Skate parks in the Philippines

To be updated ...

In alphabetical order of the towns' names, irrespective of provinces and geographical location 

Baler (Aurora province, Luzon)

The biggest skate park in the Philippines appears to be in Baler, Aurora province, Luzon. You can take a direct bus (Joybus or Genesis) from Manila (Cubao) to Baler, which takes about six or seven hours and costs about 645 PHP (Genesis) to 900 PHP (Joybus).
The skate park is literally in the middle of "nowhere" (farm land, with some houses) and is located inside a real sports complex area, which houses just the skate park. The area of Baler where the park is is called "Setan". The park is huge, then there are the bleachers/pavillions (sitting area commonly found in sports arenas) ... and then behind that, there is another skate park: a pump track and a skate plaza. The entry is free.
It was open on 23 and 24 November 2024, when I was there, and there do not seem to be any plans to close it. I was there on Saturday morning and there was absolutely no one. It was sunny and hot, but there was a cool breeze too. Then I was there on Sunday afternoon/early evening (it gets dark around 5 pm), and there were many local skaters there - some probably four years old, mostly teenagers, and then a few older ones too.
The concrete in the skate park appeared to be slightly "chalky", i.e., as if covered with a very thin film of powdered chalk (I also saw that on the soles of my shoes afterwards). I'm not sure where this comes from (salt from the ocean mist?). This isn't really an issue when skating though. The only thing is that I felt that it slightly slowed down the scoop with tricks that you really scoop (impossible and pressure flips) - but this effect is really minimal and barely noticeable.

Suggestions:
  • Bring (a lot of) water, for example a 5 litre bottle.
  • Take a tricylce from the centre of town - it's about 5 km, a bit less [about 3 miles]).
  • You might also be able to get a tricylce on the way back. I've seen many pass through. Once I took a tricycle, once a local took my for free on his motorbike (slightly dangerous maybe).
  • Bring wax! Some ledges were waxed (I only skated the small stuff), but at least the ledges in the skate plaza in the back of the park (behind the bleachers) really stuck and were hard to grind.
  • Bring an extra deck (and whatever might break) to Baler. I'm not sure you can buy decks or anything related anywhere in Baler or nearby. My deck broke the second day.
  • Bring a skate tool - I feel (?) that in the very warm weather my trucks get very lose (and they are already very lose).
  • Bring some food if you need any. There is a supermarket (Puregold Baler) about 2.6 km (1.6 miles) away.















The surroundings: cows, pigs, rice fields, ...
Sunday afternoon/evening:


Borongan City (Samar province, Visayas)

There is, apparently, a "Margielyn Didal Skate Park" in Borongan City (deepest Eastern Samar). It's an outdoor park. You can find photos online. Not to be confused with an indoor training facility for Margielyn Didal that you may have seen online. I am not entirely sure that travelling deep into Eastern Samar on your own, as a tourist who obviously looks non-Filipino is 100% safe. But the NPA guerrilla is not known for kidnapping (or beheading) tourists. Eastern Samar is quite poor (financially) and poverty often goes along with more crime (e.g, theft or robbery). Unlike in the case of most of Mindanao, the German "Federal Foreign Office" does not warn against travelling to Eastern Samar.


Dumaguete (Negros Oriental province, Visayas)

There appears to be a small skate park in the city of Dumaguete, called "Kool Kidz", which seems to be temporarily closed (as of December 2024) but is scheduled to reopen at some point in 2025.


Iloilo City (Iloilo province, Visayas)

There is a skate park in Esplanad (a park/recreational area) in Iloilo City. It's still open. The concrete is a bit broken in some parts but still OK to skate mostly - the park was built in 2016 or 2017 I was told. The ramps are quite steep for my taste. The "Thirdworld Skatepark, Baluarte, Molo, Iloilo City" does not exist anymore - this was confirmed by several locals. One local skater told me that someone threw a grenade (!) into that skate park (the Baluarte one), which destroyed the park. A local skater also told me that there 
If you want to get the park to yourself or mostly to yourself, go in the morning. Advantage: there is a taho vendor (or several) that come by at some point. You can buy taho for 40 PHP for a small plastic cup (or bring your own reusable cup). Side note: Officially they are not permitted to sell anything there, because people who buy from them might litter (!). Support your local taho vendor. In Iloilo City, they pronounce "taho" with a "raspy" "h", it seems.
If you want to meet more local skaters, the best time is to go at about 17:00 (5 pm). But note that it gets dark at that time. The skate park has a some lights in the are where you see that two-different-heights-curb", but that area is small, the whole skate park is not that big (most of it is covered with ramps), and there might also be packs of BMXers there. So it may not be easy to actually skate there in the afternoon/evening.
I was also told that there is no skate shop and no other shop selling skateboards in Iloilo City. I also did not see any of the sports stores in malls sell skateboards (such stores sometimes do). But someone at the skate park told me that there is a local skater who sells decks (blank decks for a bit more than 1000 PHP and decks with graphics for a bit more than 2200 PHP - that's all I know).
These curbs are crumbling.

