Philippine Heritage Watch: Protection and Preservation Thread 4

[icarusrising]

Well it was supposedly to be converted into a mall though how much of the structure would be retained, I am not sure. The present plan is to revive it along with the rehabilitation of the PNR.

[sine.anima]

Seriously! WTF! It was planned to be saved!

[le Reine]

Whew! You made me really really nervous. I was also quite hesitant to believe it but knowing all the things happening in Manila right now, I wouldn't be surprised if that bldg would also be a victim of demolition.

[rubiopr27]

guys, could someone post a pic of the old PNR Paco Station pre-war pics and post war pics. Thanks!

[BoNduRanT]

Thanks to the Queen and Rence for that info!

[Animo]

By Augusto Villalon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:10:00 02/16/2009

Filed Under: Monuments & Heritage Sites, Crime

READER response has been high regarding the proposed conversion of the American-colonial structure Laoag Central Elementary School into a shopping mall, and the planned demolition of the Spanish-colonial church façade in Dingras, Ilocos Norte.

Ilocos Norte board member Kristian Ablan says a public hearing was conducted on the proposed Provincial Ordinance No. 2009-02-083, “An Ordinance Imposing a Moratorium on the Conversion, Use and Demolition of Buildings, Edifices, Relics, and Other Structures Deemed as Part of the Cultural and Historical Heritage Found and Situated within Ilocos Norte.” It was conducted with the provincial board’s committees on laws and tourism on Feb. 6.

Ivan Henares of the Heritage Conservation Society and Icomos Philippines wrote to Ablan: “Congratulations on a very successful public hearing! I was elated by the news that the attendance was astounding—the session hall was packed to the brim and could not accommodate all those who came, so another room had to be opened to allow people to listen. It’s heartwarming to learn this issue has generated so much interest among the local community of Laoag. Heritage is, indeed, in the mainstream!”

It was argued the building was not a heritage building because it did not appear in the DepEd’s roster of Gabaldon-type schools dating from the American colonial period.

But architect Reynaldo Inovero of the National Historical Institute debunked the argument, stating the structure was clearly of the Gabaldon type and definitely a heritage structure built during the American colonial period.

Moreover, generations of graduates, numbering in the thousands, share the school’s heritage, adding a wealth of intangible value to the structure and its surroundings.

It was also argued that since the school stood on church property, due to church-state separation, its future use was immune from civil and citizen intervention, a view overturned by the voice of the citizens who demanded that their school remain.

The National Historical Institute’s certification that the historic value of the school merited conservation gave strong substantiation to the preservation demands of local citizens.

Gov. Michael Keon held a press conference later and announced the passage of “the ordinance that will precipitate the NHI [National Historical Institute] and National Museum in declaring the Laoag Central Elementary School a historical landmark which will block the demolition of the school and block the mall.”

Now passed and enacted, Ordinance 2009-02-083, which recognizes the value of heritage within the province, defining what structures are considered heritage structures despite their status of being publicly or privately (or Church-) owned, and providing for the preservation of these structures to the benefit of future generations, is a landmark heritage legislation in the Philippines.

That citizens supported the ordinance by attending the public hearings showed public concern for heritage. Thank you to the people of Ilocos Norte and all the provincial officials of Ilocos Norte.

Dingras

The planned demolition of the Dingras Church façade has also elicited high reader feedback.

“Can I use the article to raise the awareness of the people?” a reader wrote. “My roots are from Piddig, Ilocos Norte, and I don’t wish Dingras Church to suffer what was done to St. Anne Church in Piddig, where the old façade was destroyed and a new one built.”

Another respondent e-mailed: “I am saddened . . . Whatever it takes, this façade must be preserved and restored.

“I saw the leaning façade of St. Peter and Paul in Macau and it was truly breathtaking,” the letter writer continued. “San José de Dingras has the same magnificence. I visited the church early ’70s as a young student, during a travel that enriched my knowledge of our beloved country.

“The people of Ilocos must bond together to preserve this iconic structure. It will be a crime to remove this façade. Our architects in the 17th century put this church together and it is shameful if our current architects and engineers cannot put this structure back and shore it structurally for the coming generations to enjoy.”

The writer asked authorities: “Please, do not touch this structure. Please study all options.”

“I am shocked,” wrote another reader who hails from Dingras.

“Thank you for your alert. What is our heritage society going to do about it? What is Ambeth [Ocampo, NHI chair] going to do? Somebody should file a TRO! This is what we did when Bayani (Fernando) wanted to remove the trees on the island fronting Cravings along Katipunan Avenue [Quezon City]. Until now the acacias are still there.

“I am writing our parish priest and the bishops of Ilocos Norte today.”

Stolen icon

The 19th-century wooden head of Sto. Santiago Matamoros was stolen from the museum of San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila. The theft occurred Sept. 10, 2008, but was only reported to the Intramuros Administration in January 2009.

The head measures 20 x 25 cm in its original polychrome. Anyone with information about this antique piece can call Amie Guillermo (5274084) or Armando Arionday (5273102).

