QC wants bigger role in Ninoy Aquino wildlife park

Other private developers have expressed interest in turning the 20-hectare Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center into a more attractive green haven, as the Quezon City government said it wished to comanage the park with the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB).

The city government had only seen the preliminary proposal of a Singapore investor, but acting Mayor Joy Belmonte said she had heard of other groups keen on improving the site, including a Swiss firm.

“It’s all preliminary, nothing is definite yet. We are looking at the possibilities and best terms for the park to be a green haven in the middle of the city,” Belmote said in a phone interview.

Belmonte is serving as the city’s officer in charge while Mayor Herbert Bautista is on an official trip overseas.

The vice mayor issued the statement in reaction to an Inquirer story on Wednesday on the meeting between the PAWB and a group of Singaporean businessmen regarding their “unsolicited proposal” to turn 3.5 hectares of the park into a zoo or nature sanctuary.

The Singapore developer had previous experience in developing a night safari and bird park, Belmonte said, withholding the name of the company.

The park, which was declared a protected area in 2004, is managed by the PAWB, with the Quezon City government serving as a supporting body.

The park also serves as a temporary shelter for confiscated, rescued or injured wild animals. Development and human activity in the area are being limited by PAWB to protect its collection of indigenous flora as well as shield the animals from stress.

Belmonte said the city government wishes to comanage the park with the PAWB in a bid to develop an integrated system of green parks in Quezon City, which boasts of other nature spots like the La Mesa Dam park, the Arboretum inside the University of the Philippines campus and the Balara filtration plant compound.

“I am very proud that Quezon City has the most number of green areas and we want to integrate the management of these green areas,” she said.

The NAPWC is also covered in the master plan for Quezon City’s proposed Central Business District.

“We are one with the PAWB in the common goal of conserving and protecting nature,” she said, adding that she wished to promote growth in Quezon City by making its green parks a nature and wildlife attraction.

Belmonte particularly envisions the NAPWC to be a green habitat where animals are not caged and can breed freely.

She also dispelled rumors that part of the protected area will be turned into an amusement park, saying: “That will never happen in my lifetime.”