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Metro Manila, or the National Capital Region (NCR), is bursting at the seams, and some studies rank it as one of the most congested urban centers in the world.

While the government and the private sector are busy undertaking major infrastructure projects in the metropolis, they will not be enough to resolve the traffic congestion in the 619-square-kilometer (sq km)urban sprawl, whose daytime population swells to over 21 million.

Last year, a private gallery auctioned a rare, original handwritten letter by Gregoria de Jesus recounting the controversial Tejeros Convention of 1897 which led to the arrest, trial, and execution of her husband Andres Bonifacio. There was also a rare photograph of “Aling Oriang” dedicated to Jose P. Santos which she signed as “Gregoria de Bonifacio.”

The United States-China tit-for-tat trade tariffs has been dominating the international business news for over a year now. The trade spat has spooked global financial markets. It has led some traders and investors to believe that the row between the world’s two biggest economies will eventually cause a global economic slowdown.