As to buildings, Imelda Marcos was dubbed as afflicted with "edifice complex," indeed she had an obsession with large-scale constructions like the Philippines International Convention Center, the Film Center she ordered built for the Manila International Film Festival (an event that in itself was a mammoth affair), the Folk Arts Theater that was raised to house the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant (another mammoth undertaking), the Coconut Palace, and the Philippine Village Hotel (now Westin Plaza), all to be seen in the vast grounds of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Certainly, "Thrilla in Manila," the internationally projected boxing match that brought the then heavyweight champion Mohammad Ali to the Philippines, was a super-production intended to gain the New Society world-wide media attention.
Subalit ang unang akdang nakasulat sa prosa ay tila nalikha lamang noong siglo 17 at ito ay pamanang kolonyal ng prayleng Francisco Blancas de San Jose. Memorial de la vida cristiana en lengua tagala (1605) ang pamagat na Espanyol ng libro subalit ito ay kinatha sa wikang Tagalog. Nilalaman ng Memorial de la vida cristiana ang mala-sermong pagpapaliwanag sa bawat isa sa Sampung Utos ng Diyos sa prosang batbat ng talinghaga at nagpapamalas ng galing ni San Jose sa paghuli sa estilo ng mga Tagalog. Totoo na ang sinaunang mga Tagalog ay nagsasalita ng prosa sa kanilang pang-araw-araw na pakikipag-usap sa kanilang mga kabaranggay, kaya lamang ang kanilang prosa ay hindi pa isang anyo ng pagpapahayag dahil wala silang imprenta.