I didn't take a photo of the other side ... the ground has several "potholes" (missing concrete that has eroded away).
The ground has several "potholes" (missing concrete that has eroded away).

Side note: At SM City mall (Benigno Aquino Ave, Mandurriao), they have a DC store, but as you may know, DC nowadays is crap and the canvas shoes are more than flimsy and only last a few days until the soles wear through (skating). 
There is also a Vans store at SM City mall. They have some all-canvas (vegan, with synthetic stripe) "old skool" Vans. But they aren't cheap. They also had some all-canvas high-top "old skool" Vans - although the side stripe looked and felt very similar, the label said leather. It's always hard to tell, if the stripe is truly synthetic.



Legazpi City (Albay province, Luzon)

There is a pretty good skate park, although somewhat dilapidated, in Legazpi City. It's directly next to the sea. At least the flatground was still skateable in 2023. The park is on Legazpi Blvd, Legazpi Port District, almost next to the JCI Legazpi Baltog Monument.
Photos from November 2023:


Maasin City (Leyte province, Visayas)

There appears to be a new skate park in Maasin City, that opened in October 2024.


Malita (Davao Occidental, Davao Region [Region XI], Mindanao)

There is a YouTube video of Manny Santiago skating a big "We Legendary" skate park in the Philippines. The video was posted by Manny Santiago (MannysWorld) on 4 April 2024. I'm not sure this is a public skate park. In the video Manny says "skate park or TF [training facility] or whatever you wanna call it". Manny says that this park is next to the beach, a wakeboard park (whatever that is), there are huts (for staying at), a kitchen, a bar, ... So, it seems more like a resort. In the video, Manny says that they want to turn it into a resort.
The exact location appears to be CHWJ+V4H, Lacaron, Malita, Davao Occidental.

Note that the German Federal Foreign Office warns against visiting pretty much any place in Mindanao outside of Davao City and othe north east, i.e., Caraga region (Region XIII/region 13). The regions tourists are warned against travelling to include the Davao region, i.e., Region XI (region 11), where Malita is located. 
The government of Canada recommends to "Avoid non-essential travel to the following provinces of Mindanao island due to the risk of kidnapping and high levels of crime:
  • Agusan del Norte
  • Agusan del Sur
  • Bukidnon
  • Davao de Oro
  • Davao del Norte
  • Davao del Sur, excluding Davao City
  • Davao Occidental
  • Davao Oriental
". 
The government of the United Kingdom advises "against all but essential travel" to this region, also including Davao City.
The Australian goverment (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) suggests for that same region: "Reconsider your need to travel".

Mindanao is know for kidnappings by Islamist terrorist gangs/guerrillias (some of whom are associated with the so-called Islamic State). So, if you do go there, better choose the safest means of transport possible. But Malita is about 130 km (81 miles) from Davao City. So, taking a private car with tinted windows is probably expensive.


Manila/National Capital Rgeion (NCR) (Luzon)

Ayala Mall Circuit, GOMO skate park (formerly called Mountain Dew skate park), Makati

As of 14 November 2024, this park still exists. It's open, in a "public" park (it's private land and belongs to the Ayala Mall), but it's in a bad state, still skateable though, especially with some sweeping of away of leaves and "nuts". There is no apparent entry fee (there used to be in 2022) and no apparent closing time (?).