E-mail pride.place@gmail.com

[habagatcentral1]

Iloilo National High School
La Paz, Iloilo City

[zoroethgenre_003]

The College of Education building of Western Mindanao State University..The Main Building of the Zamboanga Normal School

Built in 1918 by the Americans

[icarusrising]

[overtureph]

Looking Back
Saving Bohol’s past

By Ambeth Ocampo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:14:00 05/22/2009

Filed Under: history, Research, Culture (general), Tourism, Places

Once in the great Paris flea market, at the Porte de Clignancourt, I saw a handful of Bohol “santos” on display. Before asking for the price I innocently asked for their provenance—where were these wonderful folk images of the Virgin Mary originally from—and was told they came from Latin America! I did not argue because I was certain that if these were correctly labeled as coming from the Philippines, they would cost much less. I had a similar experience in an antique mall in New York City where Bohol “santos” were said to be South American and cost more.

The Philippine “santos” came into their own two decades ago when an Architectural Digest cover story carried pictures of Elton John’s sitting room ornamented with Philippine “santos” of wood and ivory heads. In the recent Christie’s Paris auction of the collection of Yves Saint Laurent, there were two Hispano-Philippine ivories from the 17th or 18th century. One of the ivories, a head of Christ figured prominently on YSL’s coffee table. There is belated awareness of Filipino heritage these days, helpful if only to preserve the little we have left.

Fifteen years ago, I was shown an empty niche in Dimiao church where an ancient retablo once stood. It was sacrificed to fund church repairs in the 1970s and pioneering antique dealer Nene Cortes shipped it to Manila. Is this the same one now displayed in the National Museum? If large objects like retablos, pulpits and architectural details can be moved, what more portable valuable objects like church silver and ivories? What about old books, manuscripts and archival material that are the first consigned to a fire?

I remember a fiesta in Bohol where I watched the town band perform pop hits. While everyone had their eyes on the legs of the majorettes who twirled batons seductively, my eyes spotted the drum tops covered with Gregorian chant. Someone had put these ancient pig-skin choir books in the bodega to good use: when the drums of the town band broke they replaced it with a page from the over-sized choir book. Frankly, if it were possible to convert these choir books into chicharon, these would have disappeared much earlier and Dr. William Summers would not be able to tell us about early music in Bohol, including the crude but historically important “Misa Baclayana,” a musical setting for the Mass reconstructed from old music found in Bohol churches.

While I am happy that foreigners come to study Philippine culture, one wonders why Filipinos don’t seem to care. One reason is that we see our culture every day but we rarely sit back and notice. With the exception of Bohol historians Marianito Luspo and Jess Tirol, much of what I know of Bohol heritage comes from Manila-based researchers: Regalado Trota Jose (now a Dominican), Fr. Rene Javellana (Jesuit), Augusto Villalon (secular), Romeo Allianigue (ex-Carmelite), Osmundo Esguerra (furniture expert), Ramon Villegas (antique dealer) and Esperanza Gatbonton (independent researcher). Why isn’t more research on Bohol being done in Bohol? By Boholanos? Now that is both a challenge and a wish.

Heritage awareness these days is often focused on structures at risk, those that are being torn down to make way for modern buildings, or those being renovated beyond recognition. There is much more to Bohol than churches, watchtowers and natural landscape—the draft for the pre-history of Bohol, the history of Bohol before written records, is waiting to be written up from archeological records and artifacts in the National Museum and the writings of the pioneering pre-historian of the Philippines, H. Otley Beyer. Then there is the Guthe collection in the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology in Ann Arbor.

Carl E. Guthe headed an archeological expedition to the Philippines from 1922 to 1925, and from his base in Opon, Cebu, he excavated thousands of artifacts that now form the core of the museum’s Asia Division. These artifacts and records were brought back for future study and research, but 84 years later these material still cry out for a researcher to piece this unwritten history together.

Bohol is a success story for eco and heritage tourism, it has everything a tourist will want: beaches, Chocolate Hills, tarsier, colonial churches and watchtowers, plus a hospitable people. Loboc is a smashing success with its choir and river cruise. The Baclayon church museum is run by Baclayanons proud of their “native” delicacies: the Bohol chocolate, Baclayon broas, and Dauis torta are welcome contributions to the development of our national cuisine.

Loose tongues from narrow minds often argue that cultural heritage is a useless expense in a country with so much poverty. But in Bohol cultural heritage has generated jobs, encouraged small businesses and given Boholanos a sense of pride, self and identity. Perhaps there is truth to the saying that familiarity breeds contempt, worse, it often breeds apathy—that is why four historical markers were installed in Dauis and Maribijoc last week so that people will see and notice. That Bohol is culturally rich led to a suggestion that the National Historical Institute declare the whole province a national landmark.

At the very least it will save on historical markers from Manila, and preserve and develop what’s left of Bohol heritage.

