10/06/2026
“FORT SANTIAGO, FOREVER!” MAKA-BAYANIHAN WALKING TOUR
A 2-hour walking tour designed by “WALKING WITH THE MANILA MAHAR-LIKHA” (WWTMM).
***IMPORTANT NOTE***
[This is a SPECIAL CHARITY FUNDRAISING VERSION of our “FORT SANTIAGO, FOREVER!” guided tour. In this regard, we categorize this particular tour event as a “MAKA-BAYANIHAN” Walking Tour package, in order to differentiate it from our regular (and non-charity/fundraising) “MAKA-BAYAN” Walking Tours.
For this particular round of “FORT SANTIAGO, FOREVER! MAKA-BAYANIHAN WALKING TOUR” events, ALL TOUR PROCEEDS will be donated to the victims of the recent Magnitude 7.8 Earthquake which heavily affected people in Sarangani Province, and other areas in Mindanao, on Monday, June 8, 2026.]
REGISTRATION: 600 PhP per ‘Maka-Bayanihan’ tour participant
(Note: Tour Rates include FORT SANTIAGO Entrance Fees)
**The tour is FREE for children 4 years old and below.
***Complimentary bottled water for all registered guests.
BREAKDOWN OF TOUR PROCEEDS:
500 PhP – Amount of Donation per tour participant
75 PhP – Fort Santiago Entrance Fee
25 PhP – Bottled Water
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600 PhP – TOTAL REGISTRATION PER PARTICIPANT
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AVAILABLE SCHEDULES:
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM, FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2026 [INDEPENDENCE DAY TOUR]
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM, SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2026
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM, SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2026
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SUMMARY:
Tour Title: “FORT SANTIAGO FOREVER! – MAKA-BAYANIHAN WALKING TOUR” by WWTMM.
(This is a special charity fundraising version of the “FORT SANTIAGO, FOREVER!” guided tour.)
Tour Duration: Two (2) hours, approximate duration
Tour Locations: Fort Santiago/Plaza Roma/Manila Cathedral
Tour Guide/s: To be assigned from our selection of competent guides
LIST OF INCLUSIONS
1.) Competent Tour Guide
2.) Entrance Fee to FORT SANTIAGO.
3.) Complimentary Bottled Water for all tour participants.
4.) Each tour participant represents P500 Donation to the June 8, 2026 earthquake victims.
5.) Surprise freebies…
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LIST OF FOUNDATIONS AND/OR ORGANIZATIONS that donations shall be coursed through:
1.) Angat Buhay
2.) ABS-CBN Foundation
3.) GMA Kapuso Foundation
For transparency purposes, all tour proceeds shall be posted on our official pages, “THE MANILA MAHARLIKHA” (primary) and WALKING WITH THE MANILA MAHARLIKHA (secondary). The Names of Donors (‘Maka-bayanihan’ tour participants) shall also be listed, unless ‘Anonymous’ is preferred. Screenshot/s of the actual transaction/s transferring proceeds to the chosen foundation will also be posted in our pages.
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*** SEND US A MESSAGE FOR HERITAGE-RELATED COLLABS, AND AWESOME PARTNERSHIPS! ***
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ABOUT “FORT SANTIAGO, FOREVER!” MAKA-BAYAN WALKING TOUR
This tour focuses on one particular heritage area located in the Walled City of Intramuros, and it just so happens to be the most famous: none other than Fort Santiago, the storied Spanish military stone fort.
Taking only a couple of hours from start to finish, “Fort Santiago, Forever!” is short and sweet, but it still remains a comprehensive guided tour that one could attend within Old Manila. This tour is perfect for people wanting to preview our popular brand of guided tours but only has a couple of hours to spare.
“Fort Santiago, Forever!” is so named to indicate the timeless nature of the place, from its origins as the ancient port city of the Kingdom of Maynila that was ruled by the Tagalog rajahs, to the three centuries of Spanish colonization, to the American Era, the Second World War, all the way up to the modern times.
The basic itinerary represents one of the most essential tours taking place on a daily basis at the Spanish-built fort. This is also the foundation of many specialized guided tours now being done at the Walled City.
To achieve a no-frills tour package, we aimed to condense everything right down to the very essentials. The nature of the tour sets it apart from our more “deluxe” or premium oriented packages. The result is a tour that is both light and lean but still packs quite a punch, especially in delivering history discussions.
As guided tours go, “Fort Santiago, Forever!” may very well be spartan; lean, mean, and highly effective.
But there weren’t spartans in the Philippines, this is why we call it “Maka-bayan”. And the name is very fitting.
{“MAKA-BAYANIHAN” is the designation we assigned to the Charity Fundraising version of the same tour...}
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Here’s the “FORT SANTIAGO, FOREVER!” list of sites to be visited:
Fort Santiago Historical Stone Marker
Almacenes Reales, Ruins of the Royal Warehouse
The Ruins of the American Army Barracks
View of Baluartillo de San Francisco Javier
View of the Intramuros Golf Course & Club House
Fort Santiago wall walk, historical Manila Bay side
The Inner Defensive Moat
The Stone Gates of Fort Santiago
Plaza de Armas / The Inner Courtyard
Rajah Sulayman Theater
Ruins of the Red Brick Barracks
Statue of Dr. Jose Rizal
The Chapel Cell
“Last Walk to Martyrdom”
Memorial White Cross
Baluarte de Santa Barbara
iMake History Fortress Museum
The Historic Dungeons
Falsabraga Media Naranja
Panoramic view of the Binondo Skyline
Fort Santiago wall walk, Pasig River side
View of the Pasig River Esplanade
Intramuros Visitor Center
BONUS TOUR AREAS!
