AYALA LAND, Inc. (ALI) is visualizing the replication of the bustling community of Tarlac City’s Poblacion area at ‘Cresendo’ – their newest mixed-use estate spanning 290 hectares, according to Business World.
ALI eyes Cresendo as a ‘modern local community’ that joins commercial establishments, residential areas, and industrial growth within the vicinity.
Within the 290-hectare project is Cresendo’s core – a 30-hectare area which will house a school, a central plaza, a church, and a commercial district, to name a few.
“Tarlac City has a poblacion — with San Sebastian Cathedral and across it is the plazuela and at the center is F. Tañedo St. — the central business district of Tarlac. We were inspired by this one, and so in Cresendo, that will be our core,” said Crescendo Estate Head John R. Estacio in a briefing with the press in Makati.
The Business World reports Estacio furthered that Cresendo will be ALI’s answer to complement the existing downtown area in Tarlac City.
“What we bring as ALI is we will inject life’s new conveniences and best practices over our collective experience. We feel this will work with them. It will be familiar, a little greener and organized. Cresendo Town Plaza is as big as the Tarlac City plazuela. In our culture, it would be the center for activities and seasonal community events. That’s our ambition,” he said.
Visualizing the new downtown
Specifications of commercial buildings within the town plaza will range from from 500 square meters (sq.m.) to 2,000 sq.m. – making it ideal for small to medium enterprises to launch their business, franchise a new store or perhaps put up offices in the area.
As a nod to the environment, ALI also plans to develop a 1.5-kilometer greenway that stretches from the town plaza straight towards the planned 7-hectare River Terraces, that will be located near the planned residential development. Cresendo’s River Terraces will feature marvels of nature including landscaped gardens, a viewing deck, jogging paths, as well as the estate’s detention pond.
Don Bosco Technical Institute has been slated to soon open a senior high school and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Center on a six-hectare lot within the Cresendo estate.
“We partnered with Don Bosco Tarlac to deliver quality and holistic education… By 2022, senior high school will first be offered here. The TVET Center will operate by 2025,” furthers Estacio.
Vice President Sara Duterte strongly condemned the Philippine government for surrendering former President Rodrigo Duterte to foreign authorities. She described the move as a “blatant affront to our sovereignty” and a betrayal of the nation’s independence.
The Vice President’s remarks come after reports emerged that former President Duterte was being taken to The Hague, where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is located, following a warrant for his arrest related to alleged crimes against humanity during his anti-drug campaign.
In her statement, Vice President Duterte emphasized that the former president had been denied basic legal rights since his detainment earlier today.
“Since he was taken this morning, he has not been brought before any competent judicial authority to assert his rights and avail of reliefs provided by law,” the Vice President stated.
“As I write this, he is being forcibly taken to The Hague tonight. This is not justice – this is oppression and persecution.”
Duterte criticized the current government for what she described as a willingness to “abandon its own citizen” and “betray the very essence of our sovereignty and national dignity.”
She called on Filipinos to recognize the gravity of the situation and accused the administration of sacrificing the country’s sovereignty for foreign influence.
The statement from Vice President Duterte has sparked reactions across the political spectrum, with some expressing support for her stance on sovereignty, while others argue that the government’s actions are in accordance with international law and the obligations of the Philippines under the International Criminal Court.
Former President Duterte’s legal troubles stem from the ICC’s investigation into the deadly anti-drug campaign he launched during his presidency. Duterte has faced accusations of human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, which he has consistently denied.
As of now, it remains unclear how the government will respond to Vice President Duterte’s remarks, which have added fuel to the ongoing debate over the Philippines’ relationship with the International Criminal Court and its stance on sovereignty versus international justice.
