A writer questioned why the mainstream media quickly labeled ‘The Victor’ statue as iconic.
In his Facebook post, Wilfredo Garrido noticed that some news reports made an exaggeration in describing the 60-meter statue located on the border of Pasig and Quezon City.
The Victor was considered one of the tallest statues in the world, but Garrido was not impressed by its design and he believed that in its current state, he saw no reason to label it as ‘iconic’.
“How is this “iconic”? This 60-meter lump of metal in Pasig is said to be “taller than the Statue of Liberty” but it’s not half as majestic, just another example of avant-garde “art” lacking anatomical features that assaults your vision from far away. In short, an eyesore,” he wrote.
He even questioned the structural integrity of the said statue built by a real estate company.
Aside from its design, Garrido also mentioned the possible hazard of the said statue, including the possibility of attracting lightning.
“It’s by a private developer Robinsons. But how did it pass the Pasig City building official – considering that it is a traffic hazard and as pointed out in the comments also a lightning risk?” he said.
Meanwhile, several netizens defended the project, saying that experts handled the construction of the infrastructure.
“Palagay ko sir nasuri naman yung structural integrity ng nasabing statue. Hindi sya basta-basta matutumba kahit mahangin. May steel frame sya sa loob at nasuri na siguro yung bigat nyan at yung lupa na kanyang pinagtayuan. Hindi rin naman obstruction sa kalsada kaya wala siyang nilabag na traffic rules. Mas typhoon hazard pa nga in my opinion yung mga nagkalat na billboards sa EDSA. Pagdating sa pagiging lightning hazard, siguro naman na-assess na yan nung structural engineer since this is primarily structure and must follow the building codes of the country,” netizen Manalo commented.