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Fans of press photos shouldn't miss this place called Oarhouse the next time you are in Manila.

Oarhouse is a cosy bar/restaurant, founded in the mid-seventies by a retired U.S. Navy pilot by the name of Charles 'Chuck' Monroe, and thronged nowadays by photo-journalists in Manila. It's located within the bohemian district of Malate, three parallel streets away from the Roxas Boulevard-Manila Bay drinking holes near the US Embassy.

Last Friday night, AFP's Manila-based chief photographer Romeo 'Romy' Gacad bought me supper and walked me to Oarhouse located a few blocks away for a drink. The main aim was to look at the group exhibit of 60 photographs chronicling the week that was later enshrined as the State of National Emergency and Proclamation 1017.

This exhibit has also been dedicated to the memory of a colleague in Filipino Press, Arlie Gideon Nava, 35, a poet, storyteller and filmmaker, who passed away on April 4, 2006.

Among the photo-journalists who contributed to the exhibit are Ben Razon, luis liwanag, bahaghari, and gari buenavista.

It was Romy's first trip to Oarhouse after completing his one-year sabbatical in Malaysia. There, we chanced on AP Philippines' chief photographer Alberto 'Bullit' Marquez. Both the compatriots exclaimed at the photos: "Why all wide-angle?"

I noticed but one close-up shot stucked at an obscure corner among the 60 prints, though.

Photo courtesy of Oarhouse photographers

Time-lapse. It's only days after the above picture was taken that Romy and I came in to occupy that little roundtable at the middle. Bullit was seated next to ours.