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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Makati City

The City of Makati (pronounced /məˈkɑːtɪ/ mə-KAH-tee; Filipino: Makati) is one of the 16 cities that make up Metro Manila, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines and one of the major financial, commercial and economic hubs in Asia. As the host of various embassies, it is also an important center for international affairs.
With a population of 510,383, Makati is the 16th largest city in the country and ranked as the 40th most densely populated city in the world with 18,654 inhabitants per km2.
Makati was founded by Spaniard Miguel López de Legazpi, who dismissed Makati as a worthless swamp. According to folklore, Legazpi asked for the name of the place but, because of the language barrier, was misinterpreted by the natives. Pointing to the receding tide of Pasig River, the natives answered, “Makati, kumakati na,” literally meaning ebbing tide.
Makati became the financial center of the Philippines during the 1950s. Many districts and landmarks in the city have become well known to outsiders. Makati has been iconified as the "Financial Capital of the Philippines". Anchored by Ayala Avenue, Makati is the financial capital of the Philippines and is the home of the Philippine Stock Exchange and the Makati Business Club, one of the most important economic hubs in the Philippines. World-class research universities are located in the city.
Makati is noted for its highly cosmopolitan culture, also being a major cultural and entertainment hub in Metro Manila. Many expatriates live and work in the city. Makati is also home to many first-class shopping malls, which are located at Ayala Center and Rockwell Center. Makati also has the tallest buildings in the Philippines like PBCom Tower, G.T. International Tower.
The city also has many of the country's five-star hotels like The Peninsula Manila, the Shangri-La Hotel Makati and the Intercontinental Hotel Manila. Independent business travelers also benefit from budget hotels like the Saint Illian's Inn, El Cielito Inn, The Copa Businessman's Hotel, and The City Garden Suites, while serviced apartments like The Salcedo Suites, Fraser Place Manila, Jupiter Suites (Jupiter Arms Hotel) and The Oxford Suites are gaining in popularity among business-minded travelers as well.
Today the city is one of the most modern cities in the country and the Philippines' major global economic competitor in Asia. However, it faces challenges due to the disparate gap between the new city in the west, which contains the Central Business District, and the old city in the east, which is largely poor and where most of the city's slums are located. Despite this, Makati City is said to be the most outstanding and richest city in the Philippines.


Geography and Landmarks


The Peninsula Manila has become a well-known landmark in Makati City.
Makati City is located within the circle of 14′40″ °north and 121′3″ °E right at the center of Metro Manila. The city is bounded on the north by the Pasig River, facing Mandaluyong City, on the northeast by Pasig City, on the southeast by the municipality of Pateros and Taguig City, on the northwest by the City of Manila, and on the southwest by Pasay City. Makati has a total land area of 27.36 square kilometers; it constitutes 4.3% of Metro Manila's total land area.

The Philippine Stock Exchange building with the monument of Ninoy Aquino.
At the center of the city is the Central Business District (CBD) where many companies in the Philippines have their offices or headquarters. This is where many of the country's tallest skyscrapers are located. The Makati skyline is one of the most impressive sights in Metro Manila.
Two of Metro Manila's main arteries pass through Makati. The Epifanio De los Santos Avenue (EDSA) pass along the southeast part of Makati and connects the city with Mandaluyong City and Pasay City. The South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) runs through the western part of Makati and connects the city with Manila to the north and with southern Metro Manila. The Skyway, an elevated highway built on top of SLEX, provides residents coming from southern Metro Manila a fast way to reach Makati. SLEX and EDSA intersect at the Magallanes Interchange, which is the most complex system of elevated roadways in Metro Manila.
Other major roads in Makati include Gil Puyat Avenue, also called by its former name Buendia Avenue, which connects EDSA and SLEX in the north; Ayala Avenue, an important street that runs through the Central Business District; and Makati Avenue, which connects Ayala Avenue with Buendia Avenue, also extending north to cross the Pasig River to Mandaluyong City. At the center of Makati is the Ayala Triangle, a park built on the former Nielsen Air Base. The orientation of the main roads in the center of Makati, clearly not forming a standard grid as in many new cities, makes perfect sense as soon as you understand that Paseo de Roxas was Nielsen Field runway 07/25 and Ayala Avenue was runway 12/30, pretty much the same orientations as the present-day airport's runways, 06/24 and 13/31.
Makati's sister city is Los Angeles, California. Makati is also twinned with Ramapo, New York and Vladivostok, Russia.

