BAGUIO CITY – Hundreds of members of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) of the Manuel L. Quezon Elementary School and residents of Military Cut-off and DPS barangays are now up in arms against the proposed construction of a multi-level pay parking building on the ground of the public elementary school.
In a petition, the signatories underscored that the school and the concerned stakeholders need the open school ground for organized ball games like batted balls and football, thus, it is illogical to put up a multi-level parking structure in the area which might compromise the safety of the learners and the public.
“We need the area where our children can simply play and run around. We need the area as a learning space in all the subjects that require outdoor activities. We also need the area for scouting activities,” the strongly worded petition stated.
The petitioners claimed that the school ground is also serving as the evacuation area of the learners and personnel of the school, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the President Fidel V. Ramos gymnasium, the Special Education Center, the Schools Division of Baguio City and the residents of Military Cut-off and DPS Compound barangays in times of natural and man-made disasters.
According to the petition, barangays Military Cut-off and DPS have a stake in the said area because the school ground is the only open space that straddles the said barangays for evacuation and other public purposes.
Further, the petition argued that the usage of the school ground is not limited to the learners of the public elementary school but learners from other schools from all levels in the different parts of the city where they hold various activities that need to be conducted in conducive open spaces such as the said school ground.
The petitioners asserted that whatever will be the development that will be introduced in the school ground should always be geared towards educational purposes that will best serve the interest of the learners and the school around it and other learners from other schools based in the different parts of the city.
The petitioners appealed to concerned government agencies and the city government that the school ground should be developed through the improvement of its perimeter fence fronting the road, the construction of bleachers on the slope from the Quezon Elementary School and the construction of drainage canals along its edge near the Cordillera State Institute of Technology which is being administered by TESDA to make the said area secure and comfortable for the learners and all the concerned stakeholders using the said area for whatever purpose.
The petitioners emphasized that the softball and football field fronting the Quezon elementary School should always remain as an open and unoccupied space to serve the greater interest of the learners and the residents living in the surrounding barangays.
Signatories to the said petition included learners and personnel of the public elementary school and other concerned stakeholders who want the preservation of the open space to serve its purpose and to be used for the various education-related activities needing open areas for the overall benefit of the school children. Contributed article