The City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO) will be working on the putting up wash stations in the different public parks that were initially opened to the city residents as part of the efforts of the city government to empower park goers to observe basic sanitation practices.
CEPMO head Atty. Rhenan Diwas said one of the observations made by park personnel during the dry run of the opening of the various public parks to city residents was the absence of wash stations in strategic areas in the parks where people could do their recommended handwashing activities.
He claimed he already instructed personnel in the different parks to identify the areas feasible for the put up of the wash stations so that appropriate resources could be sourced out by the CEPMO for the installation of the stations for the use of the park goers.
Earlier, the city government conducted a dry run on the opening of the different public parks in the city to evaluate and assess the situation before fully opening the same to city residents.
The public parks that were initially opened for city residents include Burnham Park, except the children’s park and the Rose Garden; the east side of the Botanical Garden; Diplomat Hotel, Wright Park and Mines View Park.
However, park goers are still mandated to observe the mandatory health protocols such as the wearing of face masks, observance of physical distancing and adherence to personal hygiene measures.
According to him, the influx of park goers to the different parks is still manageable based on the initial observations of the personnel tasked to assess and evaluate the situation from time to time to ensure that proper adjustments on the rules and regulations could be instituted anytime as the need arises.
The CEPMO department head admitted that the rules and regulations being enforced in the opening of the different public parks to city residents could change anytime depending on the assessment and recommendations of the park personnel who have been tasked to do these. He urged park goers to adhere to the prescribed health and safety protocols strictly being enforced in the parks to allow them to freely move around while coping with the serious negative impact of the community quarantine.
Diwas emphasized the public parks will only be open until 6 p.m. in consideration of the city’s curfew hours so people can avail of the existing public transportation to go back to their residences.
The opening of the city’s parks is part of the efforts of the city government to re-open the local tourism industry initially for city residents and people coming from similarly situated modified general community quarantine areas. By Dexter A. See