Sunday, May 20, 2007

In The Heat of the Moment

Ang init! These two words has been reverberating in my head at the start of the summer season. I noticed in the last several years, summers here in the Philippines have become somewhat hotter. I looked it up and indeed I was right. Compounding the problem is the high humidity we have in this country.


The heat was not a problem back then when Fort Bonifacio was a closed Fort. We had lots of trees literally peppered all over the place. My father's uncle happened to be the first Camp Commander of then Fort McKinley before it was renamed Fort Bonifacio in honor of Andres Bonifacio. It was hot during the summer months alright but once you step in the gates of the old Fort Bonifacio, one will feel the refreshing cool breeze brush up against your skin thanks to those wonderful acacias. Now they are all gone. No thanks to the BCDA which came into being by virtue of Republic Act No. 7227, or Bases Conversion Development Act of 1992, which was signed into law by President Corazon C. Aquino on March 13, 1992. Technically speaking, all military bases within the Luzon area are now up for sale. This started the development of the Subic Economic Zone some 15 years ago. But that didn't stop there. During the time of President Fidel V. Ramos, Sangley Point in Cavite was also put up for sale. Camp John Hay in Baguio, Villamor Air Base in Pasay, and then Fort Bonifacio through the Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation (FBDC). FBDC is a joint venture between Bonifacio Land Corporation (BLC) and the state-owned BCDA.


Incidentally, Fort Bonifacio (Makati) is now more popularly called the Bonifacio Global City (Taguig). What used to be my safe playground when I was young is now a rising city with first class amenities. Several condominium edifices rose like mushrooms after a lightning storm. To name a few, there rose Pacific Place, Essensa, One McKinley Place, The Fort, Market Market, Serendra, High Street, etc.


And because of these changes, the quiet Fort Bonifacio was reborn. And accompanied with this changes we lost the once moderate temperature we had back then. Oh well that's progress for you. More on this topic later on as Global City further develops.






























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