• Quezon City

    Remembering the Scouts

    Recently, the nation and the Boy Scouts not only in the Philippines but also elsewhere around the world commemorated perhaps one of the most tragic stories in the annals of Boy Scout history. It was to commemorate that fateful day on July 28, 1963 when Flight 869 of United Arab Airlines, (the precursor of today’s EgyptAir) en route to Greece for the 11th World Jamboree of the international Boy Scouts, crashed into the sea off the coast of a village called Madh, near Mumbai (Bombay as it was known before) in India. The flight killed all 63 people on the plane, including the captain, crew, and the 24-member Philippine contingent…

  • Quezon City

    The Mall of Willie

    If you were one of those who watched Willie Revillame during the past few years, even on a casual basis, there was no way you would not have known that mall he was always advertising. You know, the one that bears his name, the Wil Tower Mall, which actually opened last September 2013. Technically, the mall is not exactly his as this mall was brought about by a joint venture between him and real estate firm Vista Land, which is owned by Revillame’s longtime friend and patron, former Senator Manny Villar. Another thing is that it is not just strictly a shopping mall but a commercial and residential complex of…

  • Quezon City

    The Balay and the Samar House: where the opposing home bases lie

    If you’ve been reading the news these days about the Noynoy Aquino administration, you probably heard about the opposing camps in his administration: the Balay Group and the Samar Group. While The Urban Roamer does not dwell on all this political talk and intrigue, I thought it would be interesting to devote some space on this blog today to know about the home bases of these camps, after whom these groups were named in the media.