* * *

Comments are welcome at aocampo@ateneo.edu



http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquirer...ng-Bohols-past

[overtureph]

Looking Back
Revisiting heritage

By Ambeth Ocampo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:14:00 05/20/2009

Filed Under: history, Culture (general), Churches (organisations)

The past few weeks I revisited places I had known as a boy. First stop was the ruins of the Dingras church in Ilocos Norte. In my nostalgia, I would remember the church as some abandoned Benedictine abbey after Henry VIII had looted it and had its monks hung, drawn and quartered on Tyburn Square. Memory does play out its own fictions because Dingras was wild pasture made smelly by a few goats awaiting slaughter for signature Iloco dishes. (I have been corrected by e-mail, Ilocano refers to the people, Iloco is the language.) Where the pasture used to be there is a church. Creative parish priests have put the ruins to good use—as a support for the steel roof that now covers a living place of worship. However, after a recent earthquake that left the church intact, there is fear that the posts supporting the roof could fall like dominoes when the ruins move and place stress on the roof. The suggested quick fix was to dismantle the ancient church façade, in whole or in part, to keep the church usable. To cut a long story short, a public hearing was conducted there, and it was agreed that the controversial ruins would be preserved and strengthened, and that a new church would be built around the ruins. The old need not be sacrificed for the new. Following the architects’ recommendations submitted last May 15, the bishop of Ilocos Norte and the National Historical Institute (NHI) will sign an order to begin preservation work.

Next stop was Bohol province where the NHI identified, installed and transferred to the church, the government and the people of Bohol not one but four historical markers: first, the Church of Maribojoc was marked; then Punta Cruz, the ancient watchtower (also in Maribijoc) that faces a crystal clear sea, was declared a National Historical Landmark; the same day the church of Dauis was marked, and this was followed by the declaration of the Dauis church complex as a National Historical Landmark. This covers the church, the watchtower and the kumbento (convent) in this sleepy town best known for its postcard pretty views and those heavy ensaymadas made with pork lard known as “torta.”

What do all these markers mean? Simply, that these sites and structures deemed historic and historical now form part of the fabric that is slowly being woven into that unfinished tapestry we call Philippine history. These four places newly inscribed in the NHI registry are not just part of the history of Dauis and Maribojoc; they form part of the history of the nation.

I spent two childhood summers at a farm in Bohol, but I can’t remember which town it was. All I recall was that it took an uncomfortable overnight trip by boat from Cebu to Tagbilaran in those days. Halfway to the farm, I was roused from sleep to see a tree sparkling in the dark like a Christmas tree in April, as it was filled with fireflies. I rediscovered Bohol in 1995 when I made a day trip from Cebu. I took a fastcraft from Cebu, rented a tricycle in Tagbilaran and visited all the churches possible: Tagbilaran, Loboc, Loay, Baclayon, Dauis, Maribojoc, Alborquerque, Dimiao and more. I learned a lot about Jesuit and Recollect architecture in Bohol but I returned to Manila deaf after spending hours beside a noisy motorcycle engine.

My next trip was better organized as I was introduced to Fr. Milan Ted Torralba of Baclayon and to Lutgardo “Gardy” Labad, better known for his involvement in cheesy Regal films. For many Boholanos who grew up in the shadow of these churches, they are just that—old churches, everyday sights that they see but do not notice.

Why did people from Manila come all the way to see these dilapidated structures. What did the visitors find so wonderful? Historical markers are a means to direct their attention, to make Boholanos see and notice the treasure in their midst. We are fortunate Bishop Leonardo Medroso of the Diocese of Tagbilaran is sensitive to heritage and what it contributes to make liturgy more meaningful. When I saw his predecessor Bishop Leopoldo Tumulak on the plane to Tagbilaran last week, he sighed and said, “We should have started earlier, Ambeth, we could have saved more heritage.” I replied that we should not fret, for experience is a polite term we use to describe our mistakes. There was no need to regret what is past, but to rejoice in what we still have.

Visiting the churches of Bohol these days I realize how much of the moveable church art and architecture are now gone. A carved side altar from the church in Dimiao is now in the National Museum. Images of saints that used to adorn the now empty niches in church retablos and the intricately designed silver liturgical vessels and other decorations are now in private collections in posh Makati enclaves. Even religious images from private homes have been exported to Manila, the most popular of them being those hardwood images of the Virgin Mary, many of which are carved in the shape of a bell with small pin-sized heads of ivory, painted in a riot of colors: blue, yellow, red, and orange. These folk religious images came with elaborately carved and painted home altars or “urna”; and, of course, the distinctly carved cabinets, tables and chairs of molave and balayong all have been brought to Manila. Worse, many of these things have been exported to Europe and the United States where they are now lost to us.

(Conclusion on Friday)

Comments are welcome at aocampo@ateneo.edu


http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquirer...iting-heritage

[kiretoce]

Milestone book: Window to a colonial past

The author professor emeritus Raul Rafael Ingles marks his 80th birthday in June with the release of a UP centennial book 1908: The Way It Really Was published by the University of the Philippines Press.

