Just the facts please

April 14, 2018 Opinion Sideglance

I had the occasion to open the online version of the Manila Times and in my scan its news and opinions I came to the column of Ma. Isabel Ongpin which was entitled ‘Baguio Up In Arms’.

Now while the column piece itself may seem interesting enough, especially for Baguio residents such as myself, since it attempts to advice caution in the overall development of the City of Baguio, I was a bit disheartened to discover that in some of the matters discussed there was no factual basis upon which these statements were made. 

Take the first two sentences in the third paragraph of the column which states, “The current aggravation is the plan to replace the city convention center used for ceremonies, socials and other community events (decrepit as it has been allowed to become by the city) in Burnham Park with a hotel cum mall. The proposal to put up this commercial establishment in place of the convention center is strongly opposed by the Baguio public.”

I wonder where the writer got the idea that there is such a plan to replace the Baguio Convention Center with a ‘hotel cum mall’. The fact of the matter is that the convention center is currently undergoing retrofitting and renovation with a budget of 180 million coursed through the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the plan for its development came about through a 2012 feasibility study done by the City of Baguio and by virtue of a collaboration between the private and public sectors and the City Buildings and Architecture Office. The feasibility study recommended that the plan for the retrofitting and renovation of the convention center should focus on finding the right balance between modernization, heritage/historical conservation and financial viability. It is also a fact that the formulation for the direction and three phases of the retrofitting and renovation plan for the Baguio convention center was a result of the collaboration of a technical working group composed of Baguio architects and engineers The rehabilitation of the convention center has already begun and is reported to be finished by February of next year.

So it bears asking, how could there be a plan to replace the Baguio Convention Center with a hotel cum mall in Burnham Park as posited by the writer in her column?

Still another disconcerting statement made by Ms. Ongpin in her column is when she stated, “More aggravating yet is that the City Council without debate, discussion or listening to the public on the matter, has passed a resolution giving the city mayor the full authority to make the decision on the privatization move on his own, in accordance with a so-called Burnham Park Master Plan for which no approval from Baguio residents seems to have been sought.”

Nothing can be further from the truth.

At this time and for clarity there had been two public consultations done by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Council) of Baguio City with concerned stakeholders regarding a proposed Ordinance authored by City Councilor Edgar Avila which is entitled, “ An ordinance authorizing the implementation of the master development plan for the Burnham Park property complex particularly the D.5.2.5 which is an existing tourist bus parking area between Baguio City National High School (BCHNS) campus and skating rink area more particularly described as Baguio Auditorium. A proposed multi-level parking building with concession areas adopting green architecture concept and its surrounding grounds shall be designed in the area and D.5.2.8 (new library grounds and parks management) as an alternative to the ganza park proposal and authorizing the City Mayor of Baguio to implement the same.”

The first public consultation on the matter was held in March 21, 2018 while the second public consultation was held in April 11, 2018 and it was actually a joint public hearing since it involved the committees on Urban Planning, Lands and Housing, Public Works and Public Utilities Traffic and Transport Legislation of the city council.

A third public consultation on the said matter is scheduled on May 22, 2018.

It then becomes obvious that the plan for a multi-level parking facility at the old Baguio Auditorium is being subjected to several public hearings and consultations and there has been as yet no authority given to the City Mayor to implement the same or for the chief executive to privatize a portion of Burnham Park on his own. This is in stark contrast to what Ms. Ongpin is claiming in her column.

To date what is fact is that the planned development for a portion of Burnham Park is still a proposal in the form of a proposed ordinance.