Makati’s 332nd Foundation Day: Jubilation like no other

If you happen to pass by Makati’s commercial district until to June 5, you’re bound to feel an unmistakable air of excitement. You’d have to be really dense if you didn’t notice a frenzied whir of activity – the spruced-up structures, the festive and colorful parades, a glittering fireworks display, an amalgam of pocket concerts, sports, art and other socio-civic activities.

So, what’s all the buzz about? The 12-day feast for the senses is all geared towards celebrating Makati’s 332nd Foundation Day. Although traditionally commemorated every June 1st, this year’s Organizing Committee, in cooperation with the City Government and its allies in the private sector, deemed it proper to extend the revelry and merry-making to almost two weeks.

The bulk of the celebration will be held at the Ayala Center, Makati Park and Garden, the Pamantasan ng Makati Grounds, Jupiter Street, Makati Coliseum, the City Hall Quadrangle and Kalayaan Avenue.

One of the eagerly-awaited highlights along with the recently-concluded Miss Makati Coronation Night and the Parangal ng Bayan is a Grand Parade on May 31, today. Among the parade’s participants are the Manila Polo Club, Vintage Cars Association, Volkswagen and Mini-Coopers Club, Miata Club, Mad Dog Motorcycle Club, Makati Medical Center, Lifeline, Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts as well as delegations from Makati’s various barangays. Expect the jubilation to spill over to the streets and even to the malls.

Joey Salgado, OIC, Information and Community Relations of the Makati City Government, explains this year’s thrust. "All the activities are meant to highlight how far Makati has developed – from the swampy marshlands of yesteryear to today’s bustling financial district," he stresses.

"This year’s 332nd Organizing Committee originally started out with a core group of five people, but we ended up with 20 by the time we laid out the final plan," Joey chuckles.

It seemed like a sensible scheme after all – utilizing the same strategy that helped transform Makati into the booming metropolis it is now. "We figured that by getting more people involved with the celebration, particularly those from the private and business sectors, we could muster more cooperation and get more helping hands," Joey elaborates.

Among this year’s eager helpers are Ayala Land, San Miguel Corp., the Makati Commercial Estates Corporation, Ayala Center Association, Today, Rockwell Land, and the Offices of Representatives Butz Aquino and Teddy Boy Locsin Jr.

No one could be more excited about this year’s bash than the Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay. Perhaps the city’s biggest advocate of the partnership scheme, he acknowledges the indisputable fact that city’s development was largely the result of solid ties forged with the private sector.

It’s written all over Makati’s flagships of modern infrastructure – the malls, the underground walkways – down to the less-obvious socio-civic, health and education programs.

For instance, did you know that Makati’s "yellow card program" grants free medical assistance to over 100,000 cardholders? This means that such cardholders can avail of free hospital treatment (from the Makati Medical Center, no less!) provided they stay within their income brackets. For this program alone, the City Government has earmarked a whopping P10 million per month.

For the record, Makati was also among the very first municipalities to tie up with Philhealth.

Lito Anzures, Information and Community Relations Consultant adds, "The Mayor gives the same attention to education. In case you didn’t know, he was a product of the public school system, and as his pet project, he granted full funding to the Pamantasan Ng Makati.

"This started the ball rolling on the ‘dualized system of education,’ again, a partnership with the private sector, in particular, such schools as the Ateneo de Manila and the Asian Institute of Management.

"We want to work out a curriculum more relevant to the needs of the times, one more akin to ‘real world’ experience. After all, as the Mayor stresses, the objective of education is not a diploma, but employment. That’s why he wants all the educational thrust to be geared towards developing entrepreneurial skills."

Lito adds, "The buzzword these days is information technology. All government offices are now connected with the Intranet. In time, we want to see the fruition of a Metronet concept – that is, Makati residents can have access to the City Government’s services via computer. This can greatly speed up the basic delivery of services, such as payment of taxes, etc. Makati is way, way ahead in terms of IT development, and has spent more for the technology over the years."

Long after the last bottles of champagne have been popped open and this year’s noise and revelry come to a close, expect the mayor and his cohorts to cook up another fruitful partnership. If all goes well, the Cinemanila should push through this August, through the cooperation of the Ayala Group.

"This early, Mayor Binay would like to thank the private sector, the many companies who extended their full participation and cooperation in this 12-day event," Lito ends.