Money woes may spur QI property dev't

(The old pulmonary hospital on the QI property, circa 1938, according to its facade. Photo copyright held by Stella Arnaldo.)
THE Quezon Institute (QI) property is not for sale.

That’s according to some officials of the Philippine Tuberculosis Society Inc. (PTSI), which operates and manages QI. PTSI has been at the forefront of the anti-TB campaign in the country since 1910.

But sources in the PTSI said the organization is looking at a possible “co-development” of the property with a real-estate firm.

Talk has been rife among the tight-knit community of Filipino heritage conservationists that PTSI had already sealed a deal in December 2010 to sell the property to Ayala Land Inc. (ALI).

This has been denied by some ALI and PTSI officials, however.

Jorge Marco, ALI head for corporate communications, told the BusinessMirror that no sale has been finalized. “I’m sure, when appropriate, we’ll make the proper disclosures,” he said. But he confirmed ongoing “talks or discussions” between ALI and PTSI about the QI property.

For her part, PTSI executive director Elizabeth Cadena said, “[the deal with Ayala Land] is not true.” Asked if there were any negotiations ongoing with ALI, she expressed her displeasure at the question by hastily showing this reporter out of her office at the QI. She refused to further answer inquiries, and merely wrinkled her mouth and shrugged her shoulders when asked who exactly this reporter could direct her questions to with regard to the issue.

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has said the sale of the QI property or improvements to be made therein have to be approved by the government agency, as per the new Heritage Law. National Artist Juan F. Nakpil designed its main building, which houses the PTSI offices. (See story “QI deal needs historical body’s OK” in the BusinessMirror, January 12, 2011.)

(PTSI executive director Elizabeth Cadena - the dragon lady who shooed me out of her office. Photo from PTSI web site.)

The 6.5-hectare property along E. Rodriguez Avenue, barangay Tatalon, Quezon City, is worth anywhere from P2.3 billion to P5 billion, based on Bureau of Internal Revenue zonal values, and the market price of commercial real-estate developments in said area.

In a separate interview, a member of the PTSI board affirmed that Ayala Land was keen on the property but so are “other organizations and real- estate developers. There are certain arrangements we’re looking at, but we’re not selling the whole thing. We will use the real property the best way we can.”

The board member added that there has also been another proposal from another real-estate firm for “co-development” of the QI property which the board is considering, “but nothing has been finalized.” The board member declined to reveal the identity of the other developer.

The board member added that PTSI is “keeping our options open [regarding the property], but we’re not going to sell. It’s our mission to help treat TB….We don’t want to lose our primary resource for TB control.” The TB problem in the Philippines has yet to be totally licked as cases now involve resistant strains “that are very difficult to control,” the board member said.

An official of the PTSI who requested anonymity, likewise, told the BusinessMirror: “There are many who are interested in the QI property but we’re not selling. We only sold [a portion] to Puregold because we had to. We had precarious finances then; employees were going on strike because we couldn’t pay their salaries.” There are about 100-plus employees at QI.

Asked whether PTSI’s finances were now back in the black, thus the organization’s decision to hold off on selling, the official said, “we always have negative finances. Funding support for [our anti-TB campaign and treatments], such as the subsidy from the PCSO [Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office] have been reduced.”

While there are foreign funds that support PTSI’s anti-TB projects, as well as government support, the official said these were still not enough to address the TB problem in the country. Keeping the property and raising funds through it could help PTSI continue its anti-TB projects, the official indicated.

(National Artist Architect Juan F. Nakpil also designed the UP admininstration building in Diliman, QC. Photo from http://www.mediabd.com)

Meanwhile, a source in ALI said that instead of purchasing the QI property, the real-estate firm can also go into a “joint development” with the PTSI. This means ALI can lease the property from PTSI and use the rest of the lot to build condominiums, a mall, offices and other commercial establishments.

Ayala Land has a similar venture with the University of the Philippines for the UP-Ayala Land Technohub along Commonwealth Avenue in Diliman, Quezon City. The technohub—home to business-process outsourcing offices as well as restaurants—occupies 20 hectares, but the entire UP North Science Technology Park is 37.5 hectares. Another codevelopment project between ALI and UP is for the university’s property along Katipunan Road, also in Quezon City.

