Intro

Good day everyone, good day Prof! I am Jhonea Manalad from Group 2 and our chosen place is
Bonifacio Global City or BGC.
When we hear BGC, what comes first into our mind? Anong naiisip natin agad sa about sa BGC?
Right, so yung mga sinabi niyo are mostly how we picture BGC. ‘Di lang tayo dito, kundi rin ng
ibang tao no.
BGC is a city that works. Why? BGC is composed of different establishments such as multi-
national companies and retail outlets, high-rise residential properties, recreational establishments.
But of course, every city has their own history and BGC is no exception to this.
This lively and busy city eh hindi naman talaga as it is until the 21st century came or let’s say
napakalayo ng itsura and purpose ng BGC before. Let me give you a walkthrough on how BGC
reached its wealthy and lively image today.

In 1902, the land na nakilala natin as BGC was actually acquired by the US Government. During
that time, we were still under the American Colonial Period. They turned this land into a camp or
military base and named it Fort William McKinley.

Going on, this image shows how BGC looks like in 1923. As you can see puro lang talaga siya
lupain. Those na parang kala mo bahay were still military bases that were built in 1902.

The Americans’ possession in this land ended in 1949. Years later after we had our independence
in 1946. They surrendered this land to the Philippines. This image shows some Philippine
soldiers in their training sa Fort McKinley.

And in 1957 Fort McKinley was made the permanent headquarters of the Philippine Army under
the leadership of Gen. Alfonso Arellano of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and was later
renamed Fort Bonifacio, after Andrés Bonifacio, whose father, Santiago Bonifacio, was a native
of Taguig.

Following this, portion of the area was converted into a cemetery. One of the most iconic
landmarks in Bonifacio Global City is the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.
Established in 1960, it is where soldiers who died during World War II were laid to rest.
So years passed by before BGC was up for development. Or like before magkaroon ng
development plans sa Fort Bonifacio. Tulad nga ng sabi ko, not until the 21st century. This
happened in 2003 when Ayala land and Evergreen Holdings partnered with Bases Conversion
and Development Authority or (BCDA).
BCDA is a development corporation vested with corporate powers under Republic Act (RA)
7227 (Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992), signed into law by former President
Corazon C. Aquino last March 13, 1992. Mandated to help strengthen the Armed Forces while
building great cities, BCDA remains as a major force in creating economic opportunities in the
country—through its establishment of integrated developments, dynamic business centers and
vibrant communities.
Although this project was initially led by Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (a private
group under first pacific company-hongkong based) and the BCDA in 1995.
They formed a joint venture called Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation (FBDC) where
Metro Pacific bought 55% stake and the rest was held by BCDA. This made Metro Pacific the
controlling stake in FBDC.
The FBDC's landmark project was conceived as Bonifacio Global City, a real estate development
area meant to accommodate 250,000 residents and 500,000 daytime workers and visitors.
Unfortunately, this project was delayed due to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. This includes
East Asia and South East Asia. So, we’re affected.
At yun nga nastop yung project until 2003 when Ayala Land and Evergreen Holdings purchased
the Metro Pacific’s controlling stake in FBDC
This started the massive developments in BGC. Isa nan ga dito yung Bonifacio High Street.
FBDC introduced the Bonifacio High Street to the public in 2007. Bonifacio High Street forms
the physical core of Bonifacio Global City and is designed as a three-by-three matrix of high-
tech offices and residential buildings, retail outlets and pedestrian-friendly roads and walkways.
Bonifacio High Street is the first ever shopping center in the country to introduce the main street
concept.
It was soon developed as High Street Central in 2012 to accommodate more visitors and more
residents na mostly syempre yung mga may kaya since it is the target market of Ayala when they
established the Bonifacio High Street and because of this, it opens a lot more opportunity for
investors, local and foreign, to establish their businesses. Kasi nga, there is a low chance na
malugi sila eh given that BGC was planned to be a highly urbanized district.
In the same year Mind Museum was opened to the public. The Mind Museum is a world-class
scientific museum that offers a legendary educational experience, encouraging you to explore
further into its amazing learning areas. It has five galleries: Atom, Life, Earth, Universe, and
Technology. The trip to the museum will take you on an incredible journey of scientific
discovery. Isa ito sa mga dinadayo hindi lang ng mga taga Taguig or nearby cities but also by
other people na nakatira sa malayo. May it be during educational trips or ….
Mind Museum was planned by the Bonifacio Art Foundation, a non-profit organization and
helped by some private corporations and individuals in order to launch. Kasama pa rin dito ang
Ayala, Mr. Mariano John L. Tan Jr. is the foundation's auditor. He has also been a member of the
board of directors of Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation since April 2003. Vice chairman
of the board of United Laboratories, Inc.

2 years later, foreign investor led by Anton Huang contructed the Central Square. Central Square
is a premium retail and lifestyle destination in the heart of Bonifacio Global City (BGC), located
at Bonifacio High Street Central. Central Square officially opened in June 2014. It contains 3
retail floors, 2 basement floors with a supermarket, parking spaces, and one cinema floor. It
contains a mix of global high-end fashion brands and specialized food concepts. It is also known
as a mall of flagships and firsts such as Hamleys, Acca Kappa, Diptyque, Pottery Barn, Salad
Stop, Baskin Robbins, M&S Food and Shake Shack.
-Hamleys (British multinational toy retailer),
-Acca Kappa (luxury brand made in Italy),
-Diptyque (French perfume house),
-Pottery Barn (American upscale home furnishing store chain) ,
-Salad Stop (Singaporean food chain),
-Baskin Robbins (American multinational chain of ice cream and cake),
-M&S Food (British retail clothing and food companies.)
-Shake Shack (American fast casual restaurant chain)

The following year, dito naman nagbukas ang Uptown Mall. Uptown mall is nasa northern ng
High Street located in Uptown Bonifacio. The area is near the zone where the British, Japanese,
and American international schools, and other local schools are located. This also surrounded by
different residential condominiums, (Uptown Park suites, Uptown Ritz), mixed use business, and
commercial developments. Uptown Mall was developed by Mega World Corporation na
pagmamay ari ni Mr. Andrew Tan who is also the owner of the Alliance Global which runs the
Emperador company.

So far, we are now witnessing how globalization and market integration contributes to the
economy of a certain city or a district such as BGC.
Next, in 2018, the final installation in Bonifacio High Street. The One Bonifacio High Street One
Bonifacio High Street, located along 5th Avenue landmark five-star hotel Shangri-La at The Fort,
and posh residential tower The Suites by Ayala Land Premier, is a stunning five-level lifestyle
mall that is home to exciting additions to BGC’s retail line-up: fashion powerhouse Zara, New
York’s famous M Bakery and Wolfgang’s Steakhouse, and Instagram-worthy Hong Kong Café
Elephant Grounds, as well as an art-deco inspired, curated dining hall, Food District Signatures
by the Foodee Global Concepts Group.