I had written a number of times about this hidden garden with its playgrounds, fountains and its once famous pools. It is a heritage of civic construction from a more gracious past. It looks like the past is being revived quickly in this corner of Quezon City, and not a day too soon, as we all need to escape from the heat and oppressive pollution of the city.
The water concessionaire Manila Water together with MWSS, the Billion Trees Foundation, the government of Quezon City and the local community embarked on a program a few months ago to revive this once popular park. From a patch of grubby underbrush re-emerged an extensive children’s playground. Where what once lay before us were ruins of concrete and tin is now a wonderful picnic area and promenade. What used to be an empty silo is now a multi-purpose hall. The wonderful pools have been revived along with an adjoining pavilion and the Escoda Hall. Finally a new visitors’ center and mini-museum was inaugurated to honor the man originally responsible for all of this fifty years ago, Manuel Mañosa Sr. – director of the NAWASA.
The inauguration was attended by the three architect sons of Mañosa. They are the three famous Mañosa brothers: Jose, Bobby and Manny. All are icons of Philippine architecture and planning, having been responsible for a movement of nationalism in building that focused on the development and use of local forms and building materials. Among the noted buildings by them (together or individually) include the Sulu Restaurant, the San Miguel Head Office Complex, the Coconut Palace, Amanpulo Resort and close to four decades worth of architectural production, without which aspiring architects today would be sorely bereft of inspiration and the general public deprived of buildings that project true Filipino expression.
The senior Mañosa steered the water service through the difficult years of recovery from the war and through most of the ’50s and ’60s. On his watch, the utility succeeded to service a growing metropolis with water via expanded facilities and pump and storage depots. This expansion also provided the opportunity for the development of the large sixty-hectare Balara complex. Architect Manny Mañosa reminisces that his father was a well-traveled man who loved visiting parks and recreational facilities in America and Europe. He dreamed of creating such a place in Quezon City and called on his young sons to interpret his dreams. Those dreams saw reality in the 1950s in what was to become one of the most visited summer destinations in the country.
Balara was synonymous with summer in the ’50s and ’60s. Families made it a day destination and many a school child was bussed in regularly to learn about water and its filtration. The Balara Filters contained pools, playgrounds, picnic areas, gardens, fountains, an aquarium and an amphitheater.
The amphitheater and aquarium will soon be revived. The two were among the most visited corners of the facility. Movies were shown al-fresco and even musicals were held here. It was also a favorite venue for graduations.
Since then, Manila Water, MWSS and the local community have cleared the unkempt vegetation and cleaned up both areas. Quezon City residents will benefit soon from a new (old) addition for cultural performances and maybe even a revival of outdoor movies!
Manila Water head Tony Aquino along with director Hondrade of the MWSS led guests who included of Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte to the inauguration rites. The Mañosa brothers and the mayor cut the ribbon to the new Manuel Mañosa Sr. Hall and then perused the many archival pictures on display (some of which are re-printed in this column). A good number of the pictures are from the Mañosa family archives and show the Balara in its prime. The pictures and the memories they elicit are well worth the visit.
Plans were on display which showed the progress of the work implemented by the energetic Quezon City Parks Department. A master plan has also been commissioned and awaits full implementation in the course of next year. It helps that the Quezon City government under Mayor Belmonte and Congresswoman Maite Defensor are pushing for infrastructure development around the Filters that will improve access and security for the place. Metro Manila Development Authority Commissioner Bayani Fernando has also cleared Katipunan Road of illegal vendors. Maybe a properly designed and located district market would be a good idea to house these displaced entrepreneurs and to service residents of the area (especially those who cannot afford or feel comfortable shopping at Rustan’s and Shoppersville up the road).
The new Balara Filters Park is a welcome and much needed contribution to a city suffering from lack of green and clean spaces. We recover land from the sea then sell them to the highest bidder, but we do not add park space. We sell park land to mall developers, whose boxes of consumption generate traffic, noise and service requirements that compromise surrounding residential districts. We hang on to incompatible uses like fuel depots in the middle of the city, which blight the urban landscape and are a security and health threat. We "develop" but we do not enhance city life. Projects like Balara can mitigate this current inanity in urban planning.
The Balara revival may also spark revivals of neighbors like the UP campus and the whole stretch of Katipunan itself. One hopes that the DPWH’s plans of road expansion leave the wonderful acacia trees intact. It would be great to find out exactly what they have planned so citizens could make themselves ready. (The current C-5 expansion at the Blue Ridge end is causing a whole lot of inconvenience — understandable but at least we should be fully informed as they do in other cities abroad.)
The Balara Filters revival is also important as it shows that some local governments, civic and private bodies have acknowledged the importance of heritage – both the natural and built kind. The work of the Mañosa brothers, based on the vision of their father, honor both Filipino architecture and the legacy of a great civil servant. We all would benefit more today from men such as these, whose integrity was and is a badge of service and who let their actions – not their words, accomplishments – not their promises, embellish their public record.