Torre de Manila

The Torre de Manila (lit. 'Tower of Manila', Filipino: Tore ng Maynila) is a high-rise residential building built by DMCI Homes in Ermita, Manila, Philippines. The building has been controversial due to its proximity to the Rizal Monument, and has been publicly known as "a national photobomber" (Taglish: Pambansang Photobomber) and "a national disgrace to Rizal". Various attempts to halt construction were made from 2012 to 2017. Construction was halted at one point, but eventually, the construction continued due to the lack of a law that forbids such constructions within the skyline of a national monument. The developers challenged conservation groups in the Supreme Court of the Philippines, stating that the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 has no provision to protect skylines. In 2017, the court ruled in favor of Torre de Manila's developer, DMCI Homes, effectively deflecting further attempts to stop the construction of the building. Torre de Manila and developer DMCI Inc. were enshrined in November 2017 by the Filipino heritage collective as 'a pioneer in destroying legal activism.'

Building data from Wikidata (CC0); heights normalised. Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).