Privatization kickback

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March L. Fianza 

 First, we saw the privatization of Camp John Hay after the Americans left. Not even the Americans who developed the rest and recreation center in this part of Luzon thought of managing the camp as their private business.

As a small kid, I used to tag along with my aunts who got hooked to playing One-Armed Bandits at the Halfway House during rainy nights, and there anybody could just get chocolate candy bars at the counter for free. What establishment in John Hay offers that now? Camp John Hay under the Americans remained accessible to Baguio residents who used the open spaces and the picnic tables for free.

After the former John Hay Air Base was turned over to the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) in 1991, the main entrance fronting the South Drive-Military Cut-Off Road circle was transferred farther away to Loakan Road, making accessibility harder for promenaders and hikers. It remains open to all, especially if you have a car but there is a feeling of “unwelcomeness” because the picnic tables are no longer free and you have to pay to enjoy.

One thing for sure, the facilities inside John Hay are expensive, including the food. I also remember that the steak served in John Hay under the Americans were far cheaper than the ones ordered in a certain restaurant in the city. Practically, the present CJH has become a private hub. Like any government promise to keep the park open to the public, CJH has managed to put up a “Keep Out” sign in my mind.

After CJH, there was the privatization of the old skating rink at the south end of Burnham Lake. The skating rink used to be an open surface for skaters and everyone who brought along their own skates or rented a pair from a caretaker-gardener. There were no entrance fees.

A second look at the former skating rink tells us that something is wrong with its “privatization.” When this was leased to a private management, it has become limited to people who can afford to pay rink entrance fees and rent skates. The last time I was there, the ease to move around was no longer there. The “feel at home” sense was not there. Instead, there was the feeling that the new managers owned the place. Their body language tells us just that.

PNoy made a commitment to have all roads in the country concreted by the time he exits in 2016. That’s nothing compared to the unreasonable and stupid plan of Baguio’s managers to have a green football ground cemented. They should have their brains checked. But having a second look at their plan, I think it is good so that the mayor can be highly praised for providing a permanent place for night market wag-wag traders, anyway they are contributing to the city’s underground economy.

Of course, he will be lauded for bringing a peaceful solution to the problem of the mix-mix businessmen who are temporarily occupying Harrison road at night. At least they will no longer be fighting each other for space as they will now be allotted a permanent space, after “land grabbing” a significant portion of the Burnham football field. Leasing the skating rink and portions of the football field to private businessmen violates a law that the city council crafted years ago, but that is okay as long as it makes money.

By the way, forget the football players and other athletes because our officials think they contribute nothing to the image of the city. Certainly, a basura city that does not care even if it dumps its waste beside a school cannot, at the same time, maintain an image as a city for athletes and sports buffs. Forget the football teams of kids and young adults as their managers do not seem to care whether the Melvin Jones football grounds will be diminished in green space.

Anyway some of the managers are only disguising as supporters in the city’s sports program if there is any. I think the real unwritten covenant behind everything is the personal favor they get for their private business. Now, I am getting a clearer picture. Yes, they are businessmen who have become very successful. But along with that success is that they care less about the environment.

That is why they have not lifted a finger against the concreting of a portion of the only wide green space in the middle of the city. Now I understand why I never heard or saw them go against the indiscriminate cutting of trees in many privatized centers in the city. It is because they themselves have been cutting trees where their businesses could expand.

Another part of Burnham Park that is up for privatization is the athletic bowl. City officials say they need big money to renovate the athletic field, the bleachers, swimming pool, basketball courts, track and field that is why they need the money of a private investor. But after all the works, the next thing for the investor is to think of how to get back his investment. Recently the city boasted about the recently finished fountains at the Rose Gardens.

The architecture is beautiful and a come-on to local and foreign tourists, but the fountains need money to be spent on water, electricity and maintenance personnel, especially when it malfunctions. Just like all the rest of the projects being constructed in city parks, the Rose Garden and fountains did not pass through the city council and it did not pass through a public consultation which is required of a multi-million project. But again, this was avoided precisely because it will not pass public scrutiny. Let us pray that the new colorful fountains will not be like the forerunner fountains at the Burnham Lake that stopped functioning because there was no money to spend on maintenance. To keep them functioning, the city will turn over management to a private entity.

Parks should be enjoyed at no cost at all. Today, Burnham remains to be the only free space for people who just want to enjoy walking without spending. But soon it will be fully fenced and gated, no longer to be easily accessible. I will not be surprised if in the later years, city planners and their managers will remove the boats in Burnham Lake and level its top with concrete.

That way, city bosses can privatize it by dividing the space among whoever is interested to do private business in it. We keep repeating the line “parks are beyond the commerce of man,” but that is not so in Baguio. Privatizing Burnham Park is the means by which public funds can be converted into private money that cannot be scrutinized by the public. When it finds its way into the pocket of a public official, it is called “kickback.” – ozram.666@gmail.com