Deadline moved for Rizal fate
The City of Manila was supposed to submit an offer for the PSC to move out of the Rizal Memorial grounds last Monday but it didn’t happen. PSC chairman Butch Ramirez had set a personal deadline of Jan. 30 to decide whether or not to stay in the sports complex. That deadline has been extended.
If you ask Ramirez if he’d like to stay, he won’t hesitate to say he’d rather not move out. But what he feels deep down in his heart doesn’t count and can’t be the guide to his decision. This isn’t a personal choice. Emotions and sentiments should be set aside. What’s on the line is the future of Philippine sports and if moving out could mean a brighter tomorrow for Filipino athletes, then that should be the primary consideration. If the City of Manila makes an offer that’s difficult to refuse, Ramirez said it may be time to pack the PSC’s bags. For the right price, relocating to realize the dream of building a National Training Center for elite Filipino athletes would be worth the sacrifice.
What exactly is the right price? There are all sorts of valuations to study in assigning a reasonable and realistic price for the 11-hectare property. Ramirez said he has reviewed the latest market and zonal valuations. His conclusion is the right price would be anywhere between P6 to P10 Billion. If the City of Manila offers a price within that range, the PSC will be able to put up a hefty budget for the construction of the National Training Center at the Green City which straddles Capas, Tarlac and Angeles City, Pampanga. The plan is to allocate 100 hectares for the Center with 50 set aside for the initial training complex. The budget won’t only be for the structure but also for the facilities to include equipment.
Ramirez said yesterday the City of Manila has not tendered an exact offer. “We are scheduled to meet on Feb. 15,” he said. “Both of us will produce two to three valuation assessments and government will determine the amount.” The City of Manila intends to do a joint venture with a real estate developer or sell the property outright to a third party but isn’t able to negotiate a deal until the PSC clears out. Under the law, nobody can force the PSC to vacate the premises. It’s up to the PSC to stay or leave and the City of Manila has no authority to enforce a kick-out.
**** Ramirez said he has ordered a stoppage of all renovation and construction work at the Rizal complex until the issue of staying or moving is resolved. It wouldn’t make sense to spend for rehab work at this stage if the decision is to vacate in the end. If Ramirez’s personal deadline to decide was initially on Jan. 30, it may be extended to Feb. 28. It wouldn’t be fair to hold the reconstruction work indefinitely.
Although the City of Manila and the PSC are the principal characters in this drama, the Heritage Conservation Society points out that R. A. 10066 mandates the Philippine Registry of Cultural Property to preserve buildings that are over 50 years old. The Rizal complex was built in 1934. If the eventual plan is to demolish the Rizal sports complex for a mall to rise from its destruction, conservationists may intervene and seek a ruling from the courts on the legality of the transformation.
Sisters Ching Montinola and Menchu Concepcion, daughters of the late Antonio de las Alas who was instrumental in planning and constructing the Rizal sports complex, are understandably up in the arms over the news that a mall will replace what their father conceived as a monument to Philippine sports glory. In a letter to Ramirez, they said: “We fear that the Rizal Stadium, which is our country’s heritage possession, will be gone and it can never be replaced. It is so sad and painful. Those who labored and served the country, our forefathers should be remembered and respected, they worked so intensely for this. It is a pity for those who recognize sports. Surely, there are ways to at least save the façade to honor the yesteryears’ dedicated sportsmen and what it meant.”
**** Ms. Montinola also wrote to National Commission on Culture and Arts chairman Felipe de Leon. “My father, designated as the Secretary of Public Works during the Quezon era, was responsible for this much-needed venue for various sports as chairman of the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation to support and develop all sports enthusiasts of body and mind for a better country and people,” she said. “Papa worked so hard for this project. It seems painful and sad to lose another historical heritage of our country.” De Leon replied by saying he forwarded her letter to Lawrence Salazar, head of the Cultural Heritage Section.
Ramirez said if the PSC vacates the Rizal sports complex, he will make sure that the City of Manila imposes conditions on the real estate developer to retain important landmarks to preserve the legacy of De las Alas’ efforts. The PSC sports museum should remain as well as the façade of the sports stadiums. Perhaps, the developer could keep and refurbish the Ninoy Aquino Stadium as a site for sporting events, concerts and conventions like an alternative to the Mall of Asia Arena or Smart Araneta Coliseum. It could also retain facilities for indoor sports with public access like badminton and squash. That would retain the sports character of the new development.
Leaving the Rizal sports complex as it is may not be the thing to do with the future in mind. Holding on to the past has its pitfalls but forgetting it is non-negotiable. A sports complex has no place in a busy district where car fumes pollute the air and streets are narrow. It’s time to move on to a new location but let’s not forget what the Rizal sports complex has meant to Philippine history. That legacy should be preserved in a significant form and if the decision is for the PSC to vacate the premises, that will be the challenge of the City of Manila and the real estate developer to undertake.