NUMBERS DON’T LIE
and peered into his thinking process.
Outside having finished public administration courses at Harvard and Oxford University, the man is clearly well read. Throughout our conversation, he quoted Lee Kwan Yew, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Albert Einstein and even Adolf Hitler on numerous occasions. It was no put on. It came out naturally amid speaking with disarming honesty.
As an economist, I did not want to be impressed by an actor — but I was. Lessons derived from studying the ways of political luminaries and 21 years of public service has turned Isko into a thinker.
He maintains a pragmatic view of Manila’s situation, something that I think is very important. He offers no quick fix solutions as he admits that it would take 15 years to bring the city at par with likes of Pasig or Pasay today. He is committed, however, to lay the foundation of urban renewal from day one.
At the heart of his urban renewal plan are three pillars: Infrastructure development, attracting businesses and urban housing.
In infrastructure, Manila is unfortunate in that it is bereft of open spaces wherein a new CBD can be built. What it has, however, are sites that can be repurposed. Among them is the 12 hectare Pandacan oil depot, strategically facing the Pasig river. The property is presently dormant and owned by Petron and Shell.
Through a joint venture or PPP arrangement with the petroleum companies, Isko proposes to build a new CBD called the Pandacan Greenfield City. It is foreseen to be a vertical township that will house knowledge-based businesses and those involved in research and technology. Special incentives will be given for those who employ graduates of Manila-based universities. A 15-year tax holiday on land and business taxes will be given to the developers and its locators.
On the northwestern side of the city, a skydeck and pedestrian skywalk will connect the planetarium in Luneta to
The nation’s capital had everything going for it. It is home to the most number of universities in the land and therefore should, in theory, be a bastion of knowledge and innovation. It is the site of the country’s first central business district, Binondo, the country’s principal seaport, the Bangko Sentral and the Department of Finance. All these should make it the country’s center for finance and trade. It hosts the most number of historical and cultural sites and again, in theory, it should be ground zero for culture, tourism and entertainment. Lamentably, Manila is none of these.
Liwasan Bonifacio and onwards to Escolta. This will mark the urban renewal of the old town.
The idea is to convert Escolta into a retail and entertainment hub similar to Clark Quay in Singapore. Owners of buildings in Binondo will be given a 10-year property tax holiday should they renovate or rebuild. The idea is to increase gross leasable areas so as to add tenancy capacity in Binondo.
Vertical parking buildings will be built in properties owned by the city along with pedestrian lanes to connect Binondo and Escolta. Encouraging pedestrianism should minimize PUV congestion.
As for the bohemian quarter of Malate, Isko hopes to attract artists, writers and the theater community back to the district. Malate is the artistic soul of the nation and it deserves to thrive, he asserts.
A modern city hall will be built on an adjacent site of the existing one through funds derived from a long-term lease of the old building. The historic city hall will be repurposed into a museum, cultural and retail center. It’s all about creating new landmarks for the city — landmarks that add value in terms of the city’s image and income, says Isko.
In housing, the city owns numerous properties in Baseco, Vito Cruz, Valderama del Pan and even in the city of Marikina. These will be the sites for which vertical mass housing complexes will be built. The financing scheme is not ironed out yet, but suffice to say it will be patterned after the socialized scheme adopted by the Home Development Board of Singapore.
These initiatives, taken collectively, are seen to attract capital, generate jobs and increase the tax base of the city while a new CBD on reclaimed land is being constructed.
Isko is well aware that none of this will come to fruition unless