Hyundai and the National Parks Development Committee: Building Luneta Back - and Better

MANILA, Philippines - If you are anywhere over 30, you must surely have fond memories of Rizal Park as a family must-visit on weekends, if not your school’s requisite excursion place. In fact, no photo album then can really be “Filipino” without showing its owner beaming in front of the Rizal Monument, the Flower Clock, the Dancing Fountain, and the Floating Map, to name a few. Unfortunately, this 45-hectare pocket of green that rose around historic Bagumbayan field, where our National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal was martyred, has lost its public to the malls, having fallen into neglect and become the home of elements from the “underbelly” of society.

Things however have been shaking up as the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) has seriously taken up the challenge to give Rizal Park a complete facelift. Phase 1, which began in 2010 and is targeted to end this year, has seen the sprucing up of the Children’s Playground, the Floating Map of the Philippines, the Flower Clock, and the Heidelberg Garden, which will be renamed the Noli Me Tangere Garden. The Light and Sound re-enactment of Rizal’s death at the right of the Rizal Monument will also be revived, with a newer, more sophisticated feel. Phase 2, which is foreseen to be accomplished by 2013, includes the area near the fountains and the Chinese and Japanese Gardens.

The famous Dancing Fountains now feature a more stylish laser light play, while the Floating Map of the Philippines has become more interactive with the construction of an S-shaped boardwalk on which visitors can take a virtual tour of the islands, with the help of “open classrooms” with tourist guides giving mini-lectures on the country’s different regions. Around it, in celebration of Rizal’s 150^th birthday, is a heritage diorama exhibition that features highlights of our National Hero’s life, from his birth in Calamba, to his exile in Dapitan, to his final imprisonment in Intramuros.

The battle cry is “Building Back, Better.” According to NPDC Executive Director Juliet Horfilla Villegas, “We have found good partners from the private sector, like Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), multi-awarded Olympics artist/sculptor Joe Datuin, and the Manila Hotel, who quickly answered the call of our President to engage in public-private partnerships. We are not looking at big-time physical developments. It can start with HARI’s funding of the renovation of the clock, whose new face was designed and executed by Joe Datuin; the execution and installation of Datuin’s two new sculptures; and the landscaping of the peripheral areas of these three new landmarks. Manila Hotel, on the other hand, has given us a portion of its promenade, which we will light up and improve in preparation for the performance of the famous Cirque du Soleil. We envision that area to be an international venue for big shows like this, and showcase the Philippines as a tourist destination, like the way Macau and Singapore do it, or even better. We hope that the initial support of these two companies will inspire others to do the same. Our message to them is Be a Part of History.”

(from left) HARI Vice Chairman Conrad Marty, Madame Sun Mi Kim, wife of Ambassador Lee Hye-Min; HE Korean Ambassador Lee Hye-Min of the Republic of Korea; HARI President and CEO Fe Perez-Agudo; HARI Chairman Edward Go; Department of Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim; HARI Chairman Emeritus Richard L. Lee; NPDC Executive Director Juliet Horfilla-Villegas; MMDA General Manager Corazon Jimenez; and Olympic artist/sculptor Jose Datuin.

Expect better things to happen for this new generation of Filipinos, promises Ms. Villegas. To address security issues, the Philippine National Police has designated a special group of Tourism Oriented Police (TOP Cops) who are also trained as tourism information officers. Director Villegas has swept the park of its unsavory elements and is reaching out to accredit street vendors who ply the park with their goods. The goal is for these vendors to sport a uniform look and be trained as tourism information officers. And since the park is at the center of other national treasures, the NPDC has devised a linking tour to the National Museum, the Planetarium, the National Library, the National Archives, Intramuros, the Bay area and even Ocean Park – much like the Singapore Hop-on Bus, but using Old World Filipino means of transport, like the tranvia, the popular kalesa, and the elegant karuwahe at only P50 per ride.

Activities are going to be more upbeat, with the Dancing Fountain and Floating Map areas spruced up to host major events; and with the holding of job fairs, videoke weekends, and open air concerts. “We are also beefing up the maintenance,” assures Director Villegas. The NPDC is bent on not having Rizal Park fall into neglect again. “Malls only became an option because our public park has not been well-kept,” she continues. “By sprucing up Rizal Park, we give people a choice – and a better one at that. When you go to the mall, you tend to spend. Here we offer many interesting attractions for free and there’s much room for interaction and storytelling among family members and friends. You can stroll around, eat popcorn, lay your mat on the ground for a picnic, or move on to the more high-end areas nearby. Last March, when the HARI Run for a Cause at the Quirino Grandstand was over, families just sat under the shady areas in the park to eat their baon together. And they were looking for more! Now we are giving people a place. We are giving the Park back to them. That’s what we call good governance – value-for-money investment by the government and private corporations investing in 54 hectares of park area that can draw in millions of local and international tourists!”