I remember there was a time when QC Circle was a luscious
green park, rich with ageless golden trees and chirping birds. It served as an escape for the hustle and
bustle of this modern day world to the city residents. Turn the wheels of time, now it has turned
into a shopping tiangge, circus, and office? The open space of this park has
definitely diminished during this local government administration. The trees that sweep the carbon monoxide from
the Elliptical Road have been decreasing instead the other way around. No wonder why park visitors could easily
smell either smoke of vehicles or stench from the garbage of careless visitors
who seem to have habits of leaving personal mementos of their garbage. (What a way to leave a mark behind!) What made me scornful enough to write this
article is when I saw with my own eyes the latest so called “development” of
this place included erection of offices in spaces which were once my childhood
playground and running field. These
offices to my disdain were not even of greater public importance such as the
Quezon City Rotary Club. Suddenly
figures of cash coming from elite parts of the society flashed to my mind reminding
me of the greater quest for independence this country is yet to fight for –
against the oligarchs, elites and politicians paddling together in their
infinite quest for power and greed.
The quest for income generation of the park continuous as
exhibited by the tiangges and circus space rented by business owners, which I
must confess have enjoyed in some way.
However, building of permanent infrastructures for the benefit of a few
is questionable. There is nothing wrong
with being creative in generating money but if you forget what the real purpose
of this park I think we are heading the wrong way.
I had a vision for this place. It could have been a venue for a sweet
relief, a haven of refuge in times of calamity, or simply a venue for personal
relaxation. We could still save this
place if we just spare the trees and keep it open for use of the public good. To my fellow sports enthusiasts who cherish
this place and love QC, lets fight for it!
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