07/10/2022
‘The 2022 Edition of ECOLOGICAL-GULAYAN Park’
The recent ‘eco-gulayan park’ competition showcased the creativity, unity and competitiveness of Alicianos.
From what we have seen, some really leveled up in certain aspects. Next to ours, our favorites are Mataas na Kahoy for their exquisite landscape, and Sto. Domingo for their very welcoming ambiance and all-native materials. Aurora is also worth-mentioning for its heritage park. Kudos also to Rizal for the total make-over of their park. Most, if not all barangays, really worked hard to give us a nice treat. With that, we give our applause.
But setting aside our personal biases, the board of judges already made a decision based on certain criteria, and provided an empirical evidence to support their judgment. While every participating eco-park has its own uniqueness, we trust the board of judges’ wisdom in determining the winner. Remember, the competition says, ‘Search for Best Eco-Gulayan Park’, meaning, gulayan plus eco-park. ‘Eco’ is short for ecological, which leads us to our next point.
The statement that “an eco-park should not have a pond" is misplaced, being unaware of the fact that even the most renowned eco-park in the country has a separate pond. A pond represents a rich biodiversity or a diverse ecosystem. In fact, it can have its own ecosystem. By necessary implication and rightfully so, a pond can be a part of an ecological park. But nonetheless, it was not the sole basis of the judges in determining the winner.
However, just a few days after we have been declared as the CHAMPION, we received a number of messages from concerned citizens informing us of the issue. But instead of adding fuel to the fire and sensationalize on the matter, we simply shrugged it off. We instead chose to reflect on our CORE VALUES and the reason why we participated to this event. As they say, in every competition, it’s either you win or “nadaya/dinaya”. Sadly, nowadays, the spirit of sportsmanship slowly vanishes into thin air.
But despite all these, our leaders, Kap. Jaime Narne and RIC Pres. Ma’am Pat, remained calm and humble. When asked for their comment regarding this matter, they simply said, ‘hayaan nyo na lang sila.’ Kap. Narne just smiled and said, ‘Nagtrabaho lang tayo.’ Being public servants as they are, they exude the character of servant leadership by setting good examples to the people or leading them by example. In the previous years, they gracefully accepted defeat and led the people to work harder and better, unperturbed by the fact that we are indeed facing the giants. We remained focused on our goal, hence, this year’s CHAMPIONSHIP. We are just blessed that our parents in this barangay set the tone right, which is indeed worthy of emulation.
We now rest our case and no longer entertain any dissenters. A win is still a win.
WHEREFORE, all premises considered, WE DESERVE THE VICTORY.
