P72-M People’s Park opens in Davao City

DAVAO CITY – A P72-million People’s Park opened here Saturday as an added tourist attraction and leisure facility in this leading growth center of the south.

Mayor Rodrigo Duterte led local officials in opening the park, which features a mini-forest and large sculptures representing indigenous groups in Southern Mindanao.

The People’s Park is actually the old PTA Park, which used to be an athletics ground in the city’s downtown area and now planted with trees.

Duterte urged the city’s more than 1.6 million residents to take care of their new park since government funds were spent to develop it.

“This is your park, take care of it. We are all responsible for this park,” he said, adding that park attendants and care­givers will be on hand to assist senior citizens who wish to go around the park.

Wheelchairs will be made available for senior citizens and persons with disability to enable them to enjoy the amenities of the park.

Duterte said surveillance cameras are installed in the park’s strategic areas to prevent lovers from being intimate there.

“I have nothing against people in love expressing their feelings but please spare the park from such stupidity. I do not mean to intrude into people’s privacy but surveillance cameras are everywhere in the park to monitor what you are doing,” he added.

Duterte also barred commercial establishments in the park “because I do not want to be accused of favoring certain individuals who would be able to put up their stalls (there).”

He said only original Pilipino music or lumad songs will be played in the park.