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. 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. 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. 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 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.
– 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.