Born in 1929, the year of the Great Depression, Ingles belongs to the dwindling group called Ravens formed by young writers of the 50s—whose literary mentors were the Veronicans of the 30s. His works include short fiction, poetry, and essays which all deserve to be anthologized. His CD of delightful love poems came out a few years ago.

In the 50s, while working in President Magsaysay’s office, he found time to finish a master’s degree in public administration in UP Manila. In the library he came across a lode of historical material—microfilms of The Manila Times founded in 1898—which he used for a column “Fifty Years Ago” which Manila Times editor Jose Bautista published from 1956 to 1972 when the paper was closed by martial law.

I would see Raul in the library reading the microfilms and taking down notes. Eventually he bought his own portable microfilm reader, which he lugged in his trips abroad so as not to interrupt his column.

The book including Ingles’ columns about 1908 is a fitting gift to his Alma Mater on its centenary. It is a handsome, well-designed volume almost the size of a coffee table book. UP President Emerlinda R. Roman writes that “one can only rejoice that someone with the discerning mind, historical sense, and literary flair of Professor Ingles had the imagination and the diligence” for undertaking the task of writing “this extremely interesting book.”

Historian Ambeth Ocampo says that in the book “the past becomes relevant to our times because history as he presents it sounds strangely, and, sometimes painfully, familiar.” Literary critic Bienvenido Lumbera notes that the work “causes us to ponder the early years of the American Occupation . . . and to look beyond 1908 to UP’s emergence as an intellectual center of social relevance.”

Ingles dedicates 1908: The Way It Was to his mother, Dorotea Villabona Yngles, (1858-1947) “original poet of Mauban, who also compiled data on the history of this coastal town of the Sierra Madre from the year 1677.”

The Work

The book is for everyone who has more than antiquarian interest in quaint details about life at the time, and wants to know more about the history of a people under colonial rule.

By 1908, with the Philippine-American War still on despite Aguinaldo’s surrender, the instruments of “pacification” have been installed—including a public school system with English as medium of instruction; the Flag Law prohibiting the display of the Filipino flag and the singing of the Filipino national anthem; the Brigand Act; the Philippine Assembly with delegates elected by propertied voters (the underclass and women had no suffrage rights then); the pensionado program; and the carnivals with beauty queens (Miss Pura Villanueva reigning, later to be Mrs. Teodoro Kalaw) and stateside entertainment. The UP under American presidents was to be the colony’s educational centerpiece.

The Manila Times then owned/edited by Americans supported “benevolent assimilation” and the notion that Filipinos were not ready for independence. But as a newspaper, it could not ignore the reality of resistance to colonial rule like the continued rebellion, capture by betrayal, and execution of Katipunan Gen. Macario Sakay and other rebels (called bandits)—noted in Ingles’ column in 1957. I remember Raul telling me that Sakay shouted before he was hanged: “We are not bandits but members of the revolutionary force. Long live the Philippines! Adios, Filipinas!” On June 22, 1908, a “KKK circular” calling Americans “shameless, dishonest set of drunken thieves” was reported and described by The Manila Times as “drivel.”

Other reported forms of resistance include students in the US espousing independence, displaying the Katipunan flag in Wisconsin, and singing the national anthem; the Progresistas protesting the firing by the Governor General of the Filipino assistant director of the civil service; a former pensionado Jorge Bocobo (Indiana U graduate) defending the flag-waving students in the US (Bocobo became UP president in 1934); the Assemblea Filipinas standing for immediate independence on Rizal’s birthday June 19; nationalist writers Faustino Aguilar and Lope K. Santos defending Col. Simeon Villa (chief aide of Aguinaldo and father of poet Jose Garcia Villa) running against an American candidate in Ermita for Manila councilor; the showing of “seditious” zarzuelas of Aurelio Tolentino and Martin Reyes and their subsequent arrests.

This was the context in 1908 when the Philippine Assembly passed on May 25 the law creating the University of the Philippines, now the premier and national university of the country. It has nurtured intellectuals, scientists, artists and professionals who have contributed much to national development. It has produced leaders who are a credit to the country, with many who are not. The UP has also turned out patriots seeking to bring about genuine social change.

This book manifests the author’s gift of selecting what would be historically/culturally significant, written in a very engaging style. And as Lumbera says, the book “allows every alumnus and friend of the UP to read into it what he treasures most” about the university and the people then and now.

[overtureph]

Inquirer Visayas
The mystery of the ancient inscription

By Rolando O. Borrinaga
Inquirer Visayas
First Posted 02:11:00 05/23/2009

Filed Under: history, Archaeology

AFTER 50 years of enigma, the text inscribed around the shoulder of the Calatagan Pot, the country’s oldest cultural artifact with pre-Hispanic writing, may have been deciphered as written in the old Bisayan language.

Diggers discovered the pot in an archeological site in Calatagan, Batangas, in 1958. They sold it for P6 to a certain Alfredo Evangelista.

