Infrastructures Built During Marcos’ Era

1. Cultural Center of the Philippines

V. (2014, December 8). Wallpaper* City Guide: Manila. The Gypsetters.

http://thegypsetters.net/dot-dot-dot/wallpaper-city-guide-manila
2. Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas (Folk Arts Theater)

Lakansining, V. A. P. B. (2019, September 22). 1974 Leandro Locsin – Folk Arts

Theater (Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas). Lakbay Ng Lakan.

https://lakansining.wordpress.com/2019/09/22/the-long-road-to-the-people-

power-revolution/21-1974-leandro-locsin-folk-arts-theater-tanghalang-francisco-

balagtas/
3. Philippine International Convention Center

Mendez, C. S. C. (2020, April 6). Use of PICC, sports complexes for quarantine OK’d.

Philstar.Com. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/04/01/2004748/use-picc-

sports-complexes-quarantine-okd
4. Makiling Center for the Arts (National Arts Center)

National Arts Center by Gino T. Manalastas. (n.d.). PBase.

https://www.pbase.com/image/85892101
5. Nayong Pilipino

Visit to Nayong Pilipino -Clark. (2016, December 19). Collectors Connection.

https://renz15.wordpress.com/2016/12/15/visit-to-nayong-pilipino-clark/
6. People’s Park in the Sky

Province of Cavite. (2017, February 28). People’s Park in the Sky.

https://cavite.gov.ph/home/2017/02/28/peoples-park-in-the-sky/
7. Philippine Heart Center

Wikipedia contributors. (2021, April 21). Philippine Heart Center. Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Heart_Center
8. Lung Center of the Philippines

Concepcion, P. (2018, March 18). Breathing new life into the Lung Center.

INQUIRER.Net. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/976128/breathing-new-life-into-

the-lung-center
9. National Kidney and Transplant Institute

Mendoza, J. E. (2020, April 8). NKTI reaches full capacity, will only admit PUIs who

need dialysis. The Manila Times.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/04/08/second-headline/nkti-reaches-full-

capacity-will-only-admit-puis-who-need-dialysis/711355/
10. San Juanico Bridge

parski.jonatan@gmail.com. (2018, September 3). The Urban Legend That Surrounds San

Juanico Bridge. Videotrip.PH. http://videotrip.ph/the-urban-legend-that-

surrounds-san-juanico-bridge/
 Structures of Blessing and Curse

The Late President Ferdinand Marcos who was ousted and labeled as a dictator through

the People Power Revolution in 1986, was the 10th President of the Republic of the Philippines.

Though times were bleak during his regime and Filipinos are still in debate about what happened

during his time, still, there are significant infrastructures that was built during his era.

First is the Cultural Center of the Philippines which established through Executive Order

No. 30 s. 1966. Located in the cities of Pasay and Manila, the 62-hectare complex provides

performance and exhibition venues for different local and international events. Second is the

Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas (Folk Arts Theater) which is a covered amphitheater with a

seating capacity of 8,458 with ten sections. Commissioned by then First Lady Imelda Marcos in

1974 for the Miss Universe Pageant, which was to be held in Manila. The amphitheater was

originally built to seat an audience of 10,000 and was designed by Architect Leandro Locsin. It

was inaugurated on July 7, 1974 and was built on a record time of seventy-seven days in time for

the pageant. Third is the Philippine International Convention Center is a state-of-the-art

convention center located inside the CCP complex. Through the Presidential Decree No. 520, the

Central Bank of the Philippines (now Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) was authorized to construct

an international conference building, acquire a suitable area for that purpose, and organize a

corporation to manage a conference center. The PICC was built in a short span of 23 months led

by Architect Leandro Locsin. Fourth is the Makiling Center for the Arts (National Arts Center)

which is in Mount Makiling, Los Baños, Laguna and was established in 1976 by First Lady

Imelda Marcos. The center was constructed to serve as a place of sanctuary for young and

aspiring Filipino artists. Its various buildings and facilities are in the 13.5 hectares of the
Makiling Forest Reservation which also houses the Philippine High School for the Arts. Fifth is

the Nayong Pilipino which was built in 1969 through the patronage of then First Lady Imelda

Marcos located near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. It is a 12.95-hectare theme park

that features scaled-down replicas of the country’s top tourist destinations and was hailed as the

Asia’s first theme park. However, after 32 years of operation, it was torn down in 2001 in its

original location. Today, Nayong Pilipino is in Clark, Pampanga as a major attraction of the

Centennial Expo. Sixth is the People’s Park in the Sky formerly known as the Palace in the Sky

in Tagaytay, Cavite. It was originally built to house US President Ronald Reagan in his state visit

in 1981. However, the visit never transpired due to the People Power Revolution. Today it serves

as a historical urban park and is open to the public. Seventh is the Philippine Heart Center which

was originally named as Philippine Heart Center for Asia was established through Presidential

Decree No. 673 issued by President Ferdinand E. Marcos in 1975 in Quezon City. Eighth is the

Lung Center of the Philippines was established on January 16, 1981 to provide health care that

specifically targets lung and pulmonary disease under Presidential Decree No. 1823. Ninth is the

National Kidney and Transplant Institute located in Quezon City was established on January 16,

1981 as tertiary referral hospital that also offers voluntary blood services. Tenth is the San

Juanico Bridge is part of the Pan-Philippine Highway which stretches from Samar to Leyte

across the San Juanico Strait. With a total length of 2.16 kilometers, it is the longest bridge in the

Philippines spanning a body of seawater.

Most of these infrastructures are built on the former first lady Imelda Marcos’ patronage.

The media even coined the term ‘Edifice Complex’ which describes the former first lady’s

obsession in building structures that are more focused on aesthetics than functionality to create a

notion that the Philippines is an advanced nation in the global community. As Gerard Lico, in his
book “Edifice Complex: Power, Myth and Marcos State Architecture,” puts it, the Marcos

regime used architecture to assert power and gain the support of the Filipinos.

Because of the numerous controversies of overpricing and the mediocrity of the

structures’ quality, these infrastructures are both a blessing and a curse to the Filipinos and the

Philippine History. Most of these are still functioning and is used by the Filipinos it also shows

the craftmanship of the Filipinos in building aesthetically pleasing structures. However, these

also reminds us of the bleak past of our nation when numerous lives were labeled as insignificant

and as an enemy of the state. Moreover, the Filipinos are the one who paid for these structures as

the regime had multiple loans just to satisfy their Edifice Complex.

References:

Afinidad-Bernardo, R. D. B. M. (n.d.). Edifice complex | 31 years of amnesia. Copyright © 2016.

Philstar.Com All Right Reserved.

https://newslab.philstar.com/31-years-of-amnesia/building-spree

Samonte, J. (2019, October 10). Infrastructures Built During Marcos’ Time. Real Estate Blog -

Trending News , Guides, Tips and Articles | Hoppler.

https://www.hoppler.com.ph/magazine/lifestyle/infrastructures-built-during-marcos-time

Villa, K. (2017, September 17). Imelda Marcos and her ‘edifice complex.’ INQUIRER.Net.

https://business.inquirer.net/236962/imelda-marcos-edifice-complex