Photos from November 2024:


COG skate park, Quezon City - this does not exist anymore (as of November 2023)



Kick Engines skate shop (not a skate spot or park but a shop)

Address: Cubao Expo, Gen. Romulo Ave., Quezon City, 1104 Metro Manila. Small skate shop with a few decks and all the skate stuff. They had blank decks (price: 2200 PHP, plus griptape: 350 PHP) as well as a few Santa Cruz and Creature logo decks (price: 3600 PHP, plus griptape: 350 PHP). Obviously, it's hard for a skate shop (in Manila at that) to survive and have a huge selction of decks. For example, I wanted to get a 8.25" deck, and they had the blank decks (made in China, and probably [?] not that high quality) and two Creature decks (one was longer, with a longer wheelbase). So, despite the limited selection, there was some choice (wheelbase is important). I bought one of the Creature decks (also made in China, but hopefully OK quality). 
The guy in the store was very friendly, helpful, and knowledgable. Also, the skate shop is in a nice little, quiet shops & cafés street - right in the middle of the usual Manila hell. So, the shop is worth visiting, I think. It's the one with the green door. On Google maps, the opening times are 11 am to 8 pm, but I was there at 1:20 pm and it was closed. I thought maybe they are out for lunch or whatever other reason. I asked a friendly-looking guy in a Bad Religion shirt from one of the neighbouring shops and as I asked he pointed out that the owner was just riding by on his motorbike, and that he (the owner) would surely open the store now. I walked around that little shopping street for 5 or 10 min and when I came back the skate shop was open. So, don't give up immediately if you find the shop closed (I would say).
Not sure why Creature call a 14.2 inch wheelbase a stump though. 👻


Manila Skate Park (aka Manila Skate Plaza, City of Manila)

I was there today (22 November  2024), and it was temporarily closed. I'm not sure if it was some kind of shelter again, but there was a huge tent, lots of people (who did not look well-off) and big trucks (lorries). From what I could see from the back, from the outside, it did not look like it was in great shape but not completely destroyed either.
Photos from November 2024:
The entrance


Santa Lucia Mall indoor skate park (?!)

I was at Kick Engines skate shop today (26 Nov 2024; in Cubao; see above) and asked about places to skate. I was told there is an indoor skate park at Santa Lucia mall. This seems to refer to "Sta. Lucia East" shopping mall (address: 3 Marikina-Infanta Hwy, Cainta, 1900 Metro Manila). I will post photos here if I go there.
From searching online, it seems that this skate park is called: "Diamond Skatepark Ph", and the exact location is: "4th Level, Building 3, inside Great World of Fun".

SM Southmall indoor skate park (???)

Address SM Southmall: Alabang–Zapote Rd, Almanza, Las Piñas, 1750 Metro Manila
I'm not sure if this still exists, but there are some videos online. It looks small and more suitable for small children. There is an entry fee.


Naga City (Camarines Sur province, Luzon)

There is a small skate park in Naga City, but the ground is a bit uneven, and I didn't skate because it was wet.

Photos from November 2023:


Ormoc (Leyte province, Visayas)

In Tacloban (November 2024), I was told that the best skate park in the area is in Ormoc.


Pontevedra (Negros Occidental province, Visayas)

There seems to be a new skate park in Pontevedra. But I'm not 100% sure that it is already finished (as of December 2024). Neither do I know where exactly it is located. It is next to a children's playground.


Quezon City

See: Manila


Tacloban (Leyte province, Visayas)

Tacloban City Youth Hub skate park: opposite (or rather to the right of) the CEO Gym; appears to be open daily from around 5 pm (but not necessarily always); small and big miniramp, some flatground area (with a DIY portable curb etc.), small quarter, a bank, rail and "hubba" ledge (quite narrow space and quite close together); the skate park is in quite a good state; painted concrete; the park includes a small skate shop that sells decks, trucks, wheels, etc. as well as their own shop (Buhay Brugits) T-shirts, trucker hats, and sunglasses; really friendly people.
Photos from November 2024:
View from the outside

Thanks again, to Paul from Buhay Brugits for sending the shirt (and sticker) to Manila! ... "Buhay" means "life", and "brugits" is a Waray term that might be loosely translated as "to dress fresh".


 

Tagaytay (Cavite province, Luzon)

There is a large and well-known skate park in Tagaytay, but I have not been there.




Talisay (Cebu province, Visayas)

There appears to be a new skate park (which opened in 2024) in Talisay City. Location: Barangay Lawaan 1 Talisay City Cebu. Near Talisay City Hall. Talisay is not too far from Cebu City.







Side note 1: Skating (i.e., being in a public space) without a shirt is technically illegal in the Philippines. It's probably generally safe to ignore this, but a cop might tell you to put on a shirt.