San Andres, Manila

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**San Andres**



City	Manila
Population (2000)	116,998
– Density	per km²
Area	km²
– Barangays	65
– Cong. Districts	5th District

San Andres Bukid is a district of the City of Manila in the Philippines, located at the southeastern portion of the city. San Andres Bukid includes what used to be the pre-World War II district of Singalong, portions of Malate and Paco districts.

San Andres Bukid shares its northern eastern border with Sta. Ana and Paco, while the southern portion is bordered with Pasay City, and Makati City. San Andres Bukid is under the 5th congressional district of Manila.

[edit] Profile

San Andres Bukid is the smallest district of Manila in terms of land area, but it is the second most densely populated district after Tondo. The district is generally a residential area with a majority of the residents living a little above the poverty line. A number of the district's older residents migrated into the area just after the war when it was still mostly agricultural land.

The much older residents of the district were mostly migrant families who belong to the lower middle class who originally settled in Tondo and found the the rough plebian lifestyle in Tondo less suitable in raising their children.

After the devastation of the south side of Manila after World War II, migrants from nearby provinces and from, the Visayas region migrated into Manila and settled in San Andres Bukid when much of it was still open space. The flow of settlers into the district was not planned nor expected to grow rapidly, resulting in a lack of urban planning as evidenced with irregular blocking, narrow roadways, and large blocks of houses accessible only through one meter alleys.

The only section of the district that has an assemblance of planning are the areas of what used to be Singalong district. It might have been absorbed into San Andres, but there is still a street called Singalong that runs parallel to Quirino Highway.

San Andres could be divided into two sections, divided by the Sergio Osmeña Highway. The eastern section and the western section. Singalong is what used to be the western section of San Andres Bukid while the eastern parts used to be territories part of Paco and Sta. Ana.

Local belief in Singalong among the old residents believe that the name was derived from an Tagalog word for cup shaped and made from a bamboo.

When the Spaniards came to award the area to Catholic missionaries, members of the Capuchin order were tasked to Christianize the local residents.

San Andres Bukid is largely a residential area with some sections classified as commercial. The district is home to two private schools, the St. Scholastica's College that was established by Benedictine Sisters in 1914 and St. Anthony's School, a parochial school beside the Parish of St. Anthony de Padua.

One of the most prominent landmark in San Andres is the now defunct but still standing Batch94 Internet Cafe* Batch94 site. The first internet cafe in San Andres to offer DSL acceess.

[edit] References

"By Sword and Fire: The Destruction of Manila in World War II, 3 February-3 March 1945" by Alphonso J. Aluit (1994) Bookmark, Inc. © 1994 National Commission for Culture and the Arts ISBN 971-569-162-5