Palawan, Boracay in most visited island destination list

Palawan and Boracay have made it to Times Travel's "8 Most Visited Island Destinations in Asia," the Department of Tourism (DoT) said.

In the August 9 issue of the Indian publication, Bali, Indonesia, was ranked first, and Phuket, Thailand, was second. Palawan, known as the "last frontier" of the Philippines because of its beautiful natural surroundings, took third place.

The article highlighted Palawan's beautiful limestone cliffs and blue waters, specifically in El Nido and Coron, as well as the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, a Unesco World Heritage Site.Boracay, noted for its pristine white-sand beaches and crystal-clear waters, ranked fourth on the list.

The report centers on the island's White Beach, known for its appealing surroundings and spectacular sunsets, as well as its variety of water sports, lively nightlife, and plenty of dining options.

Other island destinations on the list include the Maldives; Langkawi, Malaysia; Havelock Island, India; and Jeju Island, South Korea.

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Times Travel, the travel publication of The Times of India, offers curated insights into prime worldwide destinations, with an emphasis on places that appeal to Indian tourists' cultural and travel preferences.

Source: Manila Times

New book surveys Metro Manila’s architectural landmarks

‘Architectural Guide Manila’ features the built heritage of the Philippines’ capital region with writings by architects and heritage advocates

Bianca Weeko Martin’s Architectural Guide Manila presents in style the built heritage of Metro Manila spanning the Spanish, American, and the contemporary periods. It is a handy book with short but informative essays accompanied by eye-catching images of buildings featured.

In her introduction, the Canada-based Filipino-Indonesian author relates how she fell in love with the country’s history and architecture and mentions her ancestral home in Baliwag, Bulacan, a still extant two-story house completed in 1934.

The recently launched book ‘Architectural Guide Manila.’

Published by the Berlin-based DOM Publishers, the book was launched on 11 May at the Manila Metropolitan Theater with a panel discussion featuring the author; architect Gerard Lico who contributed an article on brutalism and post-colonial architecture; architect and curator Peter Cachola Schmal; and Patrick Kasingsing of Brutalist Pilipinas.

They discussed heritage conservation projects and efforts in Manila as well as its built environment. Following the launch was a tour of Manila facilitated by the group Renacimiento Manila.

Apart from Lico’s essay, representative buildings from the Spanish to the American periods are discussed starting off with Intramuros including the Manila Cathedral and Fort Santiago, the historic Bahay Nakpil-Bautista, Paco Train Station, Luneta Hotel, the National Museum complex, and the Far Eastern University campus. Also featured are churches and chapels, old and new and structures of tropical modernism such as the Government Service Insurance System Complex in Pasay City and the Pacific Star Building in Makati City.

While many of the featured building are already written about in many other publications, the book’s strength lies on the feature on Metro Manila’s modernist and post-modernist structures. These structures are located in the cities of Pasay, Makati and Taguig.

Aside from Lico, the book’s other contributors include Singaporean scholar Joshua Tan, Aya Maceda of New York’s Parsons School of Design, Edson Cabalfin of Tulane University in Louisiana, Neferti Tadiar of Barnard College in New York, and Kasingsing.

Offering a fresh take on the architectural milieu of Metro Manila, the book is a perfect guide for a weekend stroll or an afternoon coffee in the Philippines’ capital region.

Source: Daily Tribune

Owner of land has two options against builder in good faith

Construction on your land by builder in good faith? What to do?

The facts are governed by Article 448 of the New Civil Code of the Philippines, which provides that:

"The owner of the land on which anything has been built, sown or planted in good faith, shall have the right to appropriate as his own the works, sowing or planting, after payment of the indemnity provided for in articles 546 and 548, or to oblige the one who built or planted to pay the price of the land, and the one who sowed, the proper rent. However, the builder or planter cannot be obliged to buy the land if its value is considerably more than that of the building or trees. In such case, he shall pay reasonable rent if the owner of the land does not choose to appropriate the building or trees after proper indemnity. The parties shall agree upon the terms of the lease and in case of disagreement, the court shall fix the terms thereof."

The aforecited law was explained by the high court in the case entitled Spouses Espinoza v. Spouses Mayandoc, GR 211170, July 3, 2017, where the Supreme Court, through Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta, stated:

"As such, Article 448 of the Civil Code must be applied. It applies when the builder believes that he is the owner of the land or that by some title he has the right to build thereon, or that, at least, he has a claim of title thereto. In Tuatzs v. Spouses Escol et al., this Court ruled that the seller (the owner of the land) has two options under Article 448:

(1) he may appropriate the improvements for himself after reimbursing the buyer (the builder in good faith) the necessary and useful expenses under Articles 546 and 548 of the Civil Code; or

(2) he may sell the land to the buyer, unless its value is considerably more than that of the improvements, in which case, the buyer shall pay reasonable rent, thus:

"The rule that the choice under Article 448 of the Civil Code belongs to the owner of the land is in accord with the principle of accession, i.e., that the accessory follows the principal and not the other way around. Even as the option lies with the landowner, the grant to him, nevertheless, is preclusive. The landowner cannot refuse to exercise either option and compel instead the owner of the building to remove it from the land.

"The raison d'etre for this provision has been enunciated thus: Where the builder, planter or sower has acted in good faith, a conflict of rights arises between the owners, and it becomes necessary to protect the owner of the improvements without causing injustice to the owner of the land. In view of the impracticability of creating a state of forced co-ownership, the law has provided a just solution by giving the owner of the land the option to acquire the improvements after payment of the proper indemnity or to oblige the builder or planter to pay for the land and the sower the proper rent. He cannot refuse to exercise either option. It is the owner of the land who is authorized to exercise the option because his right is older and because, by the principle of accession, he is entitled to the ownership of the accessory thing."

So, as a land owner, you have two options as provided under Article 448 of the New Civil Code, and these are: acquire the improvements after payment of proper indemnity, or oblige your neighbor to pay for the land.

However, one cannot compel the builder to buy the occupied portion, so he/she may pay instead a reasonable rent.

Source: Manila Times