Baguio City Mayor and Council Okay 25-year Lease of Athletic Bowl (part of Burnham Park) to Koreans

In a matter of months, we have another dilemma in our hands. Earlier, local officials tried to pass a budget approval for private cars in a time when the city badly needed trucks to collect the city's mounting trash problem, and then the trees beside the Convention Center were nearly cut down to make room for more buildings. Now, we have learned that the local government has entered into a contract with the Koreans to lease the Athletic Bowl for 25 years. It is, essentially, a privatization of a public park, a park that is meant for the people. But here's the local government, leasing it out to the Koreans, which effectively means the people of Baguio will no longer have free access to the place. Wow, the local people being made foreigners in their own soil.

Read more about this at iBaguio, and please join the online protest at Facebook:
Save the Burnham Park Movement and Petition Against Baguio Athletic Bowl MOA. Please help us prevent further commercialization of Baguio City!

[UPDATE 13 January 2010]

IT’S TIME TO MOVE FORWARD.

With the Baguio City Council recalling Resolution 515 in a highly-emotional session Monday (January 12, 2010) we feel the petition against the Athletic Bowl MOA contained in this Facebook group, has already served its purpose. In the valiant stand taken by Councilor Pinky Chan Rondez during the session, she cited our Facebook presence to underline the public’s disgust over the deal. The prevailing negative public perception over this scandalous agreement (which some quarters still downplay as pure chismis circulated through Facebook), the City Councilors are quickly washing their hands clean.

But the main idea for this petition as an influential democratic space is STILL ALIVE. Now we know that TOGETHER, we can get things done the right way. UNITED, our opinions can make or shake the government. In the Medieval Ages, they said that the pen is mightier than the sword. In our generation, the mouse is mightier than lions.
In this regard, we shall continue to keep the fire burning for this and other Baguio issues, as we rename our group BAGUIO PETITIONS ONLINE. Mabuhay ang Baguio Facebookers!