Acclimatizing to the Philippines and Navigating Manila

Manila City is just one of the 17 localities (cities and town) that

 make up Metropolitan Manila and it is home to several 

historic sites. (c) F.D. Barroso

The Filipinos share at least one thing in common with Minnesotans: they love to talk about the weather. However, as the team quickly found out the moment they stepped out of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Filipinos really mean it when they say that it is hot and humid in Manila. The team arrived in Manila from three separate flights that landed on May 18 and May 21 and a (real-feel) temperature of nearly 100F greeted them. The transition from Minnesota’s cool spring to a scorching hot Manila was certainly facilitated by the bounty of sweet tropical fruits from the local market. Another point of transition was navigating the labyrinth of roads, streets, alleys in Manila and negotiating with vehicular traffic that is sometimes chaotic. Fortunately, the Philippines is the first country in the world to develop and enforce a government regulatory system for Uber. Hence, the team is able to avail of safe and dependable ride-sharing services from the company as they go around Metro Manila.

Felipe and Abdiwahab pose in front of San Agustin Church,
with representatives of UNESCO Category-II Centers on Education.
(c) UNESCO-SEACLLSD

At the national level, the team’s main project partner is the Philippines National Commission for UNESCO or PH NatCom, in short. PH NatCom is the primary government agency in the Philippines that is tasked to link UNESCO with the concerned public, private, and non-profit organizations in the country. It is in charge of overseeing and ensuring the Philippines’ compliance to its obligations with UNESCO.

On May 26, Team Malindang met with programme officers from the Philippines National Commission for UNESCO (PH NatCom). Freddie Blanco (Natural Sciences Sector) and Adriann Caldozo (Culture Sector) briefed the team about the outcome of PH NatCom’s initial visit to Misamis Occidental (province where Mt. Malindang is located) during which they met with key partners and stakeholders for the site’s possible nomination as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

The programme officers, along with NatCom’s Deputy Director Lindsay Barrientos, undertook the initial visit to Misamis Oriental on May 12 to 13, 2015. They were joined by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) officials, namely, Regional Director (Region 10) Ruth Tawantawan and Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) Officer Teresita Blastique. They went on to meet the Mount Malindang Protected Area Management Board and its Superintendent Office staff, representatives of the Provincial Government of Misamis Occidental, as well as mayors of selected towns, and leaders of the indigenous community. Based on the meetings held, there was a general consensus identifying the need for the MDP Field Experience team to conduct a field visit on the mountain, an in-person consultation with the community, and a stakeholders conference to present the nomination framework and summary of community consultation.

The flags on the compound represent all the ASEAN member

countries and states that support the organization.

(c) mdpteammalindang

After this briefing meeting with Freddie and Adriann, the MDP team went on to join the rest of the NatCom staff as they hosted representatives from UNESCO Category-II Learning Centers on Education from across the world. Abdiwahab and Felipe joined in a historical and cultural tour of Intramuros, the walled city of old Manila, built during the Spanish colonial period. Through a tour of key sites within the historical district, museums and shrines dedicated to the country’s national hero, and culminating in a special dinner and cultural show, the MDP duo started to get to know the Philippines’ heritage, noted some stark similarities with Latin American countries’ culture and history, and built rapport with NatCom staff.

The rest of the MDP team’s first week of work focused on identifying and planning a specific itinerary for the proposed trip to Mount Malindang, coordinating with the Protected Area Superintendent’s Office, and the MDP faculty adviser.

While in Manila, the team shares the office of the UNESCO-Southeast Asia Centre for Lifelong Learning for Sustainable Development at the SEAMEO-INNOTECH compound in Quezon City and is hosted by Mavic’s parents in the same city.