Who would have thought that from its ashes, the burnt PTA Grandstand and its grounds would reincarnate as a park? It's called the People's Park, so named after a name-the-park contest last year that won an elderly man fifty thousand pesos for his efforts. I don't know about you but People's Park to me sounds more like the name of a park in Communist Pyongyang or Beijing and not in what was once declared one of Asia's most livable cities.
Opened to the public last December 15, 2007, there were still some finishing touches being made to this 72-million-peso park when I visited it today. There's no entrance fee but guards will check everyone's bags upon entering and park wardens roam around religiously to shoo away errant legs. No vendors are absolutely allowed - no "itlog, mani, orange!" screaming in your face, thank you.
Hopefully, this wonderful oasis in the middle of the city will remain just as what it is meant to be.
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