Manila

Nearly $10 million was spent on the Palace in the Sky south of Manila. Imelda Marcos forced farmers out and then hired more than a thousand workers to finish the ill-fated mountaintop estate in time for a visit by Reagan, who was a no-show. Imelda became distracted, work stopped, and the pet project turned to ruins in a spectacular display of governance gone wild.

No wonder Filipinos welcome their new president with open arms, cheering him on as he guns down drug lords with glee. He may be a wolf with a different set of fangs, but his rampant ambitions to industrialize while conquering crime somehow match the mindset of this island nation ready to sell its soul to the Chinese or anyone else who comes along.

You don’t want to be an animal here, and you don’t want to be a scavenger. You don’t even want to work in the charming Sarao jeepney factory, slated to close in no time. One Smokey Tour will take your breath away and turn your stomach into knots, with the creepy feeling that America was once again the culprit behind it all. Think you understand poverty after all those riches were squandered away? Guess again.

Here’s my photo essay on Manila.