many changes that is either a good or bad decision for the city. Seeing
the condition of Metro Manila grew much worse than we had ever imagined, we
need to incorporate solutions now before the city runs out of time.

Understanding that Metro Manila is in desperate need of massive planning,

we are ought to know that we still got a long way ahead of us. Despite all the
circumstances, there are ideas and solutions that can save Metro Manila.
Approaching the help from urban planners, architects, and urban planning
organizations, they share what they have envisioned for Metro Manila.

One of the architects that want to change Metro Manila for the better is Arch.
Paulo Alcazaren: a landscape architect, urban planner, and advocate for heritage. In
his given proposal, he said that the city should focus on the development of open
spaces rather than the widening of road that is rapidly implemented today. Aside
from being vital for the city, he added that it organizes and provides a cleaner layout
which balances the life of the environment and the development itself. By making it
visually attractive adds to the purpose of the space - making it worthy of a shot that
makes people be amazed. Incorporating natural elements and pieces of mobility like
benches and walkways, not only lessens the space for cars but emphasizing the space
for humans instead of cars and buildings.

Another architect who laid out a long term plan for Metro Manila is Arch.
Cathy Saldaña of PDP Architects and ArcoGroup. She stated that decentralizing
Metro Manila and spreading developments to other areas will not only decongest the
city but also continue to be the growth of progress. Due to constant traffic in the city,
people compromise their time and effort to constant waiting. Another plan she stated
that will benefit the lives of people is by improving the mass transport system and
adding alternatives such as sidewalks and bicycle lanes to discourage the use of
private vehicles. Making decisions with environmental and sustainable practices
should be considered before giving the final layout of the space to avoid or lessen
the mishap. Assigning a person who is appropriate for the job contributes to the
success of the project, considering that determination and consistency will have a
great impact on the development and people. Lastly, focusing on the needs of the
people will encompass livability that empowers the citizen to participate more in
urban planning.
Making efforts to have better and greener public spaces.

It takes a great effort to achieve what we want to have in life. As a citizen, it

is our responsibility to make our city a better place to live in. Creating a space that
manifests inclusivity, productivity, and functionality can be quite challenging. By
facing these challenges, we take a step closer to improving our lives.

With the affirmation of public spaces being vital for successful cities, we
should try to strengthen our community and further develop our public spaces. One
of the things that define a public space is through the concept of sharing. A shared
space not only enhance interaction but also create connections within the place.
Features like arts create a safe boundary for people and contribute to the overall
aesthetic of the space. A simple way of integrating natural elements within our
environment not only will improve our well-being but also help the ecosystem. By
encouraging our government to take part in the expansion of open green spaces like
parks and plazas, we can reduce the urban island effect and might solve other urban
related issues.

A possible pursuit

Change is a hard task. Although it takes time to get the desired result, creating
more open spaces is not impossible. Our government can be lackluster most of the
time, but I hope they can be more enlightened about the environmental situation in
our cities. By having faith, it can motivate us to think of every possibility. If other
productive cities are driven and refined by their own communities, we can also do
the same.