Hey mga paisano now that ERAP was convicted of plunder what about Mr. TABACO (RAMOS)...Please read the latest article in Phil. Daily Inquirer....laing gastuhun na pod sa panahon ni GLORIA....
Ila lang gibuwak buwakan ang CLARK EXPO aron pagtabon sa tinood nga kahimtang, ang corruption sa likod niining maong proyerto...
P40M being spent for Expo Pilipino
By Tonette Orejas
Central Luzon Desk
Last updated 01:25am (Mla time) 09/25/2007
CLARK FREEPORT--The mammoth yet idle government asset that is the P3-billion Expo Pilipino here has finally gotten a new lease on life.
Breathing a fresh start to the 60-hectare park is the government itself through the Nayong Pilipino Foundation, said Crispin Cadiang, NPF’s coordinator for this P40-million undertaking.
The move, led by NPF executive director Charito Planas, is seen in business circles as daring because no private group has actually tried to turn it around and get over its tarnished past.
Ramos legacy
Built by the administration of former President Fidel Ramos to celebrate the centennial of Philippine Independence in 1998, the Expo Pilipino was mothballed in 1999, on orders of former President Joseph Estrada, after the Senate’s blue ribbon committee found proof of graft in the project.
In the business sense, however, the park still teems with facilities and features that can bring in income to the government’s coffers.
This was what convinced Planas to try the proposition of Rene Diaz, former presidential adviser for Northern Luzon, said Cadiang.
Rather than leave it to deteriorate or entirely go to waste, the NPF did its bit by using what remains of Expo Pilipino’s pre-colonial and colonial plazas, repairing or improving those or adding new attractions to the place, Cadiang said.
In doing so, it shared with the Clark Development Corp. the task of demonstrating that the Expo Pilipino is still feasible as a public or private enterprise.
Extension
“Nayong Pilipino sa Clark Expo†is how this improved part of the park is called.
“The concept is to make this an extension of the Nayong Pilipino in Pasay City,†said Cadiang, a musical composer and former Catholic priest.
At least 53 personnel, including a team of construction workers, are involved in this revival effort. Musician and historian Felipe de Leon has helped in the research and in the remaking of the area as a “buhay na yaman†or living heritage.
The replicas of the Ifugao Village, Kalinga Village and Barasoain Church, and the Convento Theater have been repaired and can now be used.
The replicas of the houses of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, Apolinario Mabini and former President Emilio Aguinaldo have been restored.
Existing structures
Still undergoing repairs are the Plaza, Arcadia, the museum of ecclesiastical and folk arts, and the outdoor theater.
The additional features are the Labuad Kapampangan, a mini-park of Pampanga culture, and the Karinan, a restaurant made of bamboo and nipa that sits right next to a vegetable garden and chicken farm.
Another feature is the “Dambana ng Paghilom (Shrine of Healing),†which is set to get its own garden of herbal plants.
Three of seven lodging cottages have been finished and are available for overnight rest or retreats.
The executive lounge, all made of hardwood and native materials, has hosted small conferences and meetings
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=4977.0