|

The Quezon City Government is continuously improving the Quezon Memorial Circle as a people's park and a fitting place for the shrine of a Philippine President. The place is not a forest park. On an ordinary day, when there are no special events there, an average of 8,000 people visit the park daily, with numbers increasing to 12,000 on weekends, and to over a million last December as more families chose to celebrate the holidays in affordable style outdoors. There remains 15.65 hectares of green space in the park. From any perspective, the dense presence of trees can be easily seen.
President Benigno Aquino III, himself, chose to hold his post-inaugural party, "Tagumpay ng Bayan," at the QMC, after taking his oath as the 15th President of the Philippines.
The QMC has also been consistently chosen by private organizers, since 2009, as a key convergence point for international marathons held annually, where the theme is usually a race through the largest green spaces in Metro Manila. The park was chosen, for the second time since 2011, as the site of the outdoor art and photography exhibit by the French Embassy and the Niepce Museum in France, as they partner with the Quezon City Government for the project "Kilometer Zero," which aims to make art accessible to everyone.
The park is also a favorite venue by biking enthusiasts, including those for the national cycling event Philippine Grand Prix and the annual Tour of the Fireflies, which rallies for the environment.
There is now order and clear demarcation of entranceways, from Commonwealth Avenue and Quezon Avenue, including entry ways from two underground pedestrian passageways from Philcoa and Quezon City Hall. Where there used to be disorganized clumps of trees and makeshift barriers that actually deterred more people from coming in, the park is now more open and more welcoming of the public.
The central plaza and the promenades are in the same place where the old structures used to be. But instead of the asphalt that was used before, the promenades use turf grass with sidewalks.
The Quezon City Government also revived the old fountain that was decrepit and rusting, making it a center of attraction especially at night, with its dancing waters and colorful display of dancing light bands. The pylon itself gains special visibility at night with rays of colorful lights highlighting it.
The city government also introduced the following facilities that are very well used by the public as meeting, conference and sports venues: Seminar Hall, Century Hall, P eople's Hall, covered courts and stage. Taken altogether, these occupy only 3,061 sqm. of the 25-hectare Quezon Memorial Circle. What is under construction now is the Quezon City Museum, which will occupy a 1.5 hectare footprint, and which is a much needed cultural and historical facility of the city. It was designed to be a green building within the international standards of the "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)" Green Building Rating System. The museum will be completed in 2013. Also ongoing are other park attractions such as the tropical and meditation gardens.
The parking area, as it is now, is also smaller than what was provided for it under the masterplan made by the architectural firm of Francisco MaƱosa in the mid 1980s. The vending structures are also almost 200 less than what they used to be before the city government took over. Only during weekends is an additional vending area provided for, to cater to the large number of park-goers.
The city government's average income from the park is Php 3 million a month, more than doubling the Php 1.4 million monthly collections of the previous park administrators. The entire government income from QMC goes into the General Fund where it is subject to government audit rules.
|