ALI has been eyeing the QI property for a mixed-use development project. The main building of QI was designed by National Artist architect Juan F. Nakpil in the 1930s. The other buildings such as the adjacent pulmonary hospital was built in 1938, according to a marker on its façade. The building which housed the PCSO was also built around the same time, as per the NHCP.

As such, the buildings and their environs are automatically protected from any unauthorized sale or renovations as per Republic Act 10066. If found guilty, violators will be fined not less than P200,000, or jailed not less than 10 years.

On its web site, the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) said QI “followed a stately and symmetrical design concept. A grand avenue leads to the two-story main building accentuated by strong Art Deco influences and geometric details.”

The UAP web site added that Nakpil was born in Quiapo, Manila, in 1899, the only son of composer Julio Nakpil and Gregoria de Jesus, the widow of Andres Bonifacio. He studied architecture at the Fontainebleau School of Fine Arts in Paris, and received a master’s degree in Architecture from Harvard University. Considered the “Dean of Filipino Architects,” he also designed the “1937 International Eucharistic Congress altar and rebuilt and enlarged the Quiapo Church in 1930, adding a dome and a second belfry to the original design.”

Nakpil’s other major works include the Geronimo de los Reyes Building, Magsaysay Building, Rizal Theater, Capitol Theater, Captain Pepe Building, Manila Jockey Club, Rufino Building, Philippine Village Hotel, University of the Philippines Administration and University Library, and the reconstructed Rizal house in Calamba, Laguna.

(My story was originally published in the BusinessMirror on Jan. 12, 2011.)

Quezon Institute land deal needs historical body's OK

(The main building of the Quezon Institute which houses the offices of the Phil. Tuberculosis Society Inc., QI operator. The building was designed by National Artist Architect Juan Nakpil.)

THE much-coveted Quezon Institute (QI) property along E. Rodriguez Avenue in Quezon City will cost Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) at least P2.3 billion.

ALI has expressed interest in the lot, eyeing a mixed-use development for the area, meaning residential buildings, corporate offices and commercial establishments.

But before the QI property can be sold, the transaction has to be cleared first with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), its officials stressed. Built in the 1930s, Quezon Institute’s main building was designed by architect Juan F. Nakpil, a national artist.

Antonino Aquino, president of Ayala Land, told the BusinessMirror in a text message: “We are interested in properties of this scale in this part of Quezon City.”

In a separate, chance interview, Jan Bengzon, ALI assistant vice president for external affairs, confirmed: “We’ve been interested in that property for the longest time for a mixed-use development.”

The 6.5-hectare QI property is owned by the Philippine Tuberculosis Society Inc. (PTSI), which earlier had sold a portion of the lot at the corner of Araneta Avenue and E. Rodriguez Avenue, to Puregold, where a supermarket now stands.

It is the same property where the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office also used to hold office until its management felt that its building was structurally unsafe.

Based on the latest zonal values of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the QI property is worth about P35,000 per square meter as it may be considered a commercial area already and is located beside a main road.

Possibly, P2.3 billion
Real-estate brokers consulted by the BusinessMirror though said the price of the entire lot could even exceed P2.3 billion since there are “improvements” on the property, or buildings.

So a similar property in the area, like a commercial building, could go as high as P75,000 per sq m. Thus, the QI property could be worth even close to P5 billion.

In an interview, architect Wilkie de Lumen of the NHCP’s Historic Preservation Division said: “With the new Heritage Law, or Republic Act 10066, [the QI property] is automatically protected, more so that its building was designed by architect Nakpil, a national artist. It is considered a national treasure and any sale or improvements [must pass through NHCP] even if it is privately owned.”

(This building on the right corner of the QI property used to house the offices of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office until its management decided it was no longer structurally unsound. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines said the PCSO did not seek the agency’s permission to drill into the building and assess its integrity. This building is estimated at older than 50 years and thus protected by national heritage laws.)

