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Historical buildings in danger as Manila to build Southern Access Link Express
Salex connects the existing Skyway to the corporation’s other superhighways and the old and new Manila airport whose construction is underway off Manila Bay
- PUBLISHED: Sat 1 Aug 2026, 3:02 PM
Along with hundreds of decades-old trees, many historical buildings and sites are being endangered by a highway being built at the heart of the Philippine capital of Manila.
A private corporation has won another permission to build a highway on two of Manila’s most important avenues that cuts across its old districts. The Southern Access Link Express or Salex connects the existing Skyway to the corporation’s other superhighways and the old and new Manila airport whose construction is underway off Manila Bay.
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50 heritage sites
Recent and current road and bridge projects in Manila are feared disrespectful of the city’s heritage sites. Its newest span, the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge, was built very near the old walled city whose vibrations from motor traffic may cause problems to Spanish-era structures in the vicinity.
In nearby Paco District, the Philippines’ most historic train station lies buried underneath Ang’s Skyway, its iconic neo-classic façade is crumbled and while its unequalled wrought iron grills and railings look like scrap. Manila’s old residents are not even given a chance to mourn its ruins as they zip by above it along a bland and utilitarian highway.
The Salex may do exactly the same to Manila’s Ermita and Malate districts where the 430-year old Malate Church, the 204-year old Paco Park, and the 442-year old Fort San Antonio Abad are located.
Not only would the Salex shake the muddy soil on which the district is erected, it would also cover up architectural gems such as the brutalist Cultural Center of the Philippines, the mid-century icon Ramon Magsaysay Center, the no-classical Philippine General Hospital and University of the Philippines-Manila complex, the Spanish-era Casa Tesoro and Syquia mansions, and the art-deco Miramar Hotel and Bel-Air Apartments.
Worried about the potential loss, conservation group Manileños for Heritage (M4H) are conducting a mapping activity to document potential heritage and environmental assets along the project corridor, which covers parts of Ermita and Malate. They have so far identified 50 historic and significant structures that would be adversely affected once Salex’s construction and full operationalisation begin. They also said increased motor traffic and noise would also affect the quality of life of residents in the area, home to many of Manila’s oldest families.
Presidential roads
Manila was the most devastated capital city at the end of the Second World War, along with its electric trams, old churches and heritage buildings. What was once a planned city that married old European charms to American efficiency – Manila used to be the Washington DC of the East as USA’s only formal colony – was haphazardly rebuilt that never quite captured its old beauty.
But there were two major Manila thoroughfares that regained their own charms after the devastation. One was earlier called Dewey Boulevard but was later renamed after a former Philippine president, the palm tree-lined Roxas Boulevard that runs along Manila Bay’s shoreline. It was where iconic restaurants, luxury hotels, yacht club and some of the country’s first skyscrapers were erected to take advantage of one of the world’s prettiest sunset-viewing spots.
Perpendicular to it is Quirino Avenue where the city’s zoo, hospital, oldest communities and prestigious universities are located or are near. Unlike most of Manila’s roadways, it was (until very recently), tree-lined, a haven during the worst of the Philippines’ summers.
Salex’s ongoing construction is decimating the trees and will bury the seaside road that remains a popular tourism spot as it was during more genteel times when horse-drawn carriages brought families for picnics and promenades.
Spaghetti highways
Billionaire Ramon Ang, CEO of one of the country’s biggest and oldest corporations, is bent on building elevated roadways that run through the Philippine capital like spaghetti noodles. The Salex would be another that would connect already existing and super-lucrative tolled highways and gateways, also owned and operated by his San Miguel Corporation, such as the current Manila International Airport and the prospective new international airport off Manila Bay.
Ang is so aggressive in his road-building ventures he even proposed to build a highway on top of the Pasig River on whose delta Manila was built. He was roundly opposed by residents for trying to cover up a waterway that served as muse to paintings, witness to love stories, and the setting of novels that inspired revolutions.
As a city that is prone to flooding when it rains heavily (much of Manila is below sea level), any new road must either be reclaimed from the sea or elevated. But it would also bury what remains of old Manila. Architect and international city planner Paulo Alcazaren has described the creeping blight as “Manila’s uglification.”