Plaza Roma
Statue of King Charles IV
A visit to the Manila Cathedral
Facades of Palacio del Gobernador
Facades of Ayuntamiento de Manila
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*** SEND US A MESSAGE FOR HERITAGE-RELATED COLLABS, AND AWESOME PARTNERSHIPS! ***
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🎆 ABOUT J.R. ARELLA, HERITAGE STORYTELLER
Here we have the entry-level tour “FORT SANTIAGO, FOREVER! MAKA-BAYAN WALKING TOUR” (“MAKA-BAYANIHAN” is the charity fundraising tour version), as interpreted by a professional who has mastered the art of heritage storytelling, a veteran of several thousand museum tours who is fondly referred to as the "Ultimate Museum Guide" by those in the know, someone who had served as the National Museum of the Philippines’ foremost Museum Guide and Protocol Officer. After a decade of public service at the National Museum, he bid farewell to the institution and decided to strike a path on his own in order to become a freelance tour guide in Manila. For the past five years he has been giving walking tours at the historic Walled City. He is also a licensed professional teacher but whose preferred academia are these hallowed historic grounds within which he is most at home, and whose chosen advocacy is to promote 'Museum-education-for-all.’ He is a career visual artist and Filipino Heritage Storyteller, Mr. J.R. Arella.
At the beginning of the year 2025, Mr. Arella and WWTMM first launched the now immensely popular “SIX MUSEUMS, ONE GUIDED TOUR”, which literally visits six museums and several other sites within the Walled City. This unique tour experience has since drawn hundreds of guests and tour participants. This itinerary has evolved naturally from Mr. J.R. Arella’s original “THREE MUSEUMS, ONE GUIDED TOUR.”
🎆 J.R. ARELLA, AS TRAINER FOR VOLUNTEER AND PROFESSIONAL TOUR GUIDES
During his time at the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP), Mr. J.R. Arella authored, and served as primary organizer and Host/Lead Trainer of what became known as the “THREE-DAY TOUR GUIDING SEMINAR WORKSHOP FOR GUIDES & DOCENTS.” This was a recurring event organized by the NMP. This later on became the foundation of similar events that Mr. Arella has hosted in many other institutions. His initial efforts have seen this Seminar-Workshop become a great success, which has since served several batches of aspiring amateur and professional museum guides. Mr. Arella’s goal is to continue designing meaningful tour experiences and similar lecture-events pertaining to “Heritage Storytelling.”
Several institutions have already invited Mr. J.R. Arella’s to serve as resource speaker and trainer for aspiring and volunteer tour guides, such as “Likas Morong”, the organization residing at the Municipal Museum of Morong, Rizal. Aside from this, he has also presented his Seminar Workshop for Guides to college students at the Philippine Normal University (PNU). He was also invited as speaker at lecture series organized by the Museum Volunteers of the Philippines (MVP). In the year 2024 alone, Mr. Arella has been invited to guest in a number of arts and heritage-related programs such as Ms. Lisa Macuja’s “ART 2 ART” show, Bro. Jun Baanaag’s “DR. LOVE” radio show, and Mr. Ahwel’s Paz’ “BYAHE NI AHWEL.” In 2025, Mr. Arella had the honor of having notable and high-profile guests attending his guided walking tours held at Intramuros. One of the most prominent would be U.S. Senator William Harold Dodd, among many others.
🎆 WALKING WITH THE MANILA MAHARL-LIKHA [WWTMM]
For more than fifteen (15) years now, Mr. J.R Arella has been doing his own unique brand of intellectual guided tour that was formerly available only to a very select few, mainly V.I.P. guests and celebrities, and local and foreign dignitaries, but is now open to the general public for the very first time. His is a walking tour unlike any other for it is by equal measure an exercise of the body and of the mind, as well as the oft enslumbered patriotic soul. It is a memorable experience that could only be described in one way: "Walking With The Manila Mahar-likha".
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Please Like & Follow WALKING WITH THE MANILA MAHARLIKHA and THE MANILA MAHARLIKHA pages. Send us a message, for inquiries and reservations. You may also e-mail us via
[email protected], or contact us at these cell numbers: 09271368281/09623954618.
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📸 Intramuros Tour Photos © Jesusito R. Arella, Jr., & WWTMM [2023, 2024, & 2025]
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*** SEND US A MESSAGE FOR HERITAGE-RELATED COLLABS, AND AWESOME PARTNERSHIPS! ***
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📺 WATCH
1.) J.R. Arella founder of Walking With The Manila Mahar-likha (WWTMM) guesting at “Art 2 Art” hosted by ‘Ballerina ng Bayan’ Ms. Lisa Macuja Elizalde:
Copy/Paste YouTube LINK:
https://youtu.be/3n-QunvF6-4?si=JBTQmu0n7gQuOFKW
2.) Heritage Storyteller J.R. Arella of WWTMM guesting at TV5/True FM’s “Dr. Love” radio show hosted by Bro. Jun Banaag:
Copy/Paste YouTube LINK:
https://youtu.be/IJDZ5Gry8vE?si=U8wP_gqe2SIWlZHt
[Interview proper starts at minute 25:00 of the video clip.]
Copy/Paste Facebook LINK:
https://web.facebook.com/share/v/6Gqb2U5kt5iswixs/?mibextid=oFDknk
[Interview proper starts at minute 40:00 of the video clip.]
