IT&E donates $50K-plus playground set for Pakpak Beach

Telecommunications provider IT&E has donated a brand new playground for the Pakpak Beach Park in San Antonio.

Chief executive officer Ricky Delgado led IT&E executives in presenting its donation to Gov. Benigno R. Fitial and other government officials in a ceremony held Friday afternoon.

Fr. Ryan Jimenez, Diocese of Chalan Kanoa apostolic administrator, offered prayers and blessed the playground set that was worth over $50,000.

In an interview with reporters, Delgado said the playground was the idea of one of their executives, Larry Knecht. “I’ve been looking for good things to do on Saipan to uplift the spirits of people here,” he explained.

According to Delgado, they saw that the Pakpak Beach Park playground, also donated by the former IT&E management, was already in a state of “disrepair.”

“We’re suffering like everybody else with the economy but it’s still something good to do, it’s still going to make a lot of people happy,” said Delgado, adding that the project also became an opportunity for their employees to get involved with by doing it themselves.

“Certainly, the impetus is that no matter how bad things get, to continue to try to do good in this community and help people,” he said.

Delgado said that while they have endorsed the upkeep of the beach park to the Division of Parks and Recreation, “we ask the public to take care of it, to love it like their own because it is their own.”

Fitial, in his brief remarks, thanked IT&E “for demonstrating social conscience” with the donation of the playground, which will particularly benefit the young members of the community.

Parks and Recreation director Tony Benavente, for his part, said that the playground at Pakpak Beach Park is one of four playground sets donated by the former IT&E management. The other three are at Civic Center in Susupe, in Paupau, and in Kagman.

“I’m very happy about this donation and contribution to the public,” said Benavente.

He noted that maintenance of the Pakpak Beach Park and other beach parks on island will be challenging given the $8,000 budget allotted to them for fiscal year 2012.

Besides the diminutive financial support, the government-wide work-hour cuts also impede them in their operations which cover “one end of the island to the other end.”

Benavente hopes that their division will be able to do their maintenance and repair duties on all beach parks “with the public’s help.”

“I’m begging for any assistance in terms of community efforts to try and help out in this beautification because we’re in tough times,” he added.