ILOILO City – Public plazas will no longer be used for vending and other business activities before, during or immediately after a district or barangay fiesta, said Mayor Jerry P. Treñas.
“We need to take care of these public spaces. They are completely beyond the commerce of man,” he explained.
Jaro Plaza, which is currently undergoing restoration, would no longer be the venue of Jaro district fiesta activities this Feb. 2, 2023. Treñas said only the Jaro fiesta queen coronation night will be held at the plaza.
All other activities like the Jaro Agro-Industrial Fair (Jaro carnival) would be held elsewhere. Treñas, however, has so far not identified alternative venues for this.
The city government has spent so much for the restoration of the public plazas of the City Proper (Plaza Libertad), Molo, Arevalo, Jaro, Mandurriao, and La Paz districts.
Plaza Libertad, Molo Plaza and Arevalo Plaza have reopened to the public after months of restoration.
Plaza Libertad’s rehabilitation, however, will still have a Phase 2.
“They are being restored because we want to make them safe, accessible and welcoming,” said Treñas.
Plazas, he stressed, are environments for public interaction and exchange of ideas that impact the quality of the urban environment and living.
Treñas had been dreaming of improving the city’s plazas back when he was a congressman.
Coordinating with the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, the National Museum and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, he initiated an integrated development plan for a cultural heritage tourism zone that included public plazas.
Treñas subsequently authored Republic Act 10555, or “An Act Declaring the Jaro Cathedral, Molo Church, the Iloilo City Central Business District, Fort San Pedro, Jaro Plaza Complex, Molo Plaza Complex and Plaza Libertad Complex…as Cultural Heritage Tourism Zones”.
City government architect Regina Gregorio said the revitalization of the district plazas aims to bring back community patronage and appreciation of public open spaces where “everyone knows every Juan”, a diminishing trait in an urbanized society.
The city government initially allocated P190 million for the redevelopment of the district plazas – Jaro (P90 million), La Paz (P60 million) and Arevalo (P40 million).
The historic Plaza Libertad – known as Plaza Alfonso XII during the Spanish colonial period – was the first to undergo a major redevelopment using over P19 million from the Local Government Support Fund – Assistance to the Cities./PN
