Dreaming of a Na-young Pilipino

If you are asked if you know what Nayong Pilipino is, and you say no, then I pity you. Practically everyone knows what Nayong Pilipino is! When you’re in grade school, "field trip" equals Nayong Pilipino. Who hasn’t been on a field trip to Nayong Pilipino? I remember when I went there on a field trip back when I was in Grade Two. When you’re in Grade Two, it’s already a big thing if you bring a camera to a field trip. I had a camera with me and no one could contain my excitement. I went camera-happy, clicking away at the sights and my friends. When I got home, I was still talking about everything I saw there.

Until today, I think Nayong Pilipino is a really great place, especially for children. Most kids these days grow up exposed to western values and tend to forget how beautiful the Philippines really is. They dream of going to Paris to fall in love, to New York to live a fast-paced life, to Egypt to see the Pyramids, or even to Hong Kong for a shopping trip! While it’s not bad to want to travel all over the world, I think we should start exploring our own country first. We may not be able to see all of the breathtaking sights in the Philippines first-hand, you can get the next best thing by going to Nayong Pilipino. In this leisure park, you get to see the different sights in the Philippines and experience them all in one place! You’ll learn more about our country and its culture in a totally cool and laid-back atmosphere.

I’m sure most of the Filipino youth today owe their knowledge of the Philippine landmarks to Nayong Pilipino. So Nayong Pilipino, along with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), gave young architects the chance to give back and discover a new vision of Nayong Pilipino in the Nayong Pilipino Conceptual Master Plan Design Competition. Teams coming from different schools from different parts of the country gave their all as they redesigned the park, breathing new and vibrant life into it. The first prize winner will have their design as the Master Plan of the New Nayong Pilipino.

Out of all the teams that contributed their designs, only 10 made it to the semi-finalists. Their design plans were exhibited for one week at the NCCA building in Intramuros, from April 3 to 8. All of them were truly inventive and impressive. But I’m proud to say that the first prize went to my brother, Jason, and his partner, Karen Cheung. They come from UST and they really had an excellent Master Plan for Nayong Pilipino. I remember my brother staying up really late night after night just to finish their design, and I’m glad that all his hard work really paid off.

When we went to the awarding ceremonies held at the NCCA Auditorium last April 3, I got a really good look at all the designs. There were entries from different schools and all of them had appealing designs, but I have to say I truly liked my brother’s work. I may not know much about architecture, but I saw how interesting their design was. It didn’t just simply show the important cultural landmarks in the Philippines, it also had original areas where people could get a different and educational view of the different landmarks. My favorite innovations were the bahay kubo on wheels, cable cars that went around a big model of the Philippine islands, and replicas of lahar-stricken areas where you get to find your own "souvenirs." Just looking at the design plans got me excited to see this Nayong Pilipino.

Obviously, the judges were pretty excited about the design as well, because they were unanimous in the decision of the first prize winner. At the awarding ceremonies, they crowded around my brother to congratulate him on the winning design (his partner Karen was unfortunately abroad and was unable to attend the awarding ceremonies). The theme was "Tiwala sa Kabataang Pilipino: Pagsibol ng mga Dalubhasang Batang Arkitecto," and I was proud that Jason and Karen are two truly dalubhasang batang arkitekto and more importantly, the ones that the judges trusted to bring a new vision of Nayong Pilipino to life.

I’d also like to congratulate the second- and third-prize winners from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and UP Diliman, respectively. Their designs were impressive and really showed the Filipino culture and heritage.

All in all, I think all of the teams showed just how inspiring the Filipino youth can be. As we’ve probably been told before, the youth really is the future of the nation, and this is one event that proved how much they can do. Nayong Pilipino was established in 1972 and I hope that with Jason and Karen’s help, it will continue to exist as a wonderful place for much longer.

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ERRATUM: A few weeks ago, in my article "Everything I Learned in Life I Learned in Chemistry," I made a mistake of saying opposite charged particles repel when actually, they attract. I guess after one year of studying Chem, I am still not an expert in it. Sorry, Mr. Laygo!