Private Firm to Landscape Capitol Grounds-for Free-for Seven Years

Call it the seven year itch. Call it crazy. Whatever you dub it, the Fair and Fearless Freeman, a paper out of Cebu in the Philippines worthy of mention just for the paper's name, reports Edwin Omelig, proprietor of Daniel Gardens and Design, a local private landscape firm, has signed an agreement to do the landscaping and maintenance of the Capitol grounds for free over the next seven years. The value of that service is said to be 8.4 million Philippines pesos, the equivalent of $155,210 in U.S. dollars.

The reason? He wants to build a name for his firm. Omelig has promised to finish the landscaping work in time for the founding anniversary celebration of the province on August 6, 2005. The landscaping includes planting materials in and outside of the capitol building and refurbishing two fountains. The government has allotted 2,000 square meters of a former capitol parking lot, closed for reasons of high maintenance costs, to allow Daniel Gardens and Design space to grow plants for the grounds.