“I’m the kind of person who would have liked to have lived at The Plaza. I love crystal chandeliers and gold leaf, velvet and mirrors, Oriental rugs, and marble.” –Candace Bushnell

I laud the administration of Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas for freeing the city’s public plazas from the “eye sores” that surface during annual fiestas and other festivities. There is no need for a law to prohibit “ukay ukay” and “trade fairs” from destroying the aesthetic of city plazas, common sense dictates such spaces are not for commercial use. Plazas are a focal point for civic and social life in a city.
In addition, the Treñas administration’s attempt to collaborate with the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority in order to rehabilitate such spaces is also admirable—it’s about time.
The city’s public plazas have long been neglected and abused as no city administration has made any dramatic moves to protect them from vandals and commercial activity. Plazas play a crucial role for successful urban areas and when they are unkempt—or designed poorly—they can be a black hole, sucking life out of the city center.
Most colonial cities in Latin America, like the Philippines, were planned around a plaza de armas, where troops could congregate (as the name implies).
The term plaza is a Spanish word, similar to Italian “piazza,” Catalan “plaça,” and German “Platz.” The origin is from the Latin word “platea” and the Greek “plateia (hodos),” meaning “broad (way or street).”
Presidential Decree 1216 provides that parks are for public use. “Beyond the commerce of men” is no longer necessary if one uses common sense.
Former professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek once said: “The evolution of the plaza always came from the idea of just a really good place to ride a skateboard that you could ride at any time, and that’s what the foundation always stands for—being a place that’s free, open, and legal… for those that are technical, to do really hard stuff, and for those who are learning, to just have fun.”

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Alex P. Vidal, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo./WDJ