BAGUIO CITY, August 27 (PNA) -– The conduct of a feasibility study will push through to be used as a reference in future development plans at Burnham Park in Baguio City but the development of Melvin Jones Football Field as a parking lot will be put on hold.
The Baguio City council, however, has yet to give the mayor the authority to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the study proponent.
In an interview today, August 27, Vice Mayor Edison Bilog said the conduct of a full feasibility study will be very expensive for the city.
Unless the proponent themselves will shoulder the expected expenses for the study, then, the mayor may have a go but depending on the conditions set in the MoA, Bilog said.
Early this year, Domogan announced that an Australian firm was willing to develop the football field into a 3,000 unit parking area under the open field.
Environmentalists opposed the plan, citing its effects in the city’s aquifer and its historic relevance.
This led to the inquiry of the National Historic Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) chair Ma. Serena Diokno.
Diokno, in a letter dated August 11 2014, asked Domogan to confirm such plans for the Melvin Jones Football Field.
Diokno further stated that the NHCP is concerned about the protection and preservation of Baguio City’s cultural heritage.
The NHCP inquiry was a result of a resolution passed by the Baguio Heritage Foundation, Inc. (PNA)