RIZAL Park (formerly Luneta) will soon be hosting a temporary mobile hospital and drive-through vaccination site to help the government in its battle to contain the spread of Covid-19.
The projects were approved on Tuesday by the Board of Directors of the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC), an attached agency of the Department of Tourism (DOT).
In a news statement, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said, “Through the temporary mobile hospital that will be constructed in Rizal Park, and the drive-through vaccination site at the Quirino Grandstand, the DOT has repurposed its tourism sites to support the current efforts to protect the public’s health and safety during this crisis.”
While both facilities will be constructed by the city of Manila, she stressed these “will be open to all, not just the residents of Manila.” The DOT chief chairs the NPDC board.
Romulo Puyat said the mobile hospital will cater to patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 symptoms. The temporary drive-through vaccination site is projected to accommodate 350 to 400 persons for vaccination per day.
Just recently, the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) approved the DOT-initiative to use a portion of the Nayong Pilipino Foundation Inc.’s property at the Pagcor Entertainment City in Parañaque as a drive-through mega-vaccine center. The project will be fully funded by the ICTSI Foundation. (See, “Drive-through Covid shots available soon at Nayong Pilipino–DOT chief,” in the BusinessMirror, April 13, 2021.)
A major tourism destination in the National Capital Region, Rizal Park attracted some 11.5 million visitors in 2019, which was targeted to increase by 17.6 percent to 13.5 million in 2020, before the pandemic happened.
Mayor’s vow
Meanwhile, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso wrote NPDC Executive Director Cecille Lorenzana Romero on April 12 regarding his proposal to construct a temporary mobile hospital at Burnham Green of Rizal Park, “in anticipation of a possible surge of Covid-19 cases.”
Domagoso had committed to design, construct, maintain, and manage the hospital “up to its logical conclusion,” at no cost to the national government. He also promised to restore Burnham Green back to its original condition.
The temporary drive-through vaccination site will be constructed specifically at the Independence Road (Parade Grounds) of the Quirino Grandstand, which is also under the management of the NPDC. It will be located beside the drive-through RT-PCR testing facility managed by the City of Manila together with NPDC.
Launched last July 20, the drive-through testing has provided rapid-serology tests for up to 700 people daily, five days a week. It was then converted into RT-PCR testing on January 18, accommodating 100 persons daily.
Rizal Park is one of the largest urban open parks in the National Capital Region, spanning 53 hectares. It is a major tourist destination anchored on national hero Jose Rizal’s monument, and features other interesting sites like the Chinese and Japanese Gardens, the towering statue of Lapu-Lapu.
Its adjacent Quirino Grandstand has been the traditional venue for oath-taking ceremonies of Philippine presidents, concerts, religious gatherings, and protest rallies.
It has also served as an evacuation site, a processing site for Locally Stranded Individuals, barracks for the military in times of war, and a military hospital during the Spanish colonial era.
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