Garganera proposes skate park at SRP

CEBU, Philippines —  A Cebu City councilor has requested the Office of the Mayor to convert the ten hectares of the South Road Properties into an open space and a skate.

“It can be used as a sports hub for our athletes and aspiring athletes, and an outdoor facility where our constituents can freely and happily exercise, hang out, and hone their skills and talents,” said Councilor Joel Garganera in his privilege speech during a regular session Wednesday.

The councilor said he saw the urgent need to provide a sports hub for Cebuano athletes, citing that, despite a ground-breaking, the skate park promised by the city government in a lot behind Fort San Pedro went unfulfilled.

The ground-breaking was held in December 2018 however, the plan did not push through.

“Ten months thereafter, the National Skateboarders Association then asked the Cebu City Council for updates on the project but even until now, or almost 3 years thereafter, the said promise was merely left on paper—the very frustration of every legislator,” stressed Garganera.

He said the skate park would have encouraged skate enthusiasts “to pursue their hobbies and passion” especially that skateboarding in Cebu City streets and thoroughfares is expressly prohibited under the traffic ordinance.

Garganera added, with the success of Cebuano pride, Margielyn Didal, who qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, “it would be presumptuous for us to take some credit in her success, for we, as a city, has not given her or any of our skate enthusiasts, a space to hone their skills and talents.”

He added, through a resolution on May 7, 2021, Garganera urged the mayor, in coordination with the SRP Management Office, to allocate SRP’s 10 hectares for the establishment of an open space.

The SRP, according to him, has enough space to accommodate the open space.

“In fact, aside from free spaces, we also have properties subjected to a joint venture agreement (JVA), which remain unused even after a decade from the time the JVA was entered upon by this city—particularly the fact that the construction is still roughly at Phase 2,” added Garganera.

He added it will not only benefit the constituents but also the city as the open space at SRP can contribute to the appreciation of the SRP’s land value and generate more income for the city.

“Therefore, we should not settle with providing for the needs of our people but also take the further step of improving their lifestyle so that we can proudly say—this is why we celebrate Cebu City,” concluded Garganera. — Deogracia William Bemida, Silliman Intern, GMR (FREEMAN)