Population

Makati City has a population of 567,349, according to the 2007 Census (includes disputed barangays). This figure represents an increase of 95,970 over the 2000 Census figure. Among the cities and municipalities in Metro Manila, Makati ranks fifth in population, with a 5% share. The 1903 Census placed the population at 2,700.
Although its population is slightly more than half a million, the daytime population of Makati City is estimated to be a million during a typical working weekday because of the large number of people who go to the city to work, shop, and do business, especially in the Central Business District.

Economy

Ayala Avenue in Ayala Triangle
The Central Business District (CBD) is where most of Makati's financial resources are concentrated. This is an informal district bounded by EDSA, Gil Puyat Ave., Antonio Arnaiz Avenue/Pasay Road, and Chino Roces Avenue. It mainly encompasses Legazpi Village, Salcedo Village, Ayala Center, and parts of Bel-Air. Much of the area is owned by Ayala Land, Inc and administered through Makati Commercial Estates Authority (MACEA), its subsidiary.
Many tall skyscrapers rise and are underconstruction in this area. PBCom Tower along Ayala Avenue is the country's tallest building and reaches up 259 meters. It is the headquarters of the Philippine Bank of Communications, or PBCom. The Makati CBD is considered to be one of the most vibrant commercial districts in Southeast Asia.
One of the trading floors of the Philippine Stock Exchange is housed in Ayala Tower One and at the old Makati Stock Exchange Building, both also along Ayala Avenue. The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), the country's oldest bank, has its headquarters at the corner of Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas.

Other companies that have their offices and country/regional headquarters within Makati City, most within the CBD, include Thomson Reuters, Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank), IBM, Procter & Gamble, Citibank, Ayala Corporation, Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Metrobank, Intel Philippines, Microsoft Philippines, Nestlé, Syngenta, Shell,Startek International Ltd. Convergys Corporation, Commonwealth Insurance Company (CIC), Aegis PeopleSupport, Inc. (APS), Pan Pacific Computer Center, Inc. (PPCC), Colgate-Palmolive Philippines, Inc., Holcim Philippines,CEMEX PHILIPPINES and JG Summit, Accenture.[citation needed] Hewlett Packard's main Philippines office and an HP service center are in Makati City. Asiana Airlines operates a sales office on the sixth floor of the Salcedo Tower in Makati City.
In 1975 Philippine Airlines was headquartered in the PAL Building in Makati City.

Shopping centers


Greenbelt Shopping Center

A shot of the central atrium of Glorrietta area during an electronics event.
Ayala Center, along EDSA and Ayala Avenue is the most known commercial center in the city. Developed by the Ayala Corporation, it contains two shopping malls, Glorietta and Greenbelt, five star hotels, and an office building. The larger of the two shopping malls is Glorietta, which itself is a cluster of malls. Rising from Glorietta 4 is the Ascott Tower(formerly Oakwood Premier), a luxurious hotel-apartment residence at the heart of the center. Along the periphery of Glorietta are three department stores: SM Department Store Makati, Rustan's, and the Landmark. Across Makati Avenue from Glorietta is Greenbelt. This is one of the most sophisticated, modern, and expensive malls in the country. Greenbelt features dozens of coffee stores and restaurants, all overlooking a well-landscaped green park at the center where a domed Catholic chapel dominates the skyline. Other hotels in the vicinity of Ayala Center are the Makati Shangri-la Hotel, the Manila Peninsula, the Dusit Thani Group, the Hotel Intercontinental Manila, and Renaissance Makati City Hotel. Soon to rise is the Raffles Residences Manila, now under construction at the corner of Makati Avenue and Arnaiz Avenue.
Rockwell Center is the other first-class shopping center in Makati. Rockwell features the large Power Plant Mall popular with expatriates. At the periphery of the center are many high-class residential condominium towers, the Asian Eye Institute, and the Ateneo de Manila Professional Schools main campus, which houses the Ateneo Law School, the Ateneo Graduate School of Business, and the Ateneo School of Government.