Later, the Anthropological Foundation of the Philippines purchased the find and donated it in 1961 to the National Museum, where it is displayed to this day.

The pot, measuring 12 centimeters high and 20.2 cm at its widest and weighing 872 grams, is considered one of the Philippines’ most valuable cultural and anthropological artifacts. It has been dated back to the 14th and 16th centuries.

The inscription puzzle

Sometime in the early 1960s, the National Museum sought help from sculptor Guillermo Tolentino, the National Artist who produced the University of the Philippines (UP) Oblation, in deciphering the inscription on the pot. He was known for his fascination with the ancient Tagalog “baybayin” (alphabet).

However, Tolentino’s output was set aside on scientific grounds. It was allegedly achieved through seance—he supposedly invoked the spirit of the ancient pot maker and asked him for the meaning of the inscription.

According to Tolentino’s translation, the pot was an offering of a son or daughter to a dead mother.

Through the decades, other scholars had tried to decipher the inscription. Among them were Juan Francisco, Jean-Paul Potet, Antoon Postma, Harold Conklin and Johannes de Casparis, known experts in the field of paleography.

But no one was able to produce a transliteration, whether complete or partial.

Only Francisco (in 1973) and Potet (in 1983) had come up with more or less complete symbol equivalence. But they failed to determine the actual language.

Previous attempts at transcription faced three seemingly insurmountable problems:

Equivalents of many symbols are unknown.

Language used is unknown, although the possibility of Tagalog or Mangyan had been proposed.

Even if the symbols are successfully identified, it is difficult to determine the start and end of words, as well as the final consonants of certain words.

Recent attempts

Early this year, Prof. Ramon G. Guillermo of UP Diliman published results of his attempt in a paper titled “Ina Bisa Kata: An Experimental Decipherment of the Calatagan Pot Inscription,” which has been posted in the Internet.

He said he used paleography, cryptography and “brute force” to crack the code and decipher the symbols around the mouth of the pot. He approached his task by transcribing in clockwise direction starting from the character at the break of the circle of symbols, similar to what Francisco and Potet had done.

In March, Guillermo released the following translation of the text:

Sinikap sabihin ni ina /

Para sa iyo mahal kong anak /

Kumain ka sa aking dulang /

Dibdib ko ’tong mabango /

Doon ika’y mabasa /

Tulad ng bulaklak

His version carries a mother’s endearing message to her beloved child, the opposite of Tolentino’s interpretation.

But although the methods that Guillermo used were deemed scientific and technical enough in academic circles, and his output was declared “most definitive” in an Internet feature story, some sectors have lingering doubts about the final revelation. These doubts prodded me to contribute my effort to resolve the issue.

Nabuka na ba?

I first came across the Calatagan Pot mystery and Tolentino’s contribution from the Inquirer column of Ambeth R. Ocampo on April 27, 2007. But I knew the details only lately while browsing online for articles on the old Philippine scripts.

I printed an illustration of the pot inscription and tried transcribing its text counterclockwise, contrary to previous attempts, starting at the line that broke from the circle. I provided equivalents of the symbols, using for references a table with three old Bisayan alphabets compiled by the late Fr. Cantius J. Kobak, OFM, and another table with the old Tagalog alphabet from a book of William Henry Scott.

Out of 40 symbols in the inscription, my initial attempt matched with 24 equivalents in Tolentino’s transcription, 25 in Francisco’s, 23 in Potet’s, and 21 in Guillermo’s. I later came up with the following full transcription of the text:

NA-BU-KA-NA-BA /

LA-BA-MA-NA-LA-DA-KI /

NI-NU-MA-NI-YA-MA-NGA /

GA-KA-KA-YA-LA-NGA-YA /

BA-YA-HA-DA-KI-NA-NU /

DA-KA-LA-BI-NA-GA-HA

I adopted the “ma” and “nga” for two similar symbols at the end of the third line from Tolentino, and “ya” at the end the fourth line from Potet; these are not found in existing scripts. After adding perceived missing vowels or consonants for some possible Bisayan keywords, I came up with the following interpretation:

Nabuká na ba? /

Labâ ma na lâ, dakit /

Nínu ma niya mangga /

Gakatkat hiya lâ ngay-an /

Bayâ ha dakit na, nu? /

Da kalág binagat, ha?

The single-syllable expressions in the text are decidedly Bisayan in tone and accent, the type that can still be heard from residents in the hinterlands of Samar Island.

While translating my interpretation to English, I found that the modern meanings of such keywords as “laba,” “ninu,” “katkat,” “dala” and “bagat” are not appropriate. So I looked for their old meanings, mainly from the Vocabulario de la Lengua Bisaya (Dagami, Leyte 1616; Manila 1711) by Fr. Mateo Sanchez, SJ.

Here is my translation:

Is it open now for sure? [the gateway to the spirit underworld]/

Take it as a gain already, dakit [Tag., balete] tree/

That [the soul] confused you for a mango tree/

[It] just crossed out of fear [to your domain] alone, is that so?/

Leave the dakit tree now, will you?/

Shame/Bring [back] the soul that you [were told to] encounter, okay?