He added the same law prescribes “penalties if owners neglect the historical property, or any improvements are not properly coordinated with the NHCP.” Article XVIII of the law on penal provisions enumerates violations, such as destruction, demolition, mutilation and damage of “any world heritage site, national cultural treasures, important cultural property and archaeological and anthropological sites;” as well as modification, alteration or destruction “of the original features or [construction] or real-estate development in any national shrine, monument, landmark and other historic edifices and structures, declared, classified and marked by the National Historical Institute as such, without the prior written permission from the commission.”

The same law adds that violators, upon conviction, would be fined not less than P200,000 or a prison term of not less than 10 years.

ALI’s Bengzon said if the property and its buildings are considered national historical landmarks, “then we can work around that. We can always preserve the buildings like what we’ve done with Nielson Tower.”

Built in 1937, the Nielson Tower in Makati City used to be an airport passenger terminal and control tower of the old Nielson airport, which was part of the Hacienda San Pedro Makati of the Zobel de Ayala family.

The airport was also the site of the United States Far East Air Force headquarters in World War II. The old terminal now houses the Filipinas Heritage Library. For his part, architect Reynaldo Inovero, chief of the NHCP’s HPD, said the commission will “write [the PTSI] and ask for any plans they might have [regarding the QI property]. We have to look at the engineering studies [on the proposed development] if these are feasible.”

(My story was originally published in the BusinessMirror on Jan. 12, 2011. Photos copyrighted Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo.)

A Symphony of Parols

Check out my first-ever uploaded video on YouTube (history in the making itoh!) ;p



Seriously, I felt like a kid watching this show on Saturday. Go bring your entire family and watch it. It's on every evening at the Ayala Triangle, corner of Makati Ave. and Ayala Ave.

Btw, there's a whole row of new restaurants there including Singapore's own Wee Nam Kee (famous for its luscious tender Hainanese Chicken Rice...mmm) and the Chicken Bon Chon, the Korean phenomenon. Love it! ;p

Everyone knows I've had my differences with the Ayala Group in the past, but this was a really lovely, exhilirating experience. Thumbs up, guys!

Have you seen this?

HERE'S the actual video of the robbery that happened in the Rolex store at Greenbelt 5 last Sunday, Oct. 18. Afraid!


(For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV)

In typical fashion, Ayala Land says it has beefed up its security. Pray tell, how?

The day after the heist, I went to TriNoma in QC, and the security guards hardly gave me a glance. The same was true tonight, as I went around Glorietta, then over to Greenbelt 2 and 3. All I did was raise my bag, and the security guards didn't even bother to have me open it. Okay, so I probably don't look like a burglar or terrorist anyway.

But I think shoppers would feel safer if there were some K-9 dogs going around (which the malls had after the Glorietta 2 explosion in 2007), or the security guards inspected everyone's bags. Unlike others, I've never resented having my bag and bundles inspected in any establishment. For me, if this is one way to reduce the opportunity for unscrupulous elements to sow mayhem in public places, then I am only to glad to participate in this effort.

Then again as most shoppers know, the security at Ayala malls has never been decent to begin with. Petty thievery goes on unabated. (Yours truly was a victim and she had to badger Ayala Land to even ask their security people to check the CCTV footage. Of course, they got back to me a month later. Duh.) That Glorietta explosion happened. (Does anyone really have a clear cut explanation what happened there?) And now they had this brazen burglary in the middle of the day. The news reports have it that Emirates Security Specialist Inc., the company hired by Ayala Land to secure its malls, is owned by former PNP chief Edgardo Aglipay who has since issued a statement defending his men.

But why were the robbers able to enter the mall? Didn't the security guards check with the security director/administrator if there was indeed a bomb inspection scheduled? Didn't the guards notice that the so-called bomb inspection team alighted from an unmarked vehicle? And where were they when the shooting started? Mayor Freddie Tinga's police security detail were saying that they could have easily "neutralized" the burglars if Ayala mall's security guards came to their aid.

Apparently all that the Ayala mall security is really good for is beating up truant kids caught swiping donation cans off shop counters. And that, my friends, is another true story.

