By Myrna Peña-Reyes
On the few times now when I find myself going by Rizal Boulevard, I imagine myself entreating the powers that be of the City as follows:
Mr. Mayor, Sirs and Madams: Please leave some sea to see at street level for us mobility-challenged seniors who find it difficult to walk down to the Pantawan.
As of now, at least, there is still that small stretch of open water we can see between Pantawan 1 (DumaGetMe) and Pantawan 2 (your pet project ablazed with extravagant wattage at night).
But that open water will not be so anymore if your plan of joining the two Pantawans pushes through (MetroPost, Feb. 25, 2024).
Perhaps in your still- youthful state, you don’t realize that we — who now walk laboriously bent over canes, each step bringing on pain in our backs or knees or both — cannot just walk like normal people across the Pantawan to view the water.
And what’s so important for us to be able to see the sea? Why do people seek out places with the natural beauty and quiet of nature? Why do some cities (e.g Singapore, Portland in Oregon, or Paris) recognize this need, and have set aside such spaces to enhance the quality of life of their residents and visitors?
For many of us, the pre-Pantawan boulevard was such a place. It no longer is.
Sure, you would dismiss us as sentimental oldies given to nostalgia, who are increasingly irrelevant in your grand scheme of transforming Dumaguete into a sports and tourist destination that would bring economic rewards to the City and the Province.
But couldn’t that be accomplished somehow without irrevocably destroying what nature has blessed us with as a coastal town? Did tradition have no place whatsoever in the decisions taken?
What was the original impetus for Pantawanizing the boulevard area? Pantawan 1 was to provide a viewing deck and photo-taking area.
But it was at the cost of destroying for good an area of the sea.
Then after much secrecy, it finally came out that Pantawan 2 was to build volleyball courts to promote Dumaguete as a sports center, so games could be played on a beach-like setting, like those shown on TV with beautifully-tanned athletic and eye-catchingly-clad young people.
With the loud outcry from concerned citizens about the coastal destruction involved, the officials thought it might be more palatable if “wave deflector” was officially given as its raison d’etre.
These days, “shoreline protection” is bandied about as reclamation continues to the south of the City.
As already mentioned, progressive cities have parks, gardens, or zoos for the relaxation and enjoyment of their residents and visitors, pockets of green, and relative quiet that offer a change of pace from the bustle and noise of restaurants, the marketplace, and the business world, such places of quiet that restore the soul.
But science also has an explanation why people need these. Nature has therapeutic powers that we can harness: Ecotherapy helps people tap into nature’s healing powers. EcoWellness is the respect, appreciation and awe of nature resulting in feeling connected, and experiencing wellness. Nature connectedness is a source of peace, comfort and happiness achieved not only in green spaces but of blue spaces or those with river and ocean views…nature connectedness can boost mental health. (Phil. Star, March 5, 2024).
Dumaguete has no relatively-quiet parks or gardens (except the cemeteries, perhaps) we can repair to when the mood arises.
It once had a beautiful boulevard by the sea that even visitors admired and wished their hometowns were blesssed with as well.
For us, less than physically-able seniors who still crave and need to see the water, we can only hope that the small area of open water still visible from the street not be covered up.
With that open water gone, we won’t be able to watch the few fishermen casting nets or tending fishing lines from their bancas while gulls circle above them; we won’t see and feel any sea breeze stirring the water, nor hear the sound of waves breaking gently; no more moon and moonlight.
Just powerful blazing artificial lights obliterating what once was our source of pride, joy, and comfort.
