The city government of Manila used mostly recycled materials in developing a park at Baseco Beach.
Manila Mayor Francisco ‘Isko Moreno’ Domagoso made the revelation during his weekly Capital Report on Friday, to give "some dignity" for those residing in Baseco, a depressed area.
“Meron pong isang kalsada sa Baseco na ninanais ko na bigyan naman sila ng maaliwalas na pasyalan sa loob mismo ng Baseco. Iisipin nyo bang Baseco yan? Yan ay squatter area, sab nga ng iba kinatatakutan. Hindi dapat tayong katakutan kahit squatter tayo may dignidad naman sa pagiging squatter (There is a road in Baseco that I want to develop to give the residents a place to stroll. That is where informal settlers live. People should not be afraid of informal settlers even if they live in a depressed area. There is dignity in being an informal settler)," the mayor noted.
From a “filthy” area, Domagoso said Baseco Park is slowly turning into a decent place.
He said these efforts are for the residents, most especially children and senior citizens, so that they do not need to go far if they need to take a casual walk outside their homes.
Domagoso said from Manila Zoo's rehabilitation several months ago, he ordered the city engineering to collect the block (tisa) used in the pavement or walkway.
These old “tisa” were cleaned and are now being installed at Baseco Park.
Meanwhile, the city government also lighted the stretch of España Boulevard and Taft Avenue recently and replaced the old lamp posts with new ones.
Domagoso had the old lamp posts from España and Taft Avenue cleaned, fixed, and installed at the Baseco Park.
“We’re done lighting the Taft Avenue and the España Avenue as well, but I find it a waste of money if we will just throw away the old lamp posts, so I had them collected and placed in Baseco. But before installing it there, I asked the Manila City Engineering Office and the DPS and the city electricians to fix them, paint it with black while the gold part painted with gold, replaced the broken parts with glass and put new wires,” Domagoso said.