Housing and Residences

Many of the country's wealthiest families live in North and South Forbes Park, originally developed in 1948, and Dasmariñas Village, first developed in the 1960s, on the other side of EDSA from the Central Business District. Other well-to-do people live in San Lorenzo Village, Urdaneta Village, San Antonio Village, Bel-Air Village, and Magallanes Village. These "villages" are not rural settlements, but gated communities. Many wealthy and middle-class Makati residents live in high-rise condominiums in Salcedo Village and Legazpi Village, two mixed-use zones located in the heart of the CBD. Most of the average residents of the city live in the city's periphery, especially in the eastern portions of Cembo, Rizal, East and West Rembo, Pembo, Comembo, South Cembo, and Pitogo.

Education, Culture, and Sports

Educational Institutions in Makati City

Makati City is home to the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). AIM, located along Paseo de Roxas across Greenbelt began as a collaborative project of the Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University. The Ateneo Professional Schools, a unit of the Ateneo de Manila University has facilities in Rockwell Center and Salcedo Village. The Rockwell campus houses the Ateneo Law School, the Ateneo Graduate School of Business, and the Ateneo School of Government. The Salcedo campus houses the Ateneo Information Technology Institute. De La Salle University's Professional Schools operates in RCBC Tower along Ayala Avenue. The Mapua Institute of Technology on Gil Puyat Avenue is an extension of Mapua in Intramuros, Manila.
Other notable colleges and Universities in Makati are the Asian Seminary of Christian Ministries (ASCM),[12] Don Bosco Technical Institute, Makati, Assumption College, Colegio San Agustin, Makati Hope Christian School, Our Lady of Guadalupe Minor Seminary, Asia Pacific College,International Academy of Management and Economics (I.AME)and the University of Makati. Assumption College, in San Lorenzo Village, is an all-female college. The University of Makati (officially, Pamantasan ng Makati) is a university run by the city government. Also in the city are the Makati Science High School and Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino High School, both city-run high schools. Remedios Trinidad Romualdez Memorial Schools, named after Doña Remedios Romualdez, the mother of the former first-lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos a private nursing school owned by of one of Makati's renowned hospitals, Makati Medical Center.
The Sta. Ana Racetrack, which is actually already a part of the City of Manila, beside Pasig River in the northern part of the city, is one of the two centers of horseracing in the country—the other being the San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite. Along the south-eastern border of Makati beyond Forbes Park are the Manila Golf Club and the Manila Polo Club.[13] The Manila Golf Club features an 18-hole golf course amidst the lush greenery of the city. The Manila Polo Club counts among its polo enthusiasts some of the country's wealthiest people. The Makati Sports Club in Salcedo Village is another popular place for sports people. The Makati Coliseum is another famous sports landmark in the city, where some of the biggest sports gatherings are held.
The Ayala Center also features, aside from its shopping malls, the Ayala Museum. This museum is most noted for its series of dioramas depicting major events in Philippine history, from the Battle of Mactan to the People Power Revolution.
Makati has many Spanish-era churches, such as the Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Nuestra Señora de Gracia (Our Lady of Grace) in the old town. At the Greenbelt Park stands the modern domed chapel of the Sto. Niño de la Paz. Between Forbes Park and Dasmariñas Village is the Santuario de San Antonio, a popular church for weddings in the Makati area. The National Shrine of the Sacred Heart is located in San Antonio Village.Makati also houses the country's only Jewish synagogue,Beth Yaacov.
At the northern part of the city is the 25-hectare Manila South Cemetery. Every All Saints Day, thousands of people flock to the cemetery to pay their respects to their deceased loved ones.

Transportation

Land

Buses plying the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA/C-4) route from Baclaran in Parañaque to Quezon City and Caloocan City pass through the Central Business District daily. Jeepneys ply Makati's inner roads and connect the city to its surrounding towns and cities. The Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3) on EDSA has four stations located in Makati: Guadalupe, Buendia, Ayala and Magallanes. The Philippine National Railways meanwhile has three stations: Buendia, Pasay Road and EDSA. It is also accessed by 2 expressways, the following are Metro Manila Skyway and South Luzon Expressway.

