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It was
Greater Manila in the 1960s to refer to the city of
Manila and the adjacent cities of Caloocan, Pasay and
Quezon. In the 1970s, dictator Ferdinand Marcos had
expanded it to Metro Manila to include not just Greater
Manila but the other adjoining cities and towns. In the
late 1990s, the concept of Mega Manila had emerged to
refer to the expanding Metro Manila. Now, we have a
Super Mega Manila to refer to the expanded Mega Manila.
The
concept of Mega Manila refers to Metro Manila’s
expansion to Bulacan’s capital city of Malolos in the
north, Tagaytay City in the south and the cities of
Calamba and Antipolo in the eastern part. Although this
Mega-Manila concept has never been made official, it
remains an essential conceptual framework in many
endeavors, including development and urban planning,
corporate planning and policy-making. Hence, development
planners, policymakers and entrepreneurs use Mega Manila
as a point of reference to the still expanding
metropolis.
But
somehow, Metro Manila—or even Mega Manila—has become an
anachronism, and it definitely needs some updating.
In the
2000s, the concept of Super Mega Manila assumes greater
relevance as shown by the unmitigated migration of rural
people to the metropolis and the ensuing but almost
unstoppable outward urbanization. Hence, Super Mega
Manila expands farther to the cities of Olongapo and
Angeles in the north, Lipa and Batangas in the south and
the Laguna town of Los Baños and the Rizal town of Tanay
in the eastern portion.
The
emergence of Super Mega Manila becomes more evident as
indicated by the development projects that sprout in
every nook and cranny of the area that it covers.
Housing projects, especially the low-cost ones, have
mushroomed in the outskirts of Mega Manila to shelter
the growing population. Industrial enclaves and
factories have been relocating there, too. Also, the
government has been building infrastructure projects
there.
The
emergence of Super Mega Manila is a natural consequence
of current development trends. Development centers have
come out in the north, south and east of Mega Manila,
and each development center has specific characteristics
to make it distinct and unique. Now, the natural
tendency is to connect these development centers into a
single integrated, cohesive and functional whole to
optimize economic growth and development.
Hence,
Super Mega Manila is an emerging super metropolis, an
offshoot of the integration of at least three
development centers outside of Mega Manila: the Olongapo-Angeles
corridor, the Lipa-Batangas City corridor and the
Calabarzon integrated industrial center, which is spread
in the towns of San Pedro, Canlubang, Cabuyao and Biñan
and the cities of Sta. Rosa and Calamba in Laguna, and
the towns of Gen. Mariano Alvarez (or GMA), Rosario,
Dasmariñas and Silang in Cavite.
Knowing
that these three development centers will have to be
connected with Metro Manila, the Arroyo administration
has been pursuing the Luzon Urban Beltway Program, the
flagship program that is regarded as the single most
ambitious road project to date. With an estimated cost
of P687.82 billion ($16 billion), it will run at least
300 kilometers through Central Luzon, Metro Manila and
the Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon
provinces) growth corridor.
Development planners have regarded this project as risky
since the government is putting a lot of money in a
single project, but it is optimistic the investment will
produce enormous dividends in the near future. This is
because infrastructure expenditures tend to bring a
multiplier effect to the area.
Also,
the Luzon Urban Beltway is expected to integrate
logistics infrastructure in Super Mega Manila. It will
anchor on three logistics facilities: the Subic
International Container Terminal in the Olongapo-Subic
area, the Batangas International Container Port in
Batangas City and the Diosdado Macapagal International
Airport at the Clark Special Economic Zone in Angeles
City. Their infrastructure profile is fairly modern, but
the lack of access roads between them is a major
stumbling block to their development as a world-class
integrated logistics center.
As
urbanization continues to move outward, the imperative
is to engage in some inward redevelopment. The outward
trend must be complemented by an inward move to stop
decay at the very nerve center of growth. Urban planners
should pursue with vigor and dynamism the redevelopment
of Manila to bring back its old glory and stop its decay
to the core.
Of
course, the nation needs symbols. Manila, with all its
splendor and glory reminiscent of its past, should
continue to embody the old symbolism of gentility and
placidity that dates back to the old colonial and
postcolonial days. While growth and development is
unstoppable, urban planners should always look at
maintaining and strengthening the old symbols of
nationhood.
This
redevelopment should not be limited to Manila alone. It
should extend to Quezon City, which is the country’s
largest city and the actual No. 2 city (it’s not Cebu
City). While the move to make it a nation’s information
and communications center is laudable, its planners
should move to make it a showcase of urban
redevelopment, primarily to improve the quality of life
of its almost 2 million inhabitants.
In
short, the emergence of Super Mega Manila now
necessitates and requires careful inward-directed
redevelopment programs to complement outward migration
and trends. Urban decay should not be allowed to gnaw at
the nation’s psyche. Redevelopment is a must. |
