PHOTOS BY NONIE REYES

IT seems hard to reconcile the history of Parañaque with the modern city it is now—even more so with what its leaders and people envision its future.  The city, home to one of the country’s biggest clusters of residential subdivisions and businesses that account for its rapid progress the past two decades, also hosts that urban sprawl where the state gaming agency plans to put up its “Pagcor City,” a total entertainment complex that its visionaries hope would deliver the material returns of gaming while keeping out the nefarious elements it attracts in similar cities abroad. One guarantee, they point out, is that Pagcor City will be family-themed, or a complete entertainment complex with shades of Hollywood and Disney.

Florencio Bernabe Jr., the incumbent mayor of Parañaque, told the BusinessMirror in an interview that the city is right on track and ready to take off for development. Spearheading the march to development is the building of the Bagong Nayong Pilipino Manila Bay Integrated City, where the grand project of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) will rise. “This is the most promising project for the city because it will provide a lot of jobs and income,” said the mayor.

Jun Bernabe said this project will not only benefit his city but the whole country, as well. Pagcor City is expected to boost further Parañaque’s economic status once it opens on reclaimed land along Manila Bay.

The “city within a city” project is entirely within the territorial jurisdiction of Parañaque. The property on which it is being laid out is owned by the Public Estates Authority (PEA) and will be developed by four stakeholders that include Australian, Japanese, Singaporean and Filipino groups. The total area of the development is more or less 41 hectares, according to information from the mayor’s office.

The mayor says it is “not entirely correct to say” that the envisioned Pagcor City will be patterned after Las Vegas as a model—since only 5 percent of the total development will be allotted to gaming facilities. The major balance of 95 percent of the total land area of approximately 110 hectares will be allotted to theme parks, high-rise residences and commercial and business establishments. “This will not therefore be an attractive proposition for elements that intend to carry out unlawful activities in Pagcor City, such as money laundering.” Actually, this illegal activity is not so much a concern of the local government as that of the national government and the banking system, through the Anti-Money Laundering Council or AMLC.

For his part, Bernabe said the city government will provide tax holidays to investors in Pagcor City. He is optimistic the city council will approve a resolution that he filed granting Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) status to locators.

“The basket of tax holidays being offered for locators to the Parañaque Special Investment District [PSID] are mandated not by a mere resolution but by  City Ordinance 07-014” formulated by the local city council and approved by the city mayor. But not all locators to the PSID can avail themselves of the tax holiday, according to City Hall. Only locators with an investment of at least P400 million can apply for the tax incentive. An additional discount of 2 percent on business permits will be given to business enterprises with gross incomes of P1 billion or more. Aside from that,  the PSID  is under the Peza’s administration, under the national government. As such, locator enterprises enjoy as well, several incentives that are given by the government agency.

Both Pagcor City and the Bagong Nayong Pilipino are both tourism-oriented. Parañaque City’s expectation is that both offer employment opportunities to bona fide Parañaque residents. This expectation is boosted by a city ordinance that requires new business establishments requiring at least 10 personnel to hire at least 40 percent of their work force from bonafide Parañaque residents, including managers, supervisors, down to the labor force. However, the city government is quite flexible in the implementation of the local law for obvious reasons.

We’ve come a long way, baby

Parañaque’s history, when juxtaposed with what it is now and what it will be, is truly remarkable. What we know now as Parañaque started in 1572 as a town called Palanyag.

According to Dulce Festin-Baybay, author of the first comprehensive book on the history of Parañaque, the place was near the sea and Paraqueños traded with the Chinese, Indonesians, Indians and Malaysians. The main economic activities at that time were salt-making, fishing, planting rice, shoemaking, slipper-making and weaving.

Being located at the crossroads of Manila, the provinces of Cavite and Batangas, the town called Palanyag played an important role in Philippine history. During the invasion of the Chinese pirate Limahong in 1574, the book said Parañaque residents joined other Filipinos in repulsing the attack on Manila.

When the British invaded Manila in 1762, Paraqueños fought alongside the Spaniards.

In the 1896 Revolution, Filipino revolutionaries saw Parañaque as their gateway to Intramuros. The book identifies Manuel Quiogue and secular priest Pedro Dandan as the prominent Paraqueños who joined the revolution. 

When the Americans became the new colonizers of the Philippines, Parañaque was one of the first towns to have a municipal government.

During the Japanese occupation, Parañaque heeded the call to arms for freedom by providing the leadership of the guerrilla movement, like the ROTC Hunters, as well as food and arms. The ROTC Hunters also played a big role in liberating Parañaque, as they cleared the way for the American troops to enter Manila.

