Visit Dumaguete City and bask in its garbage-turned eco-park!
Mayor Felipe “Ipe” Remollo (you, dear reader, won’t forget what he did on that day GMA
announced her departure from the Estrada cabinet last October yet. Ipe pulled out the
former president’s framed photo on the wall and dumped it in the toilet bowl) couldn’t
make up his mind on what to label his beautiful city: University City, Retirement City,
Convention City, Sports City, Dream City, name it.
FVR and Tourism Sec. Richard Gordon had been here and were overly impressed by its
neatness, efficient and effective governance and beauty.
Dumaguete is an eloquent primer for Metro Manila’s sloppy garbage disposal system.
Under Ipe’s leadership, the city converted a 2-hectare dumpsite into an eco-park that cost
the city only R2 million. Garbage became a tourism come-on, a beautiful park, picnic area,
children’s plaza, aviary. The entire refuse area was literally wrapped into a carpet of
carabao grass, ornamental plants, Indian and acacia trees, and idyllic environment. “It’s a
semi-landfill,” the young mayor said, adding “the plastics garbage that refuse to go are
made into souvenir items such as hats, lamps, slippers, etc.”
The rise of the new park was not all there was. The scavengers became gainfully employed
and happily housed in a new housing community some 200 meters from the ecopark.
At night, the place is a feast of lights with people promenading if not dancing to a pipedin
music.
Several times the city was voted the cleanest nationwide, most child-friendly, most
cooperative LGU and the PNP’s anti-drug (MAD) national winner.
Ipe’s efforts by the way are fully backed by his non-government organization (NGO)
partner, the Mother Rita Foundation, which takes care of the displaced scavengers’
livelihood needs.
What’s going in Dumaguete City is one for the books, and to think that Ipe is not even a
technocrat. He is a lawyer, a brilliant courtroom personality and politician par excellence.
Profoundly pleased by the advent of a new head of state (GMA), Ipe however would rather
remain as an LP (Liberal Party) member, proud of his fellow Liberals led by college
classmate at the Ateneo Rep. Butch Abad, party president; Mar Roxas, Mike Defensor,
Mayor Lito Atienza, former mayor Fred Lim, lawyers Kiko Pangilinan, Salvador “Buddy”
Poquiz, Wigbert Tañada, Noynoy Aquino and Ely Quinto.
Ipe remembers his Ateneo classmates with fondness like Ed Serapio (know him?) General
Ed Aglipay, Liza Araneta-Marcos (wife of Gov. Bongbong Marcos), Butch Abad and Perry Pe,
husband of tycoon Robina Gokongwei.
If we have more Ipe Remollos, this archipelago will be a paradise and every garbage
problem surely dumped for good or better yet, made into a beautiful and lovely park.
* * *
Our friend Alice Abastillas’ favorite restaurant, Jin Hai City, on Xavierville that’s run by Elvin
and Brenda Ecotan has the best cuisine that’s creatively done by Elvin himself.
Zenith Cabiles, overall assistant, reports that “one thing sure, anyone who gets to try
Elvin’s cooking will surely come back. We met in that small foodhouse a couple from Las
Piñas City—Alvin and Estrella Quijano—who delighted us no end by Alvin’s classy singing on
the videoke. When the subject of clean cities cropped up, Estrella said “no one can beat
our Las Piñas City,” a world awardee as the cleanest. Let’s not quarrel over which is the
cleanest, Dumaguete or Marikina or Baguio, or Puerto Princesa or Laoag, what’s important
is, how come a few nice souls like Las Piñas City’s Mayor Nene Aguilar, Dumaguete’s Ipe
Remollo, and the others could make their cities sparkingly clean while most others are
dismally unkempt? Will somebody please tell Estrella the answer?
* * *
Congrats to our old pal, Paul Dominguez, classmate of megarich Cesar Duque at the
Ateneo and fellow traveler at the NUSP during the tumultuous days for his appointment as
presidential adviser for regional development, chairman of the DBP and special envoy to
Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia. Paul is one appointment by the president that will be
praised everywhere. The guy is not only a complete technocrat; he is a charming politico,
statesman, and good-looking. He can make a very good president in the future if he sets
his eyes to it. One time in 1995 with the late Sen. Raul Manglapuz, Paul took us to have an
aerial view of Cotabato aboard a chopper. When Paul was not looking, the senator told us
“you have a jewel for a friend.” He didn’t know that we merely pinch-hit for brod Dante,
Paul’s communications adviser in Makati City. But since then we have gained Paul’s
friendship, and found the senator’s words bullseye.
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