What Happened to Rizal Park?

I have been one of those people who love to stay at Rizal Park every Sunday till the wee hours of Monday, joining some of my friends on some trivia contest or watching the evening debates near the chess plaza.

It’s been like that for almost 12 years, but last night…

I was surprised when park guards started to tell everyone to go home because the park will close – WHAT? So our Public Park will now close every 12AM and will open at 4AM.

The security gave us different reasons:  Security, peace and order... but I don't think the public will buy those reasons.

A lot of people go to the park since it is the safest place around Manila, especially if you are looking for a place to spend the morning. If you have no money to spend… uh, let say to pay for 3 hours in a motel and you don't want to travel by early morning (1AM to 4AM) and was stuck on the streets, the best place to go is Rizal Park. This is a refuge.

Senior citizens also love to stay in the Park. Here they talk, drink coffee till 5AM.

But now that there is this order of closing the park, well... I'm gonna miss all those night folks.

What's the commotion? Luneta debaters, park securities and police discussing the sudden closure of the park. Picture courtesy of Philip Reyes.