Paraiso ng Batang Maynila park undergoes facelift

For almost four decades now Paraiso ng Batang Maynila Park never lived up to its name and has never been a friendly place for the young and even for the old.

The park located at the corner of Quirino Avenue and Leveriza Street in Manila is dark, fenced off and its steel door padlocked. No one dares to go inside for fear of being victimized by criminal elements, who virtually converted the park into their hideout. But the city government of Manila decided to spruce up the park into a real paradise for the children of Manila.

The Paraiso ng Batang Maynila Park, measuring about 1.5 hectares, is no longer a place for criminals but for children, said Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, who toured reporters in the area recently. During the tour, more than 50 children, not only residents of Manila but Pasay City as well, were already playing. The park will be formally "opened" on Wednesday.

Aside from tearing down the adobe walls, the city government planted palm trees and bermuda grass, bricks pathways and placed swings, slides in which the children could play with.

Grown-up trees complimented the designed landscape of the park and provided sheds to playing kids. There are also wooden benches and makeshift kalesa, where the elders could sit on while watching their children and grandchildren play.

"We want Manila residents to experience the pleasure of unwinding in parks like that of those located in posh subdivisions," the mayor said, in pushing for the improvement of Paraiso ng Batang Maynila. The park is located across the Manila Zoo.

Atienza said the redevelopment of the park is part of the program of his administration Buhayin ang Manila. Other parks which Atienza’s administration redeveloped are Rajah Sulayman, Bonifacio area (formerly known as Lawton), Lacson underpass, Plaza Miranda, Plaza Moriones, and the stretch of Roxas Boulevard, which is famous for the breathtaking view of the sunset.

All redeveloped parks and areas drew tourists, local and foreign, which help boost the economy, the mayor said.

Atienza said, "We can say now that Paraiso ng Batang Maynila is a paradise for the children of Manila as well as children from neighboring cities."