WAS it mere coincidence that Senator Francis Tolentino is suddenly proposing to have the nearly seven decades old Manila Zoo transferred to the Masungi Georeserve right after Hollywood actor Leonardo de Caprio called on Philippine government authorities to preserve the said park.
Since he was already at it, Senator Tolentino should have at least done the right amount of research, because his press release was full of errors, and the corrections made by Manila’s city officials made it obvious that the senator did not only exercise the necessary fact-checking but also failed to at least visit the zoo to have a more solid basis for his pronouncements.
For starters, Manila public recreations bureau chief Roland Marino cited a portion of Tolentino’s statement that said: “Maliit lang po ito kaya hirap na hirap yung ating mga giraffe…yung ating elepante nga namatay…mainit yung semento. Hindi po kasi natural habitat ng mga hayop na nabanggit ko yung kalungsuran, kung saan mainit, maingay, at mausok.”
Marino pointed out, thus: “una, early 2000’s pa po wala na po tayong giraffe, pangalawa napakalawak na po ng ating mga enclosures and at par na sa mga international zoo ang ating Manila Zoo.”
“Pangalawa, yung elepante po natin ay umabot na sa kanyang lifespan which is 40-45 years in captivity. So namatay po ang ating elepante sa old age at hindi po dahil sa kanyang enclosure,” Marino added.
The PRB chief also stressed that Manila Zoo has a very diverse flora so pollution in the metro area is never a factor or a problem.
“Mukhang hindi pa po nakapapasyal ang ating mahal na senator sa bagong Manila Zoo kaya medyo outdated na po ang kanyamg komento.🙂,” stressed Marino, under whose supervision the zoo also falls, apart all the other recreational sites within Manila which include parks, and plazas, among others.
Another city official, this time from the Manila social welfare department, also corrected the error in Tolentino’s press release where he cited as a purported “similar case’, ” the transfer of the Manila Boys Town also to the province of Rizal” even adding that the institution remained under the management of Manila city government. “So the name ‘Manila Zoo’ can be retained.”
The social welfare official laughingly reacted: “ang Boystown na nasa Marikina ay hindi transferred. Donated land ‘yun for the City of Manila.”
Sadly, Tolentino either was not made aware of these corrections or simply chose to ignore it and stand by on the errors of his first pronouncements, because he issued a follow-up release, repeating the same errors corrected by concerned city officials in Manila.
Vice Mayor Yul Servo and Congressman Irwin Tieng of the fifth district, where the zoo is located, both pointed out that the zoo is not what Tolentino describes it to be.
In many words, Servo and Tieng echoed what Marino had said, that Tolentino has apparently not paid the zoo a recent visit because if he did, he would know that there is no basis for his negative description of the zoo.
Servo also stressed that the elephant died of old age and not because of his enclosure, saying he was just a small kid when he first saw Mali and that the said elephant had already reached the limit of its lifespan.
For his part, Tieng stressed that Manilans should not be burdened with having to go far and spend fare just to visit the recreational site which belongs to them and is in fact an important part of their heritage.
Tieng also said that there can be no pollution in the zoo as alleged by the senator, since there is a treatment and waste facility right inside the zoo.
The best comment, still, was dished out by Mayor Honey Lacuna herself.
The lady mayor stressed that the city wants Manila Zoo’s future to be a well-planned, realistic roadmap based on sound science and zoo management, with due sensitivity to the cherished place of the Manila Zoo in the hearts of Manileños and the childhood memories of many Filipinos.”
In addition, short of saying that the Manila Zoo is a concern that belongs mainly to Manila, she declared that the zoo stays in the city because “Manila Zoo is part of Manila’s history. Our history. Our heritage.”
Clearly, with the use of the word “our” not once but twice, Lacuna is pointing out that Tolentino is not from Manila and has no right to act or speak like he knows better than the officials running the Manila Zoo.
There are other more pressing problems besetting our country that need a senator’s attention.
I hope he shifts his attention to those problems instead of ramming down on people’s throats some unsolicited advice that is not even backed by correct info.
He could maybe try offering his suggestions to Tagaytay City where there is greater likelihood that they will be welcome.
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