NATIONAL Artist Francisco Sionil José, who went to the great beyond last Thursday at age 97, described in a recent column the Rizal Park of his younger days before the war: 'The whole of Luneta was an expanse of grass all the way from Taft to the Bay except for the grandstand behind the Rizal monument where every Sunday afternoon, the Philippine Constabulary band played.'

Today's Luneta is a far cry from those days. Ever since the inception of the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) through Executive Order 30 issued by President Diosdado Macapagal on Jan. 14, 1963, it has become a sight to see not just because of its historical significance but because of the many features it contains for recreational purposes. As I wrote in my previous column, this is where the martyrs spilled their blood for freedom, where we express our freedom and can breathe the fresh air of freedom.