Evangelista: CenteCom sponsored “mayorables” public forum in the works

CORRECTION. At the outset I would like to make a correction on an item in this column last Sunday, March 7 which had an inadvertent printing of the date for the projected seminar-workshop on risk reduction and mitigation on earthquakes and other natural disasters on March 15-16, 2010. The correct date is April 15-16, 2010. Sorry for the mistake.

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Tomorrow, Monday, March 15 the Baguio Centennial Marker for the Baguio General Hospital will be inaugurated in front of the hospital main building. The inauguration of the historical marker will coincide with the weekly flag raising ceremony of the BGH led by its director, Dr. Manuel Factora, together with the hospital staff and employees.

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On hand for the ceremonies will be members of the Baguio Centennial Commission led by its chair, Dr. Virgilio C. Bautista. The marble plaque traces the history of the hospital from its early beginning and establishment into what it has become today, a multi-faceted health and medical facility which is also a regional medical center.

One of the pioneer directors of BGH is the late Dr. Teodoro Arvisu, a native Batangueño who chose to make Baguio his permanent hometown. Other medical practitioners followed suit coming from various parts of the country and like Dr. Arvisu, elected to permanently stay in the city.

Another Centennial Commission historical marker waiting to be inaugurated is that of Camp John Hay which from its establishment metamorphosed into the vacation and resort center for American military servicemen in the country. John Hay has since been abandoned by its American military managers occasioned by the Mount Pinatubo eruption in and the earthquake of July, 1990.

Now administered by a subsidiary of the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) it has become a modernized vacation and resort center with world class hotel facilities. 

Today’s John Hay is a far cry from its old rustic ambiance with more development and improvements in the drawing board of its management and sub-lessees. No date has yet been set for the inauguration of the historical marker for John Hay.

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What is in store for the main city park, conceptualized by the famed Chicago planner Architect Daniel Hudson Burnham after whom the park was later named.

Last Wednesday’s regular bi-weekly session of the Baguio Centennial Commission a comprehensive development plan was presented to the commission by a group of architects-designer-planners group from the University of the Cordilleras led by Arch. Robert Romero, head of the UC College of Architecture. The park development program was designed by the UC architectural college as part of the university’s social outlook and responsibility.

The plan contains improvements and an entirely new look in every facet of the park facility. The design projection is both impressive and appreciable, although it may entail a rather huge enough funding. The development plan covers the main area surrounding the park lake, the Melvin Jones site, the athletic oval, the old auditorium site, skating rink, rose garden and collateral areas.

The design presentation elicited different reactions and suggestions by the commission members, primarily on the need to convert the entire park area into a green environment with attractive flower beds and gardens. It seems the design is somewhat more on concrete facilities.

Instead, the commissioners raised the observation that the park should be identified as a restful and fun area with more trees, shrubbery and flowers which should make the park more conducive to general public patronage for recreation and enjoyment.

The park design by the UC architects-planners will also be presented to various other entities in the city before its presentation to the City Council and the city mayor. The costing for the preparation of the park design by the UC planners was borne by the university and at no cost to the City Government.

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Speaking of the city parks, the commission took up the possible creation of an overall City Parks Authority which will have jurisdiction over all local parks. The commission members were unanimous on the setting of such a parks authority to direct and manage the general development of existing city parks. One suggestion is for each park to have a character of its own distinct from other parks. The projected parks authority need not be entirely a government run affair. Rather, it should be set up as a joint partnership between the City Government and representatives from the private sector. Considering the present state of most, if not all existing city parks, the need for the establishment of a central city parks authority should be able to provide direction and order in the desired development of these local parks.

With the inevitable emergence of a new set of elective city officialdom after the up-coming May 10 election, perhaps the move for the creation of a unified parks development authority should best be one of the early tasks of the incoming city administration. Possibly, the priority attention should be given the principal city leisure facility, Burnham Park, which at the moment is in dire need for improvement and development.

In more ways than one, Burnham Park is the figurative face of the city where people, locals and tourists, congregate for their leisure time. Unfortunately, there is little, with the park’s present condition, to make it attractive for public patronage. 

During night time especially, the park with its dark and dimly lit walkways could ill afford a leisurely walk on pain of something unfortunate and unlikely to be inflicted on the unsuspecting park goer. Something needs to be done about Burnham Park. And soonest.

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Plans are afoot for the holding by the Centennial Commission of a public forum for the nine registered city mayoral candidates. March 24 has been tentatively set by the convenors for the forum where the known bets for city mayor are afforded the opportunity to bare to the community their plans and programs for the city and more importantly, how these impact on the future of Baguio. Such topics as the controversial reproductive health care, drug abuse, traffic mess, land use, graft and corruption, governance, education, business and city development, peace and order, city utilities (light, water, sewage), the garbage mess, labor and wages, population growth and even the use of condoms and other hot issues may be addressed by the mayorables.

It would be interesting to see how they stand on such current issues as well as on the future development of Baguio.

Architect Joseph Alabanza, head of the Beyond 2009 Committee of the Centennial Commission, has been given the task of organizing the holding of the proposed forum of the known city mayorables. Assisting Alabanza are Prof. Henry Tenedero of AIM Baguio, this writer also of the Centennial Commission and Director Helen Tibaldo of the regional office of the Public Information Agency.

The nine mayoral candidates are Mauricio Domogan, Elaine Sembrano, Jose Molintas, Mark Go, Jun Labo, Peter Puzon, Erlinda Busacay-Lazo, Julius Mandapat, Ruben Barcelo and Willie Hernandez.

Watch for further developments.