It's not Shakespeare but...

U2 frontman Bono paid tribute to Elvis Presley with an original poem for BBC's poetry season. Available for a limited time only on BBC Radio 4.



Check it out here. (Reposted from Nikos Gitsis. Thanks.)

Now, can you imagine PTV coming up with a poetry season?

* * * *
UPDATE: Regarding Trinoma's leaking ceilings, kudos to Ayala Land management for working fast on the problem. As of yesterday, I saw all the water stains and leaky areas all patched up and painted over. Hope they hold up for the next stormy downpour. Next time guys, make sure you get a more efficient contractor.

Pumapatak na naman ang ulan...

...is how the APO's song goes ano? Well, while it was pouring torrents on Monday, I was seeking refuge at the Trinoma. Ok, not quite. I was actually on a mission to exchange some stuff my mom and I bought at a store a few days before (wrong size), and to get a shot of Red Mango's frozen yoghurt, so I deliberately made my way to that mall. (More on Red Mango later.)

(Photo from VisitPinas.com)

As I was on my way up using the escalator in the North Parking vicinity, I felt drops of water on my head. I looked up, and there on the ceiling was a growing water stain. It was a leak no doubt from the rain overspout (or whatever thingamajigger contractors call it).

Hmm...didn't the Trinoma just open two years ago? Well, if this is the kind of shoddy work Ayala Land employs in its buildings these days, I no longer wonder why its income plunged by 50 percent in the first quarter of 2009. Would you buy a condo from the company if it gives you leaky ceilings? Didn't think so.

Like I've said before, and other mall visitors have confirmed it as well, Trinoma is really a depressing mall to go to despite the massive amounts of foliage and bright lights in its stores. Parking is confusing as well as the store locations, it's just chaotic. There are no automatic flushes in its toilets' while the better-smelling pay lounges are located in way out of reach places, instead of central locations. And it's freaking noisy! It's starting to become another regular SM Mall w/ its loud music, and with its bad acoustics you'd think you were in Divisoria instead!

It's so not like an Ayala mall, I tell you. I mean, if you go to an SM Mall at least there are no surprises. You know what you're getting. Loud and crass. Trinoma tries to reek of class but fails miserably bec. the owners think the rich folk from Caloocan and QC have bakya sensibilities. Thus the architecture and interior design. WTF, coño!

* * * *
So is there nothing to love about Trinoma? I admit there are a few, w/c is why you will probably find me there every other week, esp. if there's a new film in town. For instance, I like the variety of goods that Landmark supermarket offers (and btw, it has self-flushing toilets in its regular restrooms). And I enjoy watching films in the mall's roomier cinemas.

Some of the restaurants are noteworthy (Cyma, Thousand Cranes Shabu-Shabu, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Cibo, Peking Garden), and it has Piandré Salon where I get my pedi, and Toni & Guy Essensuals where I turn to for a haircut. And did I mention Red Mango frozen yogurt?

(Red Mango's stall in the hallway fronting Toni & Guy)

Red Mango is a franchise from surprise! South Korea. But it really became a hit when the company expanded in the U.S. So far, it has three local outlets - Trinoma, Eastwood, and Megamall. I love it because it's creamy and tart. Wonderful mouthfeel, but if you don't watch out, will give you brainfreeze! Brrr. (I had two servings of each flavor the other day and ended up w/ a slight headache.) I like both the original and green tea flavors, straight up, no sprinkles.

(My small serving of green tea flavor.)
I'm surprised that the stall in Trinoma never runs out of customers. Who would've thought that Pinoys would learn to appreciate yogurt? Could be that we're really more health conscious now or just bec. the product is still new in the market, and something different from the usual ice cream concoctions we've been used to? It has great price points - P80 for a single scoop for the original (P85 for the green tea), plus P20 for a single topping (fruits, nuts, or cereals). Try it.

(The toppings of Red Mango. I counted about 25 in fruits, nuts, cereals.)
(ATTENTION WHITE HAT GUYS: Okay I know you were the first in asking me to try your frozen yogurt dessert. I promise to get to you soon and give the readers the lowdown.)