The Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife Center (NAPWC) occupies a 22.7 hectare lot between the North Avenue, Elliptical Road, and Quezon Avenue. Operated by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the park is one of the six government “green” public parks within Quezon City, with the others are the Quezon City Hall Lagoon Park, the 16 hectare UP Arboretum and the UP Lagoon at the University of the Philippines campus, the 27 hectare Quezon Memorial Circle, the Mayor Ponciano A. Bernardo Park in Kamuning, the 2,700 hectare La Mesa Eco ParkandWatershed Reservation in Novaliches, and the 60 hectare Balara Filtration Park. The Wildlife Park and the nearby Quezon Memorial Circle are what is left of a grander Quezon City Capitol Park plan that would encompass the center of the whole Diliman Quadrangle, which was conceived by President Manuel Luis Molina Quezón (1878-1944) and Arch. Harry Talford Frost (1886-1943) in 1941.
The construction of the Wildlife Park and the Quezon Memorial Circle began construction in 1954, under the administration of Pres. Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay (1907-1957); and was completed in 1970 and 1972 respectively, during the administration of President Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (1917-1989). Upon its 1970 opening, it was named the Philippine Parks & Wildlife Center, under the jurisdiction of the Quezon City government, before transferring to the national government authority. The Wildlife Park was originally 23.85 hectares in size during construction; however the area was reduced to allot land for the Philippine Science High School (PSHS), along the Agham Road.
Inaugurated on the 25th of July 1970, the Philippine Parks and Wildlife Center was a large area with rolling hills and picnic spots, with a mini-zoo of mostly indigenous species of fauna. The zoo soon became a depository of wildlife owned by private citizens, as well as animals caught from the nearby communities, such as turtles, snakes, monitor lizards, and even deer (Rusa marianna) and wild boar (Sus philippensis) that would wander from the forests of the Bulacan and Rizal provinces. By 1987 the park and the mini-zoo were placed under the then-Department of Environment, Energy and Natural Resources’ Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB), with a status of a protected area. The newly formed PAWB used the park as its national office, and later converted the min-zoo into the National Wildlife Rescue and Research Center in 2011. Now the PAWB has been reorganized as the Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB), with 1,400 individual animals and 4,500 trees under its care in the park; its status as a protected area was reaffirmed with the 2002 Proclamation No. 238 and 2018 Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (ENIPAS) Republic Act 11038.
In 1982, the Wildlife Park was temporarily closed to allow more facilities to be built. One of the major constructions was the 4.5 meter deep Lagoon, which had a “Badjao” styled fishing village and tea house at the westside of the artificial lake, and an island liked with a bridge for visitors to fish. The tea house and fishing village can be rented for private events, while the casual fisher can catch tilapia (Oreochromis aureus, Oreochromis niloticus, and Coptodon zillii), snakeskin gourami (Trichopodus pectoralis/Gurami), silver theraponid (Leiopotherapon plumbeus/Ayungin), dwarf pygmy goby (Pandaka pygmaea/biya), catfish (Clarias batrachus/Hito), carp (Cyprinus carpio), and snakehead (Channa melsoma/Dalag, Channa micropeltes/Toman and Channa striata/Haruan) in the lagoon. At the eastside of the lagoon is the NAPWC’s Bulwagang Ninoy Visitors Center (Ninoy Hall), which also houses the national office of the Philippine Climate Change Commission (est. 2009).
When the park was reopened in 1983, the ceremonies were held at the newly constructed Amphitheater at the southeastern end of the lagoon. Since then, the amphitheater has been hosted many events, including the 2009 Earthdance / Maharlikha Festival in which I was one of the members of the organizing team. When there are no events, the amphitheater is a favorite hangout for the youth, where they practice sports, dance and theatrical routines.
In 1983, the park was reopened as the Lungsod ng Kabataan Recreational Park (Children’s Town), as a part of Pres. Marcos vision of Quezon City as a child caring city, with the Lungsod ng Kabataan Medical Center nearby. To enforce the park as a child friendly place, the sculptor Fermin Yadao Gomez was commissioned to create the “Children at Play” statues at the entrance from Don Mariano Marcos Avenue (now Quezon Avenue). The sculpture shows seven children and their dog climbing over the faux log wall, while the cross bar of the entrance is designed to look like a “monkey bars” playset.
After the 1986 People Power Revolution, the park was named Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Nature Center (NAPWNC) on the very same year. The park way named after the martyred Senator Benigno Simeon “Ninoy” Lampa Aquino Jr. (1932-1983), who was the husband of then-Pres. María Corazón “Cory” Sumulong Cojuangco Aquino (1933-2009). In 1989, a bust of Senator Aquino was installed at the Quezon Avenue entrance walk way to commemorate the change of the park’s name.
Created by Peter de Guzman, a copy of the bust is also seen at the new Park Information Center, along with “Ninoy Benches” that feature quotes from the senator. A few years later, the Visitors Center was also named after the senator, along with the renaming of the park as the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center (NAPWC) in 2002.
