Intramuros

Date of Declaration: November 12, 1936

Reason why it has become a Historical Site:
Intramuros is also called the Walled City, and at
the time of the Spanish Colonial Period was
synonymous to the City of Manila. Other towns
and arrables (suburbs) located beyond the walls
are referred to as "extramuros", the Spanish for
"outside the walls". It was the seat of
government and political power when the
Philippines was a component realm of the
Spanish Empire. It was also the center of
religion, education and economy. The standard
way of life in Intramuros became the standard
way of life throughout the Philippines. The Manila Galleons which sailed the Pacific for 250
years, carried goods to and from Intramuros (Manila) and Acapulco, Mexico.
In 1898 the Spanish-American War brought the Americans to the Philippines. Intramuros was
surrendered to them after a mock battle defeat. The Filipinos began a sudden change of lifestyle
with the new colonial master invader. Major parts of the walls including two gates were
demolished to make way for new roads in Intramuros.
The Japanese occupied the Philippines at the outbreak of World War II. Fort Santiago became
an inferno region where the Japanese army brought torture and deaths to hundreds of poor
civilians and guerillas.
After enduring a number of natural disasters like earthquakes, typhoon, fires including wars
through the centuries, Intramuros took a powerful stroke when the Americans liberated the
Philippines from the Japanese in 1945, the Battle of Manila. Artillery shells destroyed the walls
and turn the building to ashes and thousands of lives were wipe out.
In 1946, after the Battle of Manila, Intramuros was a dead metropolis. The American
acknowledged the Philippines independence but the city remained dead. Decades after the war,
Intramuros become a huge wasteland infested by squatters and warehouses. Big trucks with
container vans overrun the streets, further damaging the ruined edifices and endangering the
structure of the four-century old San Agustin Church.
Steps on conservation and preservation undergone by the government:
On April 10, 1979, Presidential Decree no. 1616 was signed that tasked to rebuild, redevelop,
administer and preserve the remaining buildings, structures and fortification thus creating the
Intramuros administration. From my last visit, I was able to talk to a professor there about the
situation, the intramuros are currently being restored and some buildings repaired due to natural
disasters. Several buildings abandoned and currently being planned to renovate creating a new
structure. One of the renovated structure was the building in front of the Governor General
Office is now a museum and holds documents and artifacts acquired from the Intramuros and
being preserved, the museum is open and can be visited by paying a small amount of entrance
fee, 15 pesos I think.