MMDA’s Navotas Greenzone Park under close scrutiny

MMDA’s Navotas Greenzone Park under close scrutiny | Daily Tribune

A newly minted public park in Navotas is now in the hands of the city government, but the project’s funding sources and timing are drawing scrutiny as the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) continues to expand its greening initiatives while grappling with enforcement and safety issues elsewhere.

The MMDA on Friday formally turned over the 1,742-square-meter Navotas Greenzone Park Phase 4, located at Phase 4 corner Daungan Street, R-10 Road, NBBN.

The area features a blend of shrubs, paved walkways, planter boxes, benches, lamp posts and trellises — amenities that officials say will give residents a new space for leisure and community activities.

MMDA chair Don Artes and Navotas Mayor John Rey Tiangco presided over the inauguration.

Artes said the park’s funding came from two sources: the Local Government Support Fund — Green Green Green Program of the Department of Budget and Management, and what he called a “supplemental fund” of the MMDA.

The first three phases of the Greenzone project, completed earlier, were sourced from MMDA local income.

Artes framed the endeavor as being aligned with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s push for green urban development.

However, details of how the supplemental funds were allocated, and whether they diverted resources from other MMDA functions, were not immediately available.

The Adopt-a-Park framework places design and cost proposals on local governments, while the MMDA sets criteria, provides funding, and executes the build.

Tiangco urged residents to “take care of it like an extension of our homes,” noting that parks contribute to environmental health and offer free recreational spaces—an increasingly rare commodity in Metro Manila.

The turnover came as Artes addressed a separate controversy: the shooting of an MMDA enforcer during an anti-colorum operation in Muntinlupa on Wednesday.

The officer, now recovering in a private hospital, will remain under observation for several days. The suspect has been arrested and faces charges of frustrated murder.

Artes said the MMDA will now closely coordinate with the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group to ensure police escorts are deployed during similar operations.