I have already compiled a glossary of the 21 words possibly used in the pot inscription.

It now appears that the Calatagan artifact was a ritual pot particularly used as native incense burner for the expensive and elaborate “pag-uli” (return) ceremony of the pre-Hispanic Filipinos. This was presumably performed in front of a “dakit” (in Cebuano, “dalakit” in Leyte-Samar), a tree held sacred by the natives, to retrieve a soul believed to have just crossed over to the other realm, and to return this to its moribund earthly body.

The inscription essentially provides the outline of a three-stage monologue, presumably elaborated by a “babaylan” (native priestess) in a trance during the “pag-uli” ritual. It is alternately addressed to the spirit underworld on the one hand and to the “umalagad,” ancestor-spirit that the “babaylan” had commissioned for the soul-retrieval operation, on the other.

This pot was probably also used for ceremonies to retrieve victims of the “bugkut,” disappeared persons believed to have been abducted by fairies who dwell in the “dakit.”

A technical paper with details of the findings is being prepared for presentation to the academic and scientific community.

Copyright 2009 Inquirer Visayas. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquire...nt-inscription

[overtureph]

Rizal’s 'green' house appalls Calambeños

By Maricar Cinco
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 11:33:00 06/05/2009

Filed Under: history, House building

CALAMBA CITY, LAGUNA, Philippines -- The Rizal Shrine that stood silently over the decades in this city has suddenly caught everyone's attention after it was painted green about three weeks ago.

Not only have irate text messages started going around the town, but emails and calls from other provinces and abroad have expressed "shock and horror" over the shrine's new hue.

"We don't like it," Linda Lazaro, who was for 15 years a member of the Rizal Day committee, said.

"We are not against the painting per se. But it (the house) symbolizes Rizal (and) it is an insult to his memory," she added.

The school teacher, who is in her 70s, claimed to be a descendant of the national hero through the wife of Rizal's brother Paciano.

The shrine that used to be gray was reconstructed in the '50s with the funds coming from 25-centavo contributions of students and their families from several schools.

The National Historical Institute recently repainted the shrine's outside walls in a light shade of green. The walls inside were painted yellow and the ceiling blue.

"Even the well (in front of the house) was painted green," Lazaro said.

In his column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Wednesday, Ambeth Ocampo, head of the NHI, wrote that the reason for painting Rizal's house green was to "highlight the meaning of his surname."

The surname Rizal had its roots from the Spanish word "ricial," which meant a green field ready for harvest, he said.

"It does not follow that your house should be painted the way your surname means," said a resident of Calamba, who preferred not to be named so as not invite the ire of Ocampo.

"It's a flimsy reason. It doesn't hold water," Lazaro said.

She said townsfolk have been joking about painting their houses according to the meaning of their surnames.

"If our last name is Guinto, should our house be painted in gold?" Lazaro recalled one sarcastic remark she received.

To placate irate residents, the curator placed a tarpaulin about four days ago, explaining why the house was painted in green.

People, mostly on educational trips, visit the Rizal shrine, especially during the weekends.

"That's all we have here in Calamba and we lost our symbol," Lazaro worried about losing the town's main historical and tourist attraction.

She said a British guest recently came to see the house and "was horrified" with the color.

"It's embarrassing. We are having a hard time explaining to them (guests) why it is green," she said.

It was a different reaction before the house was painted.

"Children would turn silent upon entering the house. There was a certain ambiance and romance, it being an old house," she said.

On Thursday, a guest referred to the Rizal shrine, with its green facade, as a "toy house,"
Lazaro said.

She said teachers, who were on a tour with their students in Calamba, were angry because they could not explain why the color had to be changed.

The office of the curator also received reactions, some containing invectives, about the changes in the house's color.

"We are being blamed (for turning Rizal's house green)," said Lazaro.

She said an elderly resident of Calamba even cried over the changes. Teenagers also started referring to it as a "disco house with neon colors."

A text message from a concerned individual read, "sansala po ako sa bagong pintura ng bahay na bato, kung mangalap kaya tayo ng pondo para po sa repainting sigurado ko po marami ang bukas-palad para dyan (I was surprised by the way the house was repainted. If we solicit funds for the repainting, I am sure many would give willingly.)"

Lazaro, however, said it would be too late to repaint the house in time for June 19, Rizal's birth anniversary.

Some people have mixed emotions about the repainting.

Another resident said Rizal's house "looks like a cake."

Dr. Virgilio Lasaga, tourism officer of Calamba, confirmed the negative feedback they have been receiving about Rizal’s green house.


Copyright 2009 Inquirer Southern Luzon. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakin...alls-Calambeos

[overtureph]

Analysis
Paradise city of pines battles urban decay

By Amando Doronila
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:22:00 06/08/2009

Filed Under: history, Environmental Issues, Housing & Urban Planning, Tourism, Monuments & Heritage Sites, Forest and forest management

(First in a series)

BAGUIO CITY—In less than three months, Baguio will celebrate its 100 years as a chartered city, swamped by the corrosive elements of urban decay and the ravages of environmental degradation.

