The House Committee on Public Works and Highways chaired by Surigao del Sur Representative Romeo Momo created a technical working group (TWG) tasked to craft a substitute bill to six measures seeking to ensure that all cities and municipalities in the country have recreational spaces.
The panel named Pangasinan Representative Christopher De Venecia as head of the TWG.
House Bill (HB) 4732, authored by Camarines Sur Representative LRay Villafuerte Jr., seeks to establish public recreational spaces which shall be integrated in the respective Comprehensive Land Use Plans of all cities and municipalities in the country.
Meanwhile, Parañaque City Representative Edwin Olivarez filed HB 7039 which seeks to ensure that every city shall have at least one public park.
On the other hand, De Venecia, Bataan Representative Geraldine Roman, Parañaque City Representative Gus Tambunting and Cavite Representative Aniela Bianca Tolentino filed HBs 618, 3495, 6809 and 7046, respectively, proposing the creation the Philippine National Public Parks System.
“The Philippines lags behind developed countries in terms of making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, which is one of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.”
De Venecia and Tambunting explained that they are pushing for the measure considering that the Philippines lags behind developed countries in terms of making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, which is one of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.
“The Philippines is lagging behind because the concept of parks is not clearly defined and the allocation of public spaces in urban spaces is not mandated at the national level.”
According to them, the Philippines is lagging behind because the concept of parks is not clearly defined and the allocation of public spaces in urban spaces is not mandated at the national level.
Cecille Lorenzana Romero, Executive Director of the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) of the Department of Tourism (DoT), agreed with De Venecia’s observation that the pandemic showed the importance of parks and open spaces, where people clamored for more open and green spaces.
Romero also cited the need to update the current status of NPDC, which was created 61 years ago, as a recipient of the legislative proposals.
“While the NPDC is an agency, it is still a committee,” she said.
Meanwhile, Oriental Mindoro Representative Arnan Panaligan, a member of the TWG, urged his colleagues to prioritize projects like the proposed creation of public recreational spaces in all cities and municipalities
“This is not just beautification. They make our cities more livable and improve the quality of life. That’s the problem with Philippine cities. Iyung hindi pa cities, iyung urbanizing towns lack open spaces and are congested, which affect the quality of life there,” Panaligan explained.
