Parañaque: Then and now

For over two decades now, I have been residing in the South, and thus have been a witness to the many changes in the landscape of Paranaque. Back in the early eighties, as new residents in BF Homes, water was plentiful and our water pipes literally burst from the tremendous pressure of water gushing forth from the showers. We had to change the water pipes every so often because of this, but this was a welcome problem because neighboring communities inside the huge community that is BF Homes were already complaining of dried up pipes. Soon, we couldn’t speak with pride of this "problem", and sooner than we thought possible, the water pipes began drying up and we had joined the hundreds (maybe thousands) of residents who patronized the water delivery trucks that seemed to proliferate overnight in the area. As this was not as reliable as we hoped (you couldn’t get it at the drop of a phone – there were just too many customers!) we joined the ranks of dissatisfied homeowners who had deep wells installed, and all the attendant pumps that went with it. So for several years now, we have run full circle – we’re back to plentiful water, until the wells dry up.

Back in the eighties too, garbage was not a problem, but the nineties into the next decade saw the mounting problem of garbage collection and disposal, so that even major thoroughfares had heaps and mountains of garbage waiting to be collected.

Have you been to the South lately? If you’re entering BF Homes or the neighboring subdivisions like South Bay and Tahanan, you will notice the beautified center islands along Sucat, neat, planted to flowering shrubs, and well-lighted. Mayor Florencio "Jun" Bernabe, Mayor of Parañaque, says they rehabilitated all the lights along Sucat, not just to beautify this thoroughfare but more to promote safety and security in the area. In fact, they installed some 2,500 lights in the area, and what a sight it is indeed.

They have also started work on the sidewalks – these have likewise been rehabilitated and are a pretty sight now. We no longer have drab concrete side walks with chipped off portions. They are now clearly delineated and defined, and they look so decent the pedestrians will hopefully be loathe to defile them with garbage or plain misuse.

Mayor Bernabe recently marked his first anniversary as Mayor of Parañaque. Not your traditional politician, Mayor Jun is soft-spoken, but clearly takes pride in the leaps of progress his administration has taken. In his first year as Mayor, he has built two schools, one for elementary and one for high school, each with at least 2,000 enrollees. Residents who go through Sucat appreciate the remarkable change and the brightened areas no longer lure the denizens of the dark and the criminal minds.

Certain areas of Parañaque were also prone to floods. If you remember, the year 2000 saw hideous floods, especially in the Evacom area where we were told that flood waters reached up to the ceiling of some homes. Through the Save the River Foundation and the efforts of Sen. Biazon as chairman of the disaster projects then, the Navy dredged the mouth of the Parañaque river. The silt removed, there have been no major floods in the area since then.

The good mayor also talks of the serious efforts of his administration in making Parañaque business-friendly. They have link-up computer systems that have made payment of real-estate taxes easy and quick together with applications for business permits and licenses. Their taxpayers’ lounge is comfortable, airconditioned, equipped with television. They even serve free coffee and juice!

Like Mayor Marides Fernando, Mayor Jun laments the fact that their terms are too short to really effect significant changes. Plans are afoot to build a first-class commercial and business district in the 200-hectare reclamation area in the Parañaque area owned by the Public Estates Authority. Of these, about 50 hectares are now ready and waiting for business ventures to develop. Parañaque is laregely residential. Approximately 60 percent of the land here is devoted to residences, with only about 20 to 30 percent utilized for business and institutional entities. Mayor Jun invites the businessmen to look into this huge potential just waiting to be tapped. It should be an interesting development.

Mayor Jun also tells us that they plan to convert an area here into a bird sanctuary. Currently, there are about 3,000 birds that migrate here from Siberia yearly to escape the harsh winters, so bird watchers can look forward to this as the good mayor intends to have his bird sanctuary in this area soon.

A pilot purifying station has also been put up in BF Homes that has successfully reclaimed and purified water from the creek. He personally tried this purified water and claims that the water, fully tested, is potable. They will soon put up a similar project in South Bay, one of the upper class subdivisions in the area which is near Tahanan Village and BF Homes. This plant is projected to purify some 1,000 cubic meters of potable water, more than enough for their village’s needs. They will supply the neighboring villages with their surplus production.

The LRT extension from Baclaran going through Parañaque via the Coastal Rd to Sucat where the transpo hub is, all the way to Dasmariñas, Cavite will definitely decongest these areas. This is definitely good news for Parañaque residents who, of late, have been complaining about the mounting congestion in certain areas, particularly Sucat, during peak hours.

As for the informal settlers – well, Mayor Jun says this is still a big headache and intends to approach the problem piece meal, prioritizing certain areas. He realizes that the dwellers in the creek/riverside face danger everytime there are heavy rains. He calls these the danger zones. He also points out that some families live just atop the bridge and these are clearly visible to commuters and are particularly tourism sore sights.

Of the 500,000 population of the city, he estimates about 20 percent of these are informal settlers and has pinpointed 240 informal settlements in the area. That is about 20,000 families which he will have to relocate.

Parañaque has gone quite a long way. It used to be known as one huge salt bed. Not any more.

Last week, we talked about the issue of advertising claims between oil giants Petron and Pilipinas Shell. We were misinformed about a certain point. It seems the two young writers from C Magazine were paid talent fees for this media mileage after all. In the interest of fair reportage, we are correcting that particular item. Apart from that minor item, the rest is fairly accurate.

Mabuhay. Be proud to be a Filipino.

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