In the countdown to the Sept. 1 festivities, elders are engrossed in planning the revival of the grandeur of Baguio beyond 2009, a city once described as the Philippine “paradise city of the pines.”

Two weeks ago, I revisited Baguio for four days after 10 years to find out for myself what is left of its heritage, over which there has been so much lamentation that it has become a “paradise lost.”

As the lamentation goes, lowland tourists don’t find Baguio as cold as it used to be; its downtown streets (especially Session Road) are congested with vehicle and human traffic as bad as in Manila; its heritage buildings, relics of the city’s American colonial rule, have been torn down; its pine tree cover is less dense than it was some decades ago; its streets overflow with mounds of garbage in plastic bags uncollected for weeks; and in recent years, its face has been altered by the invasion of Korean business establishments (restaurants, shops, offices) and the ubiquitous presence of Korean nationals in the streets, places of entertainment, parks and in leased dwellings or buildings.

The lost heritage of Baguio is not to be found in these manifestations of urban development and squalor. It is to be found in the old public buildings that proclaim the city’s glorious past.

There are still many things going for Baguio, aside from the old colonial relics and its healthful climate. It is a natural garden city and the only city in the Philippines planned as a natural park by American architect Daniel Burnham, whose legacy is the Burnham Park at its heart, defining its architectural design.

The heritage of Baguio is preserved in such edifices and public monuments as what remains at Camp John Hay, Camp Allen, Teacher’s Camp, the Baguio Central School, the new City Hall standing on the site of the old City Hall, one of the first colonial buildings built by the American governor generals when they proclaimed Baguio the summer capital of the Philippines.

The usual tourist spots remain—the Mines View Park, Mirador Hill and the Dominican Hill. But to appreciate the cultural legacy of Baguio to the nation, one has to go deeper into the history of these relics that deserve more than cursory inspection.

Built out of wilderness

Baguio was the first city in the Philippines to be built from a wilderness and only six years after it was granted a charter, it already held a carnival and industrial fair.

According to the newspaper Baguio Midland Courier, Baguio is different from any other city in the Philippines.

It is the administrative and political center of the Cordillera Administrative Region, a trade gateway, a university town that is the center of higher education in northern Luzon, and the center of the mining industry in the area.

Baguio is a special economic zone and the base of nine foreign firms, including Texas Instruments Philippines Inc., a leading producer of semi-industrial parts and accessories in the world market.

In planning for the Baguio centenary, one of the objectives of the Baguio Centennial Commission is to draw a draft of the revival of Baguio after 2009.

In March, the commission asked Grade 4 pupils of Elpidio Quirino Elementary School in Barangay Irisan to draw what they like and dislike about Baguio.

Commissioner Joseph Ablanza, retired city architect, used this method so he can gauge how the new generation envisions the city in the next 100 years.

Wrapping up the centennial conference at the University of the Philippines Baguio in March, American anthropologist Gerald Finin, an authority on Cordillera history at the East-West Center in Hawaii, said he sympathized with “the lament of Old Baguio,” which was highlighted at UP in academic explorations about the city’s decay, its depleted water resources and its uncontrolled population boom.

Problems with success

Finin said that what scholars now faced in Baguio were “problems associated with success,” and they might have to credit the city for turning into a bustling multinational and multiethnic metropolis in only 100 years.

Finin was impressed by the “range of economic activity and the rich array of [global] skills and ideals [of an international community drawn to Baguio from 1900 to 2009,] which contributed to its vivacity.”

Ablanza said the children’s drawings provided a graphic sense of the changes they perceive are occurring in their environment.

Most of the children from each school drew blue skies and trees to indicate their preference for a healthy Baguio. “I was inspired by the blue skies,” he said.

To express his dislike, a pupil drew images of Camp John Hay, which is the closest forested area to the school.

In the drawing, the pupil wrote: “People cut trees in the area … they want to build buildings, stores and restaurants, and much more so that they will have more money.”

Baguio dumps its trash in a commercial landfill in Capas, Tarlac, more than 100 kilometers away, to get rid of a daily waste output of 100 tons. The city spent P20 million in three months for garbage disposal.

Neighboring communities have refused to take Baguio’s trash, claiming that it pollutes watershed areas and drinking water sources.

Depleted forest cover

The warming of Baguio’s cold temperature has often been blamed on the depletion of its forest cover.

According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Cordillera’s forest area may have shrunk by 36 percent in the last few years.

Only 665,796 hectares of the region’s 1.8 million hectares (ha) have remained. More than 950 ha have been lost from 2005 to 2008 alone, or an average of 318,08 ha a year.

If this trend is not arrested, the loss of watersheds would make doubly difficult enhancing the region as a carbon sink, according to Paquito Moreno, Environmental Management Bureau director for the region.

A “carbon sink” is like a garbage bin that serves as receptacle for carbon dioxide, Moreno said.