According to Festin-Baybay, the former name of Parañaque generally meant “my beloved.” For its residents, this is the best description for their hometown. According to Festin-Baybay, there is another version which came from combining the terms palayan and palalayag—the former meaning rice fields which once abound in the city and the latter pertaining to the sailing and fishing occupation of many of its residents.

In another version, according to tradition, a Spanish soldier ordered the rig driver of his carriage to “Para aqui, para aqui [Stop here, stop here]!” The driver, who did not understand Spanish, didn’t stop his horse and the soldier angrily repeated his instruction:

“Para aqui, para aqui!” Onlookers just laughed as the Spaniard empathically said “para aniya aqui, para aniya aqui!”

According to tradition, the incident was repeated for days around and the term para aniya aqui stuck.

Parañaque today

FAST-forward to today. Besides the revenue promise from hosting Pagcor City, Mayor Bernabe says the city is also supportive of the burgeoning business process outsourcing industry. It regularly conducts training programs for Paraqueños who wish to work as call-center agents. At present, Teleperformance has a site in the city employing 2,000 people.

Since he assumed office, the Bernabe administration has conducted quarterly job fairs. He said 10 percent of the applicants every quarter get employed.

Just like any local government unit, revenue generation is the lifeblood in delivering the basic services. Giving the best services to taxpayers is one of the keys to motivate taxpayers to follow their obligation.

When he was still vice mayor, Bernabe recalled that he got dagger looks from taxpayers who were exposed to the heat and the dust because of the city’s archaic collection system. “Whenever I went to City Hall and saw the long lines of taxpayers, I felt the people were really mad at the local officials for their misery,” he said.

“I told myself that if I become mayor of Parañaque, I will modernize the taxpaying system.” Indeed, he succeeded. Bernabe’s efforts of introducing radical changes in the tax-paying system have borne fruit, apparently, as the P1-billion liability of the city that he inherited is now nearing full settlement.

At present, the system has been computerized. Taxpayers stay in an air-conditioned lounge while waiting for their turn. Clients are given free coffee.

The efforts in streamlining the tax-payment system are bearing fruit. The city government’s budget in 2007 was about P2.5 billion. “We maintained the same budget for 2008 without sacrificing the delivery of social services. We wish to make upward adjustments to these services but we just started implementing new reforms to our revenue-generation programs. Last year our tax take included P600 million from business permits, P500 million from real property and P700 million from miscellaneous sources. We should ideally be generating an annual tax collection of at least P2.5 billion to be able to fulfill our plans and programs for the benefit of the city and its people,” said the mayor.

“We want our city to be a livable progressive city characterized with economic activity, beautiful and clean environment where job opportunities for residents abound, and where social services are available and accessible to the people.”

Housing a priority

Parañaque also partnered with Gawad Kalinga to deliver its socialized housing program. The mayor said tapping Gawad Kalinga will not only provide the marginalized sector with shelter but with values and character that will be important for them to enhance their self-esteem.

The barangays of Don Bosco, Maralit, Malacañang Dulo, El Dorado Dulo, Locsin, Jose Bernabe and people living under the bridges near SM Sucat are the intended beneficiaries of  socialized housing. Bernabe said the city government also bought additional property from the Silverio family (10 hectares) and another 10 hectares in barangay Sampaloc II, which was applied under the community mortgage program.

To better serve the health needs of Parañaque residents, the Bernabe administration built a four-story hospital. It also distributed 2,000 PhilHealth cards and Gold cards to 5,000 families. The Gold cards offer 60-percent discount to beneficiaries.

Just this week City Hall held a two-day strategic planning to improve health services. The outcome of the planning sessions will be implemented next year and will see major adjustments to the ongoing HELPS program (Health, Environment, Livelihood, Peace and order, Sports and youth development).

For educational services, City Hall bought a one-hectare property to relocate the Parañaque City College and the Parañaque Science High School. Initially, Bernabe said the city college plans to put up 14 classrooms.

The mayor is currently holding talks with Maynilad to make it possible for the water utility to service the whole city.

His efforts have not gone unnoticed, apparently. Part of the recognition he has received for steering one of the country’s most progressive cities are the following: being named Outstanding City Mayor of the Philippines, by the Department of the Interior and Local Government; Special Citation for Fiscal Management, given by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and the Special Citation for the City with Great Potential, given by the Alliance for Healthy Cities, a worldwide project of the World Health Organization.

Beyond the recognition, the mayor considers his most important “trophy” the sight of the city itself—seeing it grow every day into a place that’s open not just for business, but also a haven for the business of living.

City of the past, future

IT seems hard to reconcile the history of Parañaque with the modern city it is now—even more so with what its leaders and people envision its future.