The City of Manila launched “Letters to My TOTGA,” a Valentine’s experience at Paco Park from February 14 to 28, offering a space for reflection on love, loss, and closure.
The concept draws inspiration from the story of Jose Rizal and Leonor Rivera, whose long-distance relationship unfolded through handwritten letters and ultimately ended in separation. Their story, marked by distance and timing, has remained one of the most remembered unfinished romances in Philippine history.
The event takes place at Paco Park, the historic circular park in Manila where both Rizal and Rivera were once buried before their remains were transferred elsewhere.
From February 14 to 28, Paco Park will serve as a reflective and interactive Valentine’s destination where visitors are invited to write an anonymous letter to their “TOTGA,” or “The One That Got Away”.
From February 14 to 28, Paco Park will serve as a reflective and interactive Valentine’s destination where visitors are invited to write an anonymous letter to their “TOTGA,” or “The One That Got Away.”
Participants may address a former partner, someone they never confessed their feelings to, or even a past version of themselves shaped by heartbreak or personal change.
“Ang tunay na pag-ibig ay kaakibat ang paggalang, pagtanggap, at pagkakapantay-pantay.”
“Nawa’y magsilbing paalala ang araw na ito na ang tunay na pag-ibig ay kaakibat ang paggalang, pagtanggap, at pagkakapantay-pantay,” Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso said.
Letters will be written inside a heritage-inspired nook within the park and pinned onto a “TOTGA Wall,” forming a collective display of personal messages left unsent.
The letters will be color-coded based on theme:
• Blue – right person, wrong time
• Gray – the love that was never spoken
• Yellow – the eternal “what if”
• White – no closure, no explanation
• Green – the love you released to grow
• Purple – the self you had to leave behind
The event is free and open to the public, inviting visitors to write a letter, leave it behind, and take part in a Valentine’s observance centered on reflection and release.
“Sa Maynila, malinaw ang ating paninindigan: ang pag-ibig ay walang pinipili at para ito sa lahat!” Domagoso stressed.
