TAGAYTAY IS A SUCKING MESS AND FVRS PISSED OFF. SO ARE MILLIONS WHOVE HAD TO ENDURE THE TRAFFIC, UNSIGHTLY DEVELOPMENT AND DISORDER EVERYWHERE. READ ON. Tagaytay City: Sad example in nation-building by Former Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos January 3, 2015 “The People’s Park in the Sky, Tagaytay City’s famous landmark, is an artful blending of natural and man-made attractions poised on its highest point. It stands on a 4,516 sqm. solid ground overlooking four bodies of water – Taal Lake, Balayan Bay, Laguna de Bay, and Manila Bay•••” — Tagaytay City Government’s website, 2006 The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day which lasts exactly 7 days is, for most Filipinos, usually the longest vacation time in the year when families can get together at a favorite destination, and do much needed updating, bonding and renewal. For the FVR family, this special place during the Xmas-New year holidays is Tagaytay City, which is dear to our five daughters and their collective brood. That once-a-year opportunity is certainly true of FVR’s scattered family whose destination of choice – bar none – is Mommy/Lola Josefa’s (Martinez) old home in Tagaytay which overlooks Taal Lake and its live volcano. The self-same hope surely is in the minds of thousands of other Filipino families and foreign tourists. And why not, indeed??? Many world travelers have labeled Mount Everest and Tagaytay as being the two most magnificent landscapes in God’s creation. IN A MEMORABLE UNDERSTATEMENT, ART VALDEZ – FORMER DOTC UNDERSECRETARY AND TOP FILIPINO MOUNTAINEER WHO WAS THE LEADER OF TWO SUCCESSFUL MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITIONS IN 2005-2008 ASSERTED THAT OUR TAGAYTAY SHOULD BE PREFERRED – BECAUSE “IT IS MORE ACCESSIBLE.” The year 2014 was no exception for the Ramos clan that had 2 daughters (out of 4), and 4 grandkids (out of 8) coming from abroad to roost at home for the holidays. All of our hardy clan whose members range from age 87 to 20, had looked forward to our reunion in Tagaytay, and to be able to savor its incomparable scenes, enjoy its cool weather, and breath fresh Philippine mountain air. For the first time in years, in fact, all children and grandchildren were present in the Philippines. Last week’s sortie to our favorite mountain city, however, was a frustrating and disappointing experience largely because of massive traffic jams along the long stretch of the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay road both ways, and related difficulties in reaching the People’s Park in the Sky (PPIS) which is supposed to be Tagaytay’s “crown jewel” on top of Mount Sungay. 15 YEARS AGO, TAGAYTAY CITY, WAS THE POPULAR, AFFORDABLE TOURIST DESTINATION OF COMMON PEOPLE AND PILGRIMAGE PLACE OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITHFUL. IT STILL IS – BUT NOT ANYMORE THAT ACCESSIBLE OR ATTRACTIVE. TAGAYTAY’S ENVISIONED LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT The long-term development of the entire Tagaytay City-Taal Volcano Island (TCTVI) eco-system is governed by a 20-year strategic plan promulgated by Presidential Memorandum Order 323 dated 28 November 1995. A set of 10-year development plans was likewise approved by the same Memorandum Order for the upland towns of Cavite surrounding Tagaytay and the coastal municipalities around Taal Lake in Batangas. The fundamental consideration in the strategic planning for the entire TCTVI area was, and continues to be, the preservation and enhancement of its unique environment and eco-system – an incomparable combination of land, sea and sky that is easily within reach to all of us – Filipinos and foreigners, the youth and the elderly, the rich and the poor alike. At the very top of the whole breathtaking area is the PPIS from where one can see four large bodies of water and the majestic presence of Laguna’s Mt. Makiling in the foreground and Mt. Banahaw in Quezon Province in the background. In FVR’s younger years as an infantry platoon leader of the Philippine Army chasing Huks in those two mountain sanctuaries, our jungle patrols learned to preserve the environment in high places because they provided survival benefits in terms of fresh water, wild fruits, vegetable food and jungle cover protection from the enemy. For ordinary Filipinos who cannot afford an exclusive vantage point like the nearby Highlands Golf Club and Mountain Spa – especially provincianos from Mindanao, the Visayas, Bicol, and Northern Luzon – a visit to PPIS is a memorable once-in-a-lifetime treat. It is, in one package, a place for family enjoyment, spiritual reflection and thanksgiving, renewal of national pride, and partaking of fresh mountain air. In the run-up years (mid-1995 to mid-1998) to the Centennial of Philippine Independence, the PPIS was substantially enhanced as part of the “Freedom Trail” in Cavite Province, as identified by the National Centennial Commission chaired by former Vice President Salvador Laurel. During those years, various improvements were added to the PPIS to maximize people’s appreciation of this historical and recreational center, notably a Centennial Heroes’ Hall, Library/Reading Center, Viewing Decks, Outdoor Bandstand, Miraculous Virgin Mary Worship Grotto, Presidential Memorabilia Room, Picnic Huts, Children’s Playgrounds, Souvenir Shops, and the necessary amenities of clean toilets, running water and safe passageways. Twenty years ago, the main structure, which was and continues to be a DOTC antenna facility, was likewise kept clean and presentable for tourists, and was integrated as part