NOW THAT THE GAMBLING activity at Burnham Park has been ordered stopped on Hizzoner’s order, we all should be shrieking our unmitigated joy, ebullient that no less than the Father of the City has acted swiftly to serve as the frontline guardian of morality in Baguio’s centerpiece park.
About time, we’d say, considering that among the conditions imposed when the carnival was allowed at the Children’s Playground area — over and above policy recommendations from those mandated to administer the Park — was precisely this kind of activity that unduly exposes our kids to betting on table games decided by chance, no matter how pene-ante, as they say.
No doubt, you took our kids for a ride. That these were going on clandestinely since Day One was bad enough. Weren’t there law enforcers in the premises, who would have known that something other than child’s play was going on? What about the Honorables who overturned existing restrictive policy and merrily gave the imprimatur, didn’t anyone of them even discern that something nefarious and abominable would get by? Why should it take netizens to take photos of what’s going on and letting the screen shots go viral, enough for parents like you and I to go bananas, aghast something like these are going on at Burnham Park no less.
Which speaks volumes indeed, making us wonder why we must endure these summertime mysteries. Already, it would seem that policy makers, those whom we have entrusted in keeping Burnham Park the wholesome, family-oriented amusement and recreational pride of place, would just so readily abandon long-established restrictions in the public’s use of a public park long adored for the serenity, peace, and quiet of a green setting, long beloved for the recreational relief earned from moments of relaxation. There must have been compelling reasons for the turnabout, enough to go — pardon the term — carnivalistic.
Now that games of chance have been ordained out of the fun-rides, isn’t it about time too to exercise 24/7 vigilance over the safety issues that objectors have presented against the carnival project. Gone viral this week is another screen grab of a ride equipment that just stalled fearsomely while kids were sprawled face down up in their rides. Are we minding enough that our kids are genuinely safe when using these riding implements? Have mechanical engineers reviewed the safety protocols concerned? What specific measures are in place to ensure that our kids are spared from needless accidents?
And, lest we ignore, what about the toxic fumes ejected by diesel-powered equipment into the environment? If motorists are continually checked for the pollution their motor vehicles are spewing, why not these mechanical contraptions operating on dirty energy? Aren’t we also ditching off public safety here, compromising the very health condition of our children who are lured to use these fun rides?
You may have taken our kids for a memorably long ride for 90 days, but parents like us have good memories too when your 3-year ride, so credibly entrusted into you, comes up for review and retribution, remembering how Burnham Park became our Calvary for a Carnival.
