DOT defends Rizal Park flagpole project

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Tourism (DOT) defended yesterday the P7.8-million flagpole project at Rizal Park.

In a statement, DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) “carefully studied and vetted” the project together with the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) and the two agencies came to the conclusion that the project was “reasonable and consistent with prevailing market prices.”

The flagpole renovation, Jimenez said, was proposed in 2011 as one of the commemorative projects of the NPDC, an attached agency of the DOT, for the 150th anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal on Dec. 30.

He said the goal of the project is to restore the Independence flagpole to its original height and reassert its importance in Philippine history.

The tourism chief pointed out that DOT and DPWH were instructed to make sure that the new structure could withstand severe weather conditions, so that the flag would never fly lower again.

He said restoring the Independence flagpole, which currently stands at 105 feet, to its original height of 150 feet requires the strengthening of the structural integrity and stability of the flagpole base, which involves a mechanically assisted pulley.

The flagpole where the Philippine flag was hoisted on July 4, 1946 is still at its original site in Rizal Park. The flagpole, originally 150 feet high, was damaged by a typhoon in 1995 and was never restored to its original height since then.