RIZAL PARK, A DREAM COME TRUE

The architect drew the plans but let the “real” architect tell his story.

NOBODY expected the beautification of what we now call Rizal Park, the Luneta and adjacent parks. Least of all, I. If someone had told me it could be done, I would never have believed it. But it is there for all to see. No single individual can claim credit for it – it is the product of community togetherness in something good for everybody. It was built by people of all political persuations through two different administrations. Warring political have joined hands to push the project.

The original parks development body was formed during the administration of President Garcia. At that time, the chairman was, of course Mrs. Garcia. Mrs. Macapagal was vice-chairman. It was understanding, then, that because of the proximity of the 1961  elections, whoever won, the project would go through. As it happened, President Macapagal won. But the parks idea was shelved.

Yeba’s Ideas

Meantime, Mayor Antonio Villegas has his own ideas. He wanted to develop Rizal Park from the seawall to the monument and on. By 1963, after that infamous pylon on top of the monument was removed, there was a clamor for improving Rizal monument, then disfigured by the removal of its artificial top hat. It was at this point that the original beautification efforts started. Believed it or not, the movement was born at the Country Bake Shop during one of those morning coffee sessions.

Albert’s 500

Then Congressman Justo Albert of Manila had an idea. Why did not I ask then President Macapagal to release hisP50,000 pork barrel. He would give all of it tome to start beautifying the monument. I countered by asking Mr. Albert to give P500 for a starter. No sooner said than done – he pulled his wallet and took out a blank check on which he wrote the original P500 for the development of the monument grounds. If I remember right, Juan T. David gave P100 and some other people chipped in to make the amount P700. That was late October 1963. The work started in earnest on November 2, 1963.

The original idea was to clean the monument itself and put a few flower pots to give it some respectability. Then Library Director Carlos Quirino was commissioned to buy the flower pots. After the idea was published in the press, money started flowing in. We were stuck. We had to go ahead and spend what had accumulated. At this point, we prevailed upon Architect Angel Nakpil to help with plans and A.U. Miranda (construction man) to furnish labor and expertise at cost. We started cementing the floor of the monument which up to then was muddy in the rain and dusty at summer, a convenient public midden shed for the naughty. Lights came next. Then the apron to the monument from Roxas Boulevard.

The Donors

At one point, A. U. Miranda was begging me to allow him to be relieved. He had other jobs that were being held up. Nakpil was just then becoming enthusiastic. He suggested we reform the flagpole which was by then such an ugly thing beside a spruced up monument. The grass lawn around the monument was donated by Wack-Wack Golf and Country Club, a bright idea of Potenciano Ilusorio. Labor and materials were donated.

The rest is history Mayor Villegas gave up his own plans. Mrs. Evangelina Macapagal joined the action by organizing the National Parks Development Committee, sanctioned by an Executive Order. I served as Vice-Chairman inspite of my personal differences with President Macapagal. Mrs. Macapagal gave the fund drive a push. There was no more stopping for the project. The area behind the Quirino grandstand was done by contract through public bidding. The grandstand was reformed and completed. The elevated area, or phase II was rushed.

First Ladie’s

Before this could be finished, another election came around. Macapagal lost to President Marcos. In 1966, Mrs. Marcos succeeded Mrs. Macapagal. I stayed on the heart of the project started in earnest – this is the area behind the Rizal monument. Mrs. Marcos finished the job left by Mrs. Macapagal – the two original areas started during the Macapagal administration needed completion.

By 1966, the pace of the work was never pitch, some half a million pesos dig eaten up by the project every month. Then, the Marcos committee become ambitious- Fort Santiago and the Paco Cemetery had to be done too, Mayor Villegas chipped in to develop Plaza Fergusson. “Libingan ng mga Bayani” originally executed under the Macapagal Administration was improved upon by 1966. By 1970, Plaza de Roma in front of the  Roman Catholic Cathedral was beautified to complement Fort Santiago. Then, Rizal Park had to be connected to Fort Santiago and by doing that, Roxas Boulevard was stretched from the Legaspi monument.

The money that went into the Rizal Parks development and the beautification of other areas in the Manila area came from government corporations, private business houses, individual donors among the so-called affluent society, taxi drivers, cocheros, students and plain citizens. The money came in centavos, pesos, hundreds of pesos and hundreds of thousands.

Even now, the park is under continuous improvement. New fountains have to be built. Landscaping must be improved – plants die or succumb to the weather. Trees must be planted for shade. Lights must go up to correct earlier errors of lighting. Every other week, new things may be noticed. A park is never finished – that we know now.

Today, Rizal Park is used by people of all walks of life, the richest and the poorest. The Park grants no privileges to the wealthy, neither does it tolerate vandalism among the poor. It is a people park in every sense of the word. It boasts of clean toilets, the best security in the Greater Manila area and, spotless cleanliness 24 hours a day. People appreciate the Park. They help keep it clean and orderly. Common crimes seldom happen in the park, serious ones almost never.

Rizal Park is not just a park. It is also a social experiment. Its complement of some 1000 persons who labor 24 hours a day in three shifts are representative of our society. There are the volunteer workers who are professionals or businessmen. There are the police characters, the aged, the deaf, the ex convicts and workers who owe no one the jobs they hold today.

No One Man

Many people claimed having played leading roles in its completion. I am amused to read some of the more fantastic ones. The truth is that it is the labor of many people – not the product of one mind or one direction. It is both a government institution and a private enterprise.

Today, the park boasts of a park for the blind, a coffee shop run by the deaf, snacks bar run by girl scouts, maintain its concert band, repairs its own motor vehicles, runs a service station, collects its own garbage, design and builds fountains for its own use and for sale, keeps an independent security force aside from a detail of the Manila Police Department. The park maintain nurseries in Los Baños, Quezon City and Manila to produce half of the plants needed by the park.

The park administration is executing the “tourist belt” plan, starting with A. Mabini Street in the heart of the Ermita, Malate district. It is developing a 3-hectare area adjacent to the Cultural Center. It is beautifying the Roxas Boulevard promenade park adjacent to the water line of Manila Bay.

Free Service

Many people have given free service to Rizal Park in the course of seven years of continuous building. To name but a few, Architect Angel Nakpil, Gabriel Formoso and Luis Araneta, Milagros Abella, Dr. Ildefonso Gomez, Leon Goldenberg, A. U. Miranda, and Dr. Guillermo de Vega. There were other who were borrowed from government corporations, a few of whom are still with us.

Today, the park is helped by budgetary appropriations but it generates its own income to finance repairs and maintenance needs on a day-to-day basis. Some government corporations, notably the PNB, the CB and the Board of Liquidators have been heavy contributors. The SSS, the DBP and even the GSIS have helped at one time or another. The private contributors continue to chip in.

The City of Manila provides a 42-man police detail. The Parks and Wildlife Office lends forest rangers. The GSIS pays many office helpers and junior executives. The City pays for the electrical consumption of the park – a substantial amount, if you realize how many lights the park must have. In addition, the City of Manila gives P250,000 a year to help the maintenance costs.

Our Park is essentially a play area for children. Most of the facilities are for children under 10. But I suspect the older people are the ones who are enjoying it more. They never stop coming all hours, including the wee hours of the morning.

This is our pride and joy, a real achievement of the people. Nobody can abandon the idea now without being chastised by the people. Rizal Park is theirs. They intend to keep it.