Speak out: Mandaue plaza
by Archt. Karl Aries Emerson Cabilao
Mandaue City
IN my childhood days, whenever my cousins and I meet up at the family compound (located a few meters across the Mandaue City Hall), the plaza was always a favorite rendezvous.
I remember the grassy area, where we would play dakop-dakop and pulis-pulis, in the middle of the Rizal-Bonifacio Memorial stage, the MALTA tennis court and the Mandaue Plaza House. At times, we would play around the rotunda, fronting the City Hall, which was dedicated to the great Mandauehanon, Sotero Cabahug.
For so many years, even before I came to draw breath, the plaza, Cabahug rotunda and the plaza house were among the distinctive landmarks and favorite hangouts for the city’s denizens, who at that time, lived simply minus the lure of cable TV and the Internet.
Thus, when the plaza was hastily “remodeled” years ago, it caught a lot of attention, especially from the multitude of so-called Mandaue “old-timers.”
The old road toward the St. Joseph’s Church was inappropriately blocked with an “island” and S.B. Cabahug Road was reduced to a narrow one-way passage.
The other side of the road was dumped with dirt and plastered with greens that they later called “garden.” As a result, the statues of S.B. Cabahug and A.S. Fortuna are hidden among the plants near the Rizal Library, a place they do not deserve.
With the so-called garden, City Hall installed lamp posts that are allegedly overpriced. These lamp posts barely emit light. Thus at night, the garden is a murky place and a favorite of society’s negative elements. When it rains, one could see mud flowing toward P. Gomez Street.
As an architect and having studied urban design, I would say the “park” is a failure. For sure, it was hastily planned by individuals who have so much belief in themselves and don’t know how to tap the right local professionals for the job.
As far as safety is concerned, the project exposed people walking along the narrow sidewalks of S.B. Cabahug Road to the danger of being sideswept by vehicular traffic.
With regard to aesthetics, they could have done better. It altered the city core’s landscape so drastically that its image was destroyed.
Thus, when Mayor Jonas Cortes started moves to bring back the old look of the city square, it brought smiles to a lot of Mandauehanons, especially those who were greatly affected by the so-called hasty “remodeling.” The mayor definitely knows how to look back and treasure what remains of the city’s heritage. We all know that Mandaue does not have much heritage for the eyes compared to cities like Carcar or even Cebu.
For me, Mayor Cortes’ plaza restoration project is not a move to eradicate traces of the previous administration. If some people say so, then the previous administration is also guilty of such act after dumping dirt and weeds on the city square, closing the road that connects the historic Bantayan sa Hari and the St Joseph’s Church and demolishing landmark structures like the Cabahug rotunda.
The Mandaue Plaza remodelling issue.
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