CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 12 June) — Plaza Divisoria, also referred to as Golden Friendship Park, used to be almost all concrete. But the park right in the heart of the city has now been transformed “into a more climate resilient urban green space.”
After six months of rehabilitation work at a cost of ₱50 million in what is called “Project Lunhaw” (lunhaw is Cebuano for green), the city government reopened Plaza Divisoria on Thursday in time for the 127th Philippine Independence Day celebration.
It is “a climate resiliency project that aims to transform Plaza Divisoria into a walkable, bikable, green urban space in the heart of Cagayan de Oro City,” according to the City Information Office.
More plants are now visible in the plaza, and the concrete pavements permeable to help absorb rainwater, apparently just what the city needs with the frequent floods.
Mayor Rolando Uy led the ceremony for the newly rehabilitated plaza that features monuments honoring national heroes like Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, President Ramon Magsaysay and the city’s third mayor, Justiniano Borja, who was responsible for the growth of Cagayan de Oro when he opened Cogon public market in 1958.
“The rehabilitation of the Divisoria Park may not be noticeable during daylight hours. But when you observe it at night, the transformative changes truly become apparent,” said Patrick Gabutina, chair of Project Lunhaw who oversaw the renovation project.
Gabutina said renovation of two parks in Plaza Divisoria—including that with the monument of Andres Bonifacio where the skeletal remains of local heroes who fought and died fighting the American forces at the turn of last century was buried—is still unfinished.
Plaza Divisoria, sandwiched between Tirso Neri St. and RN Abejuela St., consists of five islands. Constructed in 1902 to serve as a fire breach for the emerging city of Cagayan de Oro back then, it has a rich local history. One of its structures, Kiosko Kagawasan or Freedom Kiosk, was the scene of demonstrations participated by thousands of residents during the 1986 EDSA and EDSA II revolts that toppled former Presidents Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in 1986 and Joseph Estrada in 2001, respectively.
Gabutina said they made sure that the parks would be accessible to the public and put up pathways for persons with disabilities who want to stay in the parks with their wheelchairs.
He said they also planted flowers and constructed benches and eventually a small fountain will emerge in front of the monument of Andres Bonifacio.
“It was money well spent really,” Gabutina said. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