However, the first monument to celebrate the change of the park’s name was installed in 1987, in front of the original Park Administration Building. Entitled “Filipinas 1986”, the expressionist welded bronze sculpture featured a man rising from cords that were pulling on his legs, as he raises the cross above his head. Created by Ben-Hur Villanueva, the artist portrayed the man as the Philippines breaking from the bondage of the Marcos dictatorship, through the bloodless and faith-inspired 1986 People Power Revolution.
In 2017, the old Administrative Building was reopened as the Museum of Philippine Biodiversity. Within the museum are interactive displays of the types of ecosystems in the Philippines: Agricultural and Urban, Terrestrial (Sub-alpine forests, Mossy forests, Montain forests, Pine forests, Semi-deciduous forests, Lowland evergreen forests, Karst forests over limestone, Forests over ultrabasic soil, Forests over ultramafic rocks, Grasslands, and Beach forests), Freshwater (Lacustrine/ Lakes and ponds, Riverine/ rivers and streams, Palustrine/ marshes), Estuarine (Mangrove and Nipa swamps), Marine (Mudflats, Seagrass belts, and Coral reefs), and Special ecosystems such as caves. The museum seeks to educate visitors of the wealth of the Philippine archipelago, as it is one of the 17 mega-biodiversity countries in the world, where 80% of the world’s plant and animal species are concentrated in. There are also features on the 240 Philippine protected areas, which covers 5.45 million hectares under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS).
In front of the Museum of Philippine Biodiversity, an art installation of 21 “totems” of wood and reused metal bars was erected in 2015. Entitled “Ugnayan” (Connecting/Connections), the installation was created by Luis “Junyee” Yee, who used lumber taken from illegal logging operations to create the totem poles that would represent the 21 countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), whose leaders were meeting in Pasay City at that time.
The next monument installed in the park is the “Elephants” by Janus Andrade Nuñez, which stands in between the new park administration offices. The sculpture was unveiled on the 3rd of March 2016, in celebration of the United Nation’s World Wildlife Day. The artwork was made of steel mixed with ashes of elephant tusks, which were taken from four tons of smuggled ivory that was confiscated in 2013. The monument features the abstracted representations of an elephant mother and her calf, with their trunks holding on to the tusks of their fallen brethren.
Aside from sculptures, there are key facilities in the park that were name after noted conservationists in the Philippines. The first is the Don Jose Sanvictores Grove, which is near the lagoon. The arboretum is a collection of native trees, such as narra (Pterocarpus indicus), acacia (Samanea saman or Rain Tree), katmon (Dillenia philippinensis), kamatog (Sympetalandra densiflora), antipolo (Artocarpus blancoi), ipil-ipil (Intsia bijuga or Johnstone River Teak), kamagong (Diospyros discolor or Velvet Apple), and mulawin (Vitex parviflora or Molave). The grove was named after Don José G. Sanvictores, Sr. (1887-1979), whose work with the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Pacific (SCAP) and his Aras-asan Timber Company and Southeast Asia Commercial Company promoted selective logging and second cycle harvesting in Eastern Mindanao. Sanvictores graduated with a Degree of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Illinois, then later served as the Philippine Assembly representative of the provinces of Agusan and Bukidnon, a delegate to the 1934 Constitutional Convention, director of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes, the assistant commissioner of the Department Agriculture and Commerce, and as the executive assistant to President José Paciano Laurel y García (1891-1959). Sanvictores also worked as the general manager of the Philippine Herald and executive vice-president of the Evening News. In honor of its native son, the town of Cagwait, Surigao del Sur, named their public school the Jose Sanvictores Sr. National School.
The next area is the Leonard Co Native Garden of indigenous plants. The garden was named after the botanist and plant taxonomist, Leonardo Legaspi Co (1953-2010), who was one of the leading authorities in ethnobotany. A graduate University of the Philippines (UP), Co spent decades as a researcher at the UP Institute of Biology and Conservation International-Philippines, before finally graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Botany, by submitting his book medicial plant of the Cordilleras, instead of a thesis. Co founded the Philippine Native Plants Conservation Society, a few months before he was killed in the cross fire between the Philippine Army and Communist rebel, New People’s Army, in 2010. During his long years as a “student”, Co was active with the UP Mountaineers, and also discovered many new plant species, with some (the Mycaranthes leonardi orchid and the Rafflesia leonardi) named after him.
Aside from managing the park and executing their nationwide programs, the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) has a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), where they practice Ecological Solid Waste Management (ESWM). The members of the BMB also have an Organic Vegetable Garden, where they grow foods such as pechay (Brassica rapa), mustasa (Brassica integrifolia) and malunggay (Moringa oleifera). The BMB also raises seedlings of native trees and plants, such as niyog-niyogan (Ficus pseudopalma), narra (Pterocarpus indicus) rain tree (Samanea saman), katmon (Dillenia philippinensis), kamatog (Sympetalandra densiflora), antipolo (Artocarpus blancoi), ipil-ipil (Intsia bijuga or Johnstone River Teak), kamagong (Diospyros discolor or Velvet Apple), and mulawin (Vitex parviflora or Molave).
