AFP - Philippine authorities Thursday reacted angrily over "Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown's portrayal of Manila as "the gates of hell" in his latest novel. 
 
 The book "Inferno" includes a character who describes the capital as a city of horrible traffic jams, suffocating pollution, massive poverty and a thriving child sex trade. 
 
 The chairman of the government agency managing Manila, Francis Tolentino, sent a letter to Brown and his publishers criticising the "inaccurate portrayal of our beloved metropolis". 
 
 While the book is fictional, an excerpt on the American author's website stresses that "all artwork, literature, science, and historical references in this novel are real". 
 
 "I've run through the gates of hell," the character says after her experiences in Manila. 
 
 In his letter, copies of which were made public, Tolentino said he was "displeased" by the depiction of the capital, home to more than 1.65 million people. 
 
 He did not deny its huge slums and grinding poverty but said Brown had disregarded the strong Catholic faith of many residents as well as their "good character and compassion towards each other". 
 
 "Truly our place is an entry to heaven," the letter added. 
 
 Tolentino conceded this was not the first conflict between Brown and Manila. In 2006, the Manila city council banned screenings of the film adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code", saying it was offensive to the Catholic church. 
 
 Brown's works have also previously come under fire in the largely Roman Catholic Philippines, with bishops calling them "sacrilegious" for undermining church teachings. 
 
 However on cyberspace, some Filipinos were in agreement with the author's portrayal. 
 
 "It looks like (Tolentino) is the one who hasn't been to Manila," one person tweeted. 
 
 Last month, the government announced that despite years of economic growth, 27.9 percent of the Philippine population lived in poverty, a figure practically unchanged since 2006. ||||| 'Dan Brown has never been to PH' 
 
 Posted at 05/23/2013 5:47 PM | Updated as of 05/24/2013 12:54 PM 
 
 Manila needs massive rehab – new Manila mayor’s son 
 
 MANILA, Philippines -- American author Dan Brown has never been to the Philippines, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority's (MMDA) chairman, Francis Tolentino. 
 
 Tolentino told radio dzMM on Thursday that he browsed through records from the Bureau of Immigration and found out that Brown has never been to the Philippines. 
 
 “Kaya nagtataka ako kung bakit sinabi nyang pugad ito ng masasama,” he said. 
 
 Tolentino said he already wrote to the author, who describes Manila in his latest novel "Inferno" as the “gates of hell.” His office sent a letter through fax to Brown’s publisher and agent on Thursday noon. 
 
 “So he should have received it by now,” he told radio dzMM. 
 
 Tolentino wants the best-selling author to rectify his portrayal of Manila in his newest book, which is based on Dante's "The Divine Comedy." 
 
 For the MMDA chief, Manila is the “doorway to heaven” because of its religious beliefs. It is also where the “cradle of Catholicism” is found. 
 
 In his letter to Brown, Tolentino said: “More than your portrayal of it, Metro Manila is the center of Filipino spirit, faith and hope. Our faith in God binds us as a nation and we believe that Manila citizens are more than capable of exemplifying good character and compassion towards each other, something that your novel has failed to acknowledge. Truly, our place is an entry to heaven.” 
 
 In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Tolentino said: “Pinapalabas niya ang Metro Manila puro kadumihan. We surmise that Mr. Brown is not familiar with Manila or Metro Manila. [This is where the cradle of Catholicism is] as well as other religions.” 
 
 He also accused Brown of publishing lies. “Kahit fiction, ituwid naman nya. Ang balita ko pa, magiging bestseller na sa New York,” he said. 
 
 A wonderland? 
 
 Senator-elect JV Ejercito said, however, that it’s about time for the City of Manila to undergo a "massive rehabilitation." 
 
 “Napag-iwanan na talaga ang Maynila…Massive rehabilitation is needed, tanggalin ang red tape,” said Ejercito, a former mayor of San Juan. 
 
 Ejercito’s father, former President Joseph Estrada, has recently been elected as mayor of Manila. During his campaign, Estrada promised to bring back Manila to its former glory. 
 
 In "Inferno," the fourth part in Harvard art professor Robert Langdon’s adventures, one of the characters goes through "the gates of hell" in Manila. 
 
 The description of the city is from the first-hand account of one of the fictional characters, the messianic Dr. Sienna Brooks, who works with humanitarian groups. She goes to the Philippines for a mission to supposedly feed poor fishermen and farmers in the countryside. 
 
 She expects the Philippines to be a “wonderland of geological beauty, with vibrant seabeds and dazzling plains.” 
 
 But after setting foot in Manila, Brooks gapes in "horror" as she has "never seen poverty on this scale," slamming Manila’s "six-hour traffic jams, suffocating pollution, horrifying sex trade." 
 
 Tolentino, who is also the traffic czar, said Manila’s traffic is only around two hours long -- at most. 
 
 ‘Diabolic’ 
 
 But what got Tolentino really upset is the book's “religious insinuations” against Manila that may have a “negative implication” on the faith of Filipinos. 
 
 He called Brown’s account was a “diabolic description” of Manila. 
 
 This is not the first time that a Dan Brown book miffed Tolentino. In 2006, he wrote an article for the Manila Bulletin slamming "The Da Vinci Code," the book that catapulted Brown as a bestselling author. 
 
 Tolentino even asked local theaters not to show the movie version of the book, with Academy Award-winner Tom Hanks as Langdon. 
 
 This time, Tolentino wants Brown to come to the Philippines and realize that what he wrote in "Inferno" was wrong. 
 
 “Bisitahin nya ang Metro Manila, Makita nya ang hospitality ng Filipino,” the MMDA chief said.
– Manila officials were probably excited to learn that one of the characters in Dan Brown's latest sure-to-be blockbuster visits the city. That is, until they read the descriptions of the child-sex trade, pollution, and poverty, all of which prompted the character in Inferno to declare, "I've run through the gates of hell." Well. Manila official Francis Tolentino has written a strongly worded letter to Brown and his publisher complaining of the "inaccurate portrayal of our beloved metropolis" and demanding a correction of some kind, reports AFP. Tolentino even pored over Philippines travel records and declared that Brown has never visited the country. If he had, says Tolentino, Brown would know that instead of being the "gates of hell," Manila is actually ... wait for it ... the "doorway to heaven," reports ABS-CBN. (And people call Brown a hack.) No word yet in response from the Da Vinci Code author.