Parks for a nation

The Luneta, or Rizal Park as it is officially known, is embedded in collective memories of generations of Filipinos. Last Monday marked the 50th anniversary of the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC), which developed and runs the Rizal Park and a number of key public parks in the country. The event was marked with a wreath-laying at the Rizal monument, the spiritual center of the 54-hectare green oasis.

The key participants were the members of the board of the NPDC including its chair, DOT Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez, Jr., vice-chair and NPDC executive director Dr. Juliet Villegas, and members, DPWH Sec. Rogelio Singson,  TIEZA head Mark Lapid, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, administrator, Intramuros Administration  Jose Capistrano, and Tourism Promotions Board COO Domingo Enerio III.

The wreath laying was marked by the sound of a gun salute. It is also the centennial of the Rizal monument itself, a product of an international competition for a suitable resting place for Dr. Jose Rizal. The history of the park goes back even further, but I’ll get to that later.

From the monument the directors walked to the eastern end of the sprawling park for the re-opening of a corner of the popular green space. They cut the ribbon to the Binhi ng Kalayaan Garden, the new incarnation of the old Halamanang Pilipino, which had fallen to disrepair and neglect before the current officials took over.

The Rizal Park has been constantly sprucing up and renovating ever since three years ago. Under the able leadership of Dr. Jett Villegas, the lush amenity has been repairing and revitalizing sections of the park one by one. According to director Villegas, this is with the aim of bringing back the park to its former glory and popularity in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.

Director Villegas and her staff have already reopened the colorful children’s playground near Taft Avenue, now heavily used by thousands of kids every day. The central fountain has also been fixed and reactivated. It entertains crowds daily with kinetic displays that burst into a spectacle of light and color in the evenings. The landmark flower clock from the ‘60s has also been brought back to life via the sponsorship of Hyundai. Park lights have been enhanced with solar panels and CCTVs now improve security for park goers.

I have an intimate knowledge of park and the process because my firm and I have been involved as design consultants — landscape architecture and urban design being our specialty. We entered the scene only after the initial successes of the playground, the fountain and the flower clock.

Collaborating with NPDC technical staff and director Villegas, and with constant consultation with Sec. Mon Jimenez, we have been assisting them in the preparation of an overall master plan for the revival and improvement of the park. The Binhi ng Kalayaan Garden is a result of that, along the completed relief map boardwalk and the Noli garden (where the Heidelberg fountain of Rizal is). Works in progress include renovations of the light and sound area, and the Chinese and Japanese Gardens.

Plans are underfoot for better park connections to the Taft LRT, bridges between the eastern and central sections of the park and more pedestrian links to the National Museum (and other museums in the district) Intramuros and the Ermita and Baywalk areas. Other projects and improvements will be better restaurants and comforts stations. A collaboration with the 2Go group for a travel kiosk to promote island tourism is underway in an underused area north of the monument.

All these improvements to Rizal Park are important because it is the Philippines’ premier open space, the green center of its historic capital, and witness to tumultuous events in the nation’s history. The Rizal Park’s story is also that of the NPDC. The NPDC is the entity tasked with the Rizal Park’s development and maintenance as the central green of the country. It is also in charge of other public parks that include the Paco Park nearby and the Pook ni Maria Makiling in Los Baños. The committee also has assisted other local government units like Baguio and Quezon City in developing its parks.

This year, the NPDC and the Rizal Park mark their 50th year. To celebrate this milestone the NPDC is preparing a book, Parks for a Nation: The Rizal Park and 50 Years of the National Parks Development Committee, covering the past, present and future of both.

The story of the Rizal Park and the NPDC goes back close to two centuries and this book chronicles the genesis and evolution of both in five main chapters filled with essays, archival images, illustrations, maps and plans. These chapters are interspersed with section breaks featuring photo and thematic essays and computer-generated graphics also paint a clear picture of the present park and its exciting future.

The book showcases the progress of the last three years of renovations, revitalization and evolution. The park’s renaissance in this short period is featured, as well as plans for even more improvements in the next three years to 2016.

The features the NPDC’s other parks and those previously under its mantle, or contemporary to it. These include, among others, Fort Santiago, the Liningan ng mga Bayani, Fort Santiago, and the forest park, Pook ni Maria Makiling in Los Banos. The book also includes profiles of the key personalities, political, social and artistic; who all have contributed to this fascinating story of Rizal Park and the NPDC. It completes its documentation of the Park and the NPDC with a look at contributions of the park and the NPDC to culture and the arts via its concerts and the two venues of the main amphitheater and the Paco Park. 

The final chapter of the book looks at building from a renewed park and committee with plans to bring back the mission of the NPDC closer to the intent of the pre-war years. This mission was first, to set up an urban park system for the capital; and second, and establishment of a national parks system countrywide based on the premise that parks and open green spaces are essential elements to improving and sustaining a high quality of life for all Filipinos.

The park’s re-awakening also has sparked moves to bring back the glory of the historical core of the city of Manila including the Intramuros as well as the adjoining districts of Binondo, Sta Cruz, Paco, Ermita and Malate. 

People are flocking back to the park in droves every day and in record numbers on holidays. Director Villegas and Secretary Jimenez hope to make the park a real attraction both to tourists because of its history but also to ordinary folk, the twelve million residents of the metropolis for whom the Rizal Park is their de facto Central Park. The two officials have been able to get the support from national and local entities involved — the DPWH, the MMDA and the City of Manila.

Rizal Park will soon re-emerge as the green landmark of the city and the country that it was 40 years ago. With a new master plan and enhancement it will also serve another purpose — as mitigation to climate change — acting as green lung to absorb pollution and lover temperatures and taking on water retention functions to address flooding. With all this too, it is hoped that Rizal Park will act as model for similar proper and sustainable development for all towns and cities, all this just as Dr. Jose Rizal continues to be a model for our evolution as citizens of a nation he loved and gave his life for. 

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Feedback is welcome. Please e-mail the writer at paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com. For more information on Rizal Park and the NPDC log on www.nationalparks.ph.