Chula Vista Mayor John McCann Champions Filipino American Veterans Park — A South Bay Legacy in Motion

Chula Vista Mayor John McCann poses with supporters of the Filipino American Veterans Park Tuesday after the Chula Vista City Council meeting. (Mayor John McCann's X Account)

By San Diego Monitor News Staff

CHULA VISTA — A long-imagined tribute to Filipino American service members is finally gaining shape in the heart of East Chula Vista, and Mayor John McCann is making sure it doesn’t stay just a sketch on paper. For years, community voices have called for a park that reflects the city’s deep Filipino roots — a community built by Navy families, public servants, and entrepreneurs who settled in the South Bay after serving their country. Under McCann’s leadership, that dream is now taking physical form as the Filipino American Veterans Park, planned for the city’s newest neighborhood, Côta Vera.

McCann describes the project as a personal commitment — not just a campaign plank, but a responsibility.

“This will be the first park that commemorates their service,” he said recently, underscoring how Filipino American veterans helped define Chula Vista’s story.

The park is envisioned as both memorial and gathering space — a landscape that invites reflection, but also celebration. Early design renderings show a monument framed by pathways and gardens, incorporating motifs from the Philippines’ three main island groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

The proposed site sits inside Côta Vera, a master-planned community where city planners and developers are shaping Chula Vista’s next generation of public spaces. HomeFed Corporation, which oversees much of Côta Vera’s development, has coordinated with the Mayor’s Office and local veterans groups to ensure the park’s design carries authentic cultural meaning. Among the organizations lending their voice is the Filipino-American Military Officers Association, whose members have worked quietly with city officials since 2023 to refine monument concepts and historical details.

JoAnn Fields — a longtime advocate for Filipino American visibility in civic life — said the progress signals more than a construction milestone; it represents belonging.

“For decades, Filipino veterans and their families have been the backbone of South Bay,” Fields said. “Seeing this park take shape tells our community, we are seen, we are valued, and our service matters.”

Fields and other community partners have attended meetings, offered cultural insight, and helped rally younger generations around the project’s symbolism. Her hope: that the park becomes both a teaching space and a touchstone for future civic pride.

San Diego County’s Filipino community is one of the largest in the United States — yet until now, no dedicated park in Chula Vista has honored their military legacy. As the city expands eastward, leaders see a rare opportunity to design history into its growth, not simply add plaques after the fact. “This isn’t just about remembering the past,” McCann emphasized. “It’s about building a place that reminds future generations who helped make Chula Vista what it is today.”

City staff expect the park concept to move through design refinements in tandem with Côta Vera’s ongoing build-out. Discussions around public art, monument approval, and naming rights will follow in coming months. Funding partnerships — a mix of city resources, philanthropy, and community contributions — are also being explored. For now, one thing is clear: the Filipino American Veterans Park is no longer a distant idea. It’s becoming the physical proof of a promise — that Chula Vista’s heroes, once overlooked, will stand in the heart of the city they helped build.