of a wholesome, friendly and presentable complex for people’s enjoyment. AND, IT WAS THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF TAGAYTAY CITY THAT HAD THE ENVIABLE PRIVILEGE OF HOSTING SUCH A UNIQUE ATTRACTION. BUT ALSO, IT WAS GIVEN THE COMMENSURATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ITS UPKEEP UNDER THE JOINT SUPERVISION OF THE SECRETARIES OF TOURISM; ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES; AND INTERIOR AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT. ACTION PLANS PUT IN PLACE To manifest the concern of the National Government to preserve and enhance the long-term progressive viability of the entire TCTVI area as an enduring socio-cultural-economic asset for many future generation to enjoy, FVR created the Presidential Commission on Tagaytay-Taal (PCTT) on 24 April 1993 (Executive Order 84). Said E.O. empowered the PCTT to “Formulate Short- and Long-Term Plans for the Development of Tagaytay City and its Adjacent Municipalities.” The 20-year (for TCTVI) and 10-year (for the neighboring municipalities) strategic plans were designed, after comprehensive consultations with various sectors, including local residents, to promote their enduring and sustainable development, with the following long-term objectives (please see “Tagaytay City Must Catch Up,” Manila Bulletin, 16 July 2006): •Preserve the natural beauty of the environment. •Develop the area as an eco-tourism zone. •Put in place support infrastructures and service programs that would generate local economic and livelihood development for the people. Instead of improving for the better, however, Tagaytay’s deterioration accelerated – in fact, nose-dived – as reflected in FVR’s follow-up article four years ago (Manila Bulletin, “Can’t P.Noy Do Something To Reverse Tagaytay’s Deterioration,” 08 August 2010): President Aquino III’s appointment of former Tagaytay Mayor Francis Tolentino as MMDA chairman created waves of protests from responsible Tagaytayans – concerned residents, taxpayers, voters, and tourists/visitors. It will be recalled that Francis Tolentino and his successor – brother Abraham, together with father Isaac Tolentino – have been among the most durable, authoritarian political dynasties in a major Philippine city, lasting some 40 years to-date. PLUNDER AND MISMANAGEMENT “Complaints against Chairman Tolentino and family have been exposed in various broadsheets: ‘Mismanagement, Corruption and Election Fraud in Tagaytay’ by Buddy Cunanan (The Manila Times, 3 Aug 2010) and ‘New MMDA Chief Faces Plunder, Graft and Other Charges’ by Michael Punongbayan (The Philippine Star, 4 Aug 2010). “While these stories allegedly appear to come from one source – Reverend/Pastor Ronald Tan, former Executive Assistant of then Mayor Francis Tolentino (1995–2004) – Rev. Tan did formalize his charges in a complaint filed with the Ombudsman last 21 July 2010. This is only one of several cases filed with the Ombudsman, DILG, and COMELEC against former Mayor Francis and/or his younger brother-successor then Mayor Abraham Tolentino. “Quoting Ronald Tan, The Philippine Star reported that the two Tolentino brothers… ‘Allegedly amassed some P500 million in ill-gotten wealth by way of unabated graft and corruption, abuse of power and authority in the form of real estate properties, businesses, vehicles, bank deposits, and other assets, which in no way can be justified as having been acquired legally through their earnings as public officials or even their private business ventures.’ “Comes now Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda with an unjustified dismissal of these serious charges as ‘simple harassment’ with this statement: ‘The President is aware of the graft cases filed before the Ombudsman. The President and other sectors view the charges against Atty. Francis Tolentino as ‘simple harassment,’ he added.” (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 4 Aug 2010). CRIMINAL NEGLECT BY TWO MAYOR-BROTHERS At the time of the two Tolentino mayor-brothers, it was strongly recommended to Malacañang that these complaints amounting to criminal neglect be looked into immediately and not taken lightly – if only to protect the integrity of President Aquino III, whose supposed basis for appointing Francis Tolentino as MMDA Chairman was that P.Noy and the latter were Ateneo classmates. Without getting into above-mentioned criminal, electoral, and administrative cases which will take time to unravel and decide upon, this writer has focused on the People’s Park in the Sky, which used to be Tagaytay’s major attraction for thousands of Filipino tourists, foreign visitors, religious faithful, and local residents. Tragically and wastefully, however, in the past 16 years (already well into the Aquino III Administration), this prize destination has deteriorated into a dirty, smelly, and ugly kind of place – even if still patronized by thousands of Filipinos and foreign tourists every year. UNFORTUNATELY, P.NOY’S ADMINISTRATION HAS FAILED TO PUSH SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS OF TAGAYTAY, PARTICULARLY THE SUSTAINABILITY OF ITS UNIQUE NATURAL BEAUTY. IS A DETERIORATED TAGAYTAY PART OF THE LEGACY THAT YOUNGER FILIPINOS WILL INHERIT FROM AQUINO III AND THE TOLENTINO DYNASTY??? TO END LOOKING LIKE EDSA – WHICH IS OUR BIGGEST PARKING LOT??? ARE TAGAYTAY AND EDSA GOOD EXAMPLES OF DAANG MATUWID – OR DAANG MA-TRAPIK??? WE WISH YOU ALL A PRODUCTIVE AND FULFILLING NEW YEAR!!!
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 01:47:34 +0000
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