Water

The Pasig River is located on the North of this city. The Pasig River Ferry Service has 2 stations. The following stations are Guadalupe and Valenzuela.
HISTORICAL SITES

Guadalupe Ruins (Nuestra Señora de Gracia Church)
Location: Bernadino Street, Guadalupe Viejo
Doric architecture with massive buttresses to support its vault of hewn stones taken from the still visible but extinct Guadalupe quarry. Free from ornamentations, its walls are solid and stable and built in such a way that they still stand today as when the church was completed in 1629.


Saints Peter and Paul Church
Location: D. M. Rivera Street, Poblacion
Located at Barangay Poblacion, it was built in 1620. Architecture is typical of the colonial mission churches: a rectangular single-nave plan composed of the nave, apse and sacristy. A three-tiered papal tiara and keys, symbols of the Papacy, the first being St. Peter who, together with St. Paul, is the patron of the locality, dominate the façade. The altar with carved retablo is the focal point.


Museo ng Makati
Location: J. P. Rizal Street, Poblacion
The Museo ng Makati on J. P. Rizal Street in Poblacion is the repository of Makati's heritage and culture. The museo building itself offers a slice of Makati's history. Constructed in 1918, the building served as the town hall of Makati from 1918 until 1961. The community museum houses ethnographic and archaeological artifacts, including fossil remains of pre-historic animals and earthenware. The history
of Makati is shown in a collection of rare photographs, dioramas, and murals.

The Filipinas Heritage Library
Location: Makati Avenue, Ayala Triangle
From its beginnings as part of the Ayala Museum, it found its new home in 1996 in the historic Nielson Tower, the country's first commercial airport. The Filipinas Heritage Library is described as an electronic library: it discharges the traditional library functions of information storage, retrieval, and dissemination using the whitelatest information and telecommunication technologies. The Library aims to become
a one-stop eletronic research center on the Philippines, linked to local and international libraries. In addition, it is engaged in digitization projects, CD-ROM publishing, as well as the development of web pages and electronic databases.

Libingan ng mga Bayani
Location: Within the Ft. Bonifacio Army Reservations
The resting place of 33,520 Filipino soldiers who were killed in Corregidor, Bataan and throughout the country during World War II. It is where the tomb of the Unknown Soldier is enshrined, as well as the headstones of Filipino statesmen.


The American Cemetery and Memorial
Location: Within the Ft. Bonifacio Army Reservations
white Adjacent to the Libingan ng mga Bayani, the American Cemetery and Memorial stands as a solemn reminder of the heroism of American soldiers during World War II.
Significant battles of World War II are engraved on the walls of the Memorial. Information on significant military events are depicted and recorded in the map rooms, with 25 intricately designed maps, and in the battle museum in glass mosaic mixed with tinted concrete and colored fine aggregates.
Completed in 1960, architect and landscape designer Gardner A. Daly of San Francisco took pains in keeping its park-like setting perpetually green and bloom.


CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Caracol
Belen sa Makati
Chinese New Year
Likhang Kamay
Flores de Mayo
Senakulo
Ten Outstanding Students of Makati
Miss Makati
Araw ng Makati
Kasalan sa Makati
New Year's Eve Countdown
Bailes delos Arcos

To promote culture and the arts, the city government embarks on a vigorous campaign to promote Philippine culture among its residents and visitors. Year-round activities focus on the rich heritage of Makati , its Spanish era-churches and homes forming part of regular tours conducted for residents and visiting local and foreign guests of the city government. Performances showcasing Filipino artists are sponsored regularly the city government.


CARACOL
Conceptualized in 1988, CARACOL is a Spanish term for snail and refers to "the shell used by the people to protect them from life's detrimental realities." It is a combination of the three major ethnic festivals of the Philippines but in later years, Caracol developed its own character and focused on the bounty of Mother Earth and the need to protect her wealth. Declared official festival of Makati through the passage of Resolution 351. Held every last Sunday of January.

BELEN SA MAKATI
Conceived in 1987. To celebrate the Christmas Season, facades of buildings are decorated with creches and complemented by locally made lanterns. Barangay Halls, school premises, local government and privately-owned offices put up their own version of the creche. The event is also one of the major activities of the City Government with the NGOs. Begins in December.

CHINESE NEW YEAR
Mounted during the celebration of the Chinese New Year. Frames of fireworks donated by the business sector are ignited after the presentation of the Dragon and Tiger dances. One of the events viewed by thousands of spectators.

