Rizal Park, National Pride of Manila(?)

Rizal Park (also known as Luneta Park), currently maintained and managed by the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) http://www.nationalparks.ph/index.htm, is a landmark of Manila that is not only a tourist attraction but also a favorite leisure spot of Filipinos to have a picnic with family and friends, jog around in, exercise (aero boxing, tai chi and zumba 'classes' are happening simultaneously within the park area).

Rizal Park also plays a very important role in Philippine history.  Gomburza (Gomez, Burgos and Zamora), three Filipino priests was executed on the park grounds in 1872 for acts of subversion.  Jose Rizal, the Philippines' national hero, has a bronze and granite monument at the park (his remains can also be found within the monument) and most visiting foreign dignitaries make it a point to lay a wreath at the monument. Most recently, the Million People March in August 2013 was held at the park to protest the improper use of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

                                               Jose Rizal's monument, which was unveiled in 1913.

Towards the latter part of 2013, the park underwent some renovation which included the installation of a new flag pole that cost Php 7.8 Million (approximately USD181,000).

I couldn't be more excited to visit the park once again at the start of 2014 to begin my road to good health by jogging at the park.  06 January 2014, I entered the park once again at around 0700H to begin my run around the park.  My excitement and enthusiasm was eventually shot down by disappointment as the stench that hit me once I entered the park was totally unbearable.  Imagine having to jog in a path that smelled of garbage.   The 'green' men and women (NPDC) cleaners were just starting their work (or they started late) and I guess they never took into consideration that people visit the park as early as 0500H to jog or to walk around.  Granted that the day before (Sunday) was the busiest at the park in terms of the number of visitors, the cleaners should have been tasked to clean the park at an earlier hour on that Monday.

I've been to Central Park in New York, Sydney Harbour in Australia and Kinabalu Park in Malaysia to name a few and none of them can be considered to be an embarrassment to the cities/countries that they represent. 

                                                                                  Can you smell the stench?

    This woman was using a hose to wash down the floor, making it dangerous for people walking and jogging through it.

To add insult to the injury, the park has just been renovated and there are already signs of substandard quality in materials used or poor craftsmanship done on the renovations.  The flooring were chipped in several areas, holes were present everywhere and drainage was left unfinished.

I am fervently hoping that the NPDC does its job to make Rizal Park a park that we can be truly proud of.  To be fair to them, security has vastly improved in the area.  Since they have decided to do improvements at the park, why not go all the way in making the park the star attraction of Manila that it truly deserves to be.