There is much to discover vising the Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife Center, whether it is learning about the environment at the Museum of Philippine Biodiversity, discovering the different indigenous animals at National Wildlife Rescue and Research Center, relaxing among the many picnic huts, practicing a dance routine at the Amphitheater, or just relaxing by the Lagoon and Fishing Village. Whatever the decision, it is always a different experience at each visit to the park. Yet in the end, visitors must develop a great sense of appreciation to the park as one of the green lungs of Quezon City, and a profound respect of the men and women of the Biodiversity Management Bureau who work tirelessly to protect our environment.
I have worked side-by-side with members of the PAWB/BMB for four years and observed their dedication, while scaling the Mount Iglit-Baco National Park, as part of the anti-poaching conservation efforts to save the critically endangered Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis).
About the Artists of the Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife Center:
Fermin Yadao Gomez (1918-1984) is a classical sculptor, from Tarlac. Gomez graduated from the University of the Philippines (U.P.) School of Fine Arts, under the tutelage of Guillermo Tolentino. At the outbreak of World War II, Gomez returned to Tarlac, where he put up a bakya (wooden sandal) shop, where he carved the soles into intricate designs. In the town of Camiling, he created a 10 ft tall image of San Miguel de Arcangel for the 100 year old parish of the same name. This caught the attention of Enginer Manuel Mañosa of the National Waterworks and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA), who commissioned Gomez to create a piece that would embody the company’s service to the public. What Gomez created was a monument of the god Neptune with the goddess Venus astride on top of a giant turtle. This impressed Mañosa, who hired Fermin to create more sculptures for the company. With that, Gomez moved to the Balara area, in Quezon City. Shortly after his move, Guillermo Tolentino invites Gomez to teach at the UP School of Fine Arts, which was now at the Diliman campus, in Quezon City. After his retirement in 1973, Gomez and his family moved to Parang, Marikina; where he continued to create small scaled sculptures, until his passing.
Ben-Hur Gorospe Villanueva (1938-2020) is an expressionist sculptor from San Mateo, Rizal, and operated from Baguio City. Before going full time into his art, Villanueva taught at the Ateneo de Manila Grade School for 30 years, before retiring in 1992. Villanueva was also president for the Society of Philippine Sculptors (SPS), the Art Director for the Ephpheta Foundation for the Blind, Inc., and vice president-treasurer for Unesco’s International Art Association (IAA). After retiring from teaching, Villanueva returned to Baguio, where he opened his arts workshop, Arko Ni Apo (Ark of the Lord), which serves to teach local communities various art skills.
Luis “Junyee” Enano Yee, Jr. (born 1942) is a painter, sculptor and installation artist, who is known for using organic found materials in his works. Growing up in Agusan del Norte, Junyee exhibited immense talent, but was forbidden by his father to pursue a career in art. It was years after his father’s passing that Junyee was able to save enough money to take is formal studies at the University of the Philippines (U.P.) College of Fine Arts (CFA) in Quezon City, where he apprenticed under National Artist, Napoleon Abueva. As a student in the UPCFA, Junyee was the art direct of the school newspaper, Philippine Collegian, and he was also aligned to the Social Realists, creating many canvases that spoke of the injustices that he saw, and criticized the regime of President Ferdinand Marcos. During that period, Junyee was looking for a better outlet to express his identity of being “Filipino,” and that is where he would start shuttling back and forth to the foot of Mount Makiling, in Los Baños, Laguna, to collect indigenous materials for his artworks. In 1970, Junyee presented his first solo exhibit with the outdoor installation, entitled “Balag,” while still a students at the UPCFA. In 1976, Junyee would complete his studies and build a significant body of works, while starting his transition to living in the area of Mount Makiling, within the UP Los Baños (UPLB) campus. While in UPLB, Junyee established the first art gallery in the UP system, the Sining Makiling UPLB Art Gallery, in 1983. Since his move to Makiling, Junyee has established himself as a influential figure in the installation art and organic art movements, and has garnered multiple accolades and commissions locally and abroad. Two of the most significant awards are the 1980 Thirteen Artists Award of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the 1989 Araw ng Maynila, Patnubay ng Sining at Karilangan Award for Sculpture, both which he did not accept, due to the awards’ relation with the regime of President Ferdinand Marcos. In 2018, an award winning musical based on Junyee’s life, entitled “Balag at Angud,” was staged at the CCP.
Peter Tiamzon de Guzman (born 1962) is a prolific sculptor, who took his formal studies at the University of the Philippines, College of Fine Arts. De Guzman has represented the Philippines in various exhibitions, grants and symposiums on art abroad; including the 1984 3rd Sculpture Symposium and organizers Meeting (ASEAN) and the Universitas Sebelas Maret (1988) in Jakarta, Indonesia. De Guzman was honored the Thirteen Artists Award by the CCP (1988) and Outstanding Marikenyo in Visual Arts (2011).
Janus Andrade Nuñez (born 1989) is an artist and designer, who came from Masbate and now operates in Quezon City. Nuñez took his formal studies at the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Fine Arts (CFA), where he joined the UP Artist Circle. In 2012, Nuñez founded his own company, Morag Design and Fabrication.
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