LIKHANG KAMAY
A yearly exhibit of top of the line native handicrafts. Instrumental in the discovery and development of native crafts producers. Mounted in cooperation with the Department of Tourism, Department of Trade and Industry, International Association of Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows. Supports local artists and artisans by providing venue and marketing. Held between March and April.

FLORES de MAYO
One of the biggest processions in Metro Manila, with movie stars, professional models and young ladies representing the 33 barangays of the city, tourism-oriented establishments, local and government offices, and corporations based in Makati. A Flower Queen is crowned by the Mayor. Held first Sunday of May.

SENAKULO
A street re-enactment of the life, death and passion of Jesus Christ. Event is mounted during the Lenten Season in the barangays.

TEN OUTSTANDING STUDENTS OF MAKATI
The Search for the Ten Outstanding Students of Makati recognizes the crème de la crème of youth leaders from Makati's private and public schools. Several winners have become outstanding professionals. Among them are Ferdinand Picar, voted Baron at the Philippine Military Academy when he graduated; Sid Hildawa, an artist; Chichi Fajardo, a newscaster; and Julio Benedicto, summa cum laude-economics at Yale University.

MISS MAKATI
A yearly search for the city's goodwill ambassador, bringing the brightest minds and most beautiful faces of Makati. Held every last week of May.

ARAW NG MAKATI
An annual celebration of Makati's Foundation Day. Various activities are mounted for the occasion including cultural parades, free concerts and street parties and food festivals. Traditionally held on the week leading to June 1.

KASALAN SA MAKATI
Free wedding ceremony and reception, with the Mayor as Principal Sponsor. Held as part of the celebration of the Founding of Makati. Held in June.

NEW YEAR'S COUNTDOWN
Started in 2004, this will be an annual event in the Central Business District. People from all walks of life are invited to join in the celebration of the New Year's Eve. Concerts by well known artists will be staged highlighted by a world-class fireworks display at the strike of 12:00 midnight.

BAILES delos ARCOS
Performed on June 29 during the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul at Barangay Poblacion by daughters of past participants with impeccable reputations as homage to the Virgen dela Rosa for her kindness. Dancers are trained for a year.


GETTING THERE

BY TRAIN:

The Metro Rail Transit (MRT) elevated train has many stations in Edsa. Getting off at the Ayala station will set you in the middle of the Ayala Centre - a complex of shopping malls and restaurants.
This is a quick and inexpensive way to get into the city. The cost of an MRT ticket ranges from 11 to 14 pesos.
BY CAR:
Two of Metro Manila's main arteries pass through Makati. The Epifanio De los Santos Avenue (EDSA) pass along the southeast part of Makati and connects the city to Mandaluyong City and Pasay City. The South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) runs through the western part of Makati and connects the city to Manila to the north and to the southern Metro Manila. The Skyway, an elevated highway built on top of SLEX, provides residents coming from southern Metro Manila a fast way to reach Makati. SLEX and EDSA intersect at the Magallanes Interchange, which is the most complex system of elevated roadways in Metro Manila.
Other major roads in Makati include Buendia Avenue, also called Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, which connects EDSA and SLEX in the north; Ayala Avenue, an important street that runs through the Central Business District; and Makati Avenue, which connects Ayala Avenue with Buendia Avenue, also extending north to cross the Pasig River to Mandaluyong City. At the center of Makati is the Ayala Triangle, a park built on the former Nielsen Air Base.
BY BUS:
Buses plying the Epifanio De los Santos Avenue (EDSA) route from Baclaran in Paranaque to Quezon City and Caloocan City pass through the Central Business District daily. As mentioned above, you can't load or unload just anywhere, you have to wait or go to the designated BUS stops. There are separate loading and unloading zones in which travelers must observe.

BY RIVER FERRY:

The Pasig River Ferry Boat stops at two stations in Makati: Valenzuela (near the city government complex) and Guadalupe (near Guadalupe Bridge). Although neither station is a convenient spot for tourists - which makes this option far less convenient than, say, hailing a taxi It is worth keeping the ferry service in mind as another means of getting to Makati from other riverside districts (such as Intramuros in Manila).

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Location: Makati City, Philippines

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