Tree planting or reforestation remains to be the best measure to push the region as a “carbon sink,” the DENR said.

The department’s data show that from 2000 to 2007, 1,284 ha of forests had been reforested, or a recovery rate of 5.42 ha a day, compared to the 381.08 ha lost yearly or 1.04 ha lost a day. (To be continued)

Copyright 2009 Philippine Daily Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquire...es-urban-decay

[overtureph]

Editorial
Saving our river


Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:55:00 06/08/2009

Filed Under: history, Environmental pollution

In Rizal’s time, the Pasig River was both EDSA and SLEx. As every college student ought to know, the “Fili” begins with the steamship Tabo’s unsteady progress up the river, “arduously sailing upstream through the winding course of the Pasig, carrying numerous passengers to the province of Laguna.” Following the Tabo, the mind’s eye can vividly picture what the mighty river was in the 1880s: a busy thoroughfare, a lively scene, a fertile fishing ground. [The Tabo] “threatens everything in her way, now seeming about to crush the salambaw, scraggy fishing contraptions which in their movements are not unlike skeletons saluting an antediluvian turtle; now running straight against the bamboo brushes or against the floating eating places or karihan, which among gumamelas and other flowers, seem like indecisive bathers, their feet already in the water but still undecided on plunging in.” (Text taken from the Locsin translation.)

Today, there are no indecisive bathers in the Pasig, human or otherwise. Only involuntary ones, or children playing truant, too young to know their life and health are at great risk with every second they spend in the river’s squalid water.

The route of the Tabo retraces the path that Elias and Crisostomo Ibarra took when they escaped to Laguna, in the last chapters of the “Noli.” On the boat, they hold their famous second dialogue about the necessity of revolution, but Rizal characteristically ends their discussion with a burst of lyricism. “Those who have ever made their way by night up the Pasig, on one of those magical nights that the Philippines offers, when the moon pours out from the limpid blue her melancholy light, when the shadows hide the miseries of man and the silence is unbroken by the sordid accents of his voice, when only Nature speaks—they will understand the thoughts of both these youths.” (Text taken from the Derbyshire translation.)

Today, anyone who makes his or her way by night up the Pasig would be satirized, not lyricized. To many of the millions who reside in Metro Manila, and to many more who visit the National Capital Region, the Pasig is only a brown, turbid current, something one crosses over, to get from one place to another.

This is a pity; the river that made Manila the country’s most important center of culture and commerce is now of the most polluted in the world.

Attempts have been made before to clean up the Pasig and restore it to its former place in our affections, of which perhaps the most widely known was the “Clean and Green” campaign of Amelita Ramos, the first lady from 1992 to 1998. “Kapit Bisig Para Sa Pasig” (literally, “linking arms for the Pasig”) is the latest. A project of Bantay Kalikasan, it aims to clean up the great river one estero (creek) at a time. It also promises to do so with the full cooperation of estero “communities”—many of whom are informal settlers living in shanties built on the river’s banks.

A total of 66 families living in Estero de Paco will be relocated to a site called “Bayan ni Juan” in Laguna; this is, in the scheme of things, a small step, but a true breakthrough. It removes a source of the pollution that chokes the river and, at the same time, restores a sense of possibility to people who have lived in inhuman conditions—in shanties made of plywood and tarpaulin, without running water or electricity, reliant on the river as all-purpose trash bin and toilet.

The relocated families will help in the cleanup too, primarily by helping demolish their own shanties. But the private sector will help too, under the leadership of Gina Lopez of the ABS-CBN Foundation. Difficult as the initial stages in the Estero de Paco campaign have been, the real hard work lies ahead: actually cleaning up that part of the river. Lopez has spoken of possibly working with “Australian water experts” or with a New York firm with the “technology [to] transform the sludge that will be dredged from the esteros into organic fertilizer.”

Well and good. More private businesses can chip in, by ensuring that the other main source of river pollution—factories and industrial plants sited on the riverbanks—stop dirtying the river. Only then can we really look forward to making our way by night up the mighty Pasig.




Copyright 2009 Philippine Daily Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquirer...ving-our-river

[Rence]

Philippine Postal Heritage Walking Tour




Shown above, a 1954 stamp marking the 100th anniversary of the first Philippine stamps. Manila's main post office (which is one of the stops on the walking tour) is shown on the right of the stamp.


stampcollectingroundup.blogspot.com : See the link:
http://stampcollectingroundup.blogsp...king-tour.html


The Philippine Daily Inquirer reports, "The postal heritage walking tour around Manila hopes to resurrect the dying art of stamp collecting in an age of e-mail and instant messaging through leisurely strolls around historic sites around the country’s capital."

Reporter Jeannette Andrade writes, "What’s magical about the tour is the Filipinas Stamp Collectors’ Club’s (FSCC) ability to uncover hidden gems of history around Manila using postage stamps as its guide."



a collector showing off his collection of stamps, documents, paper bills, old books

The FSCC was first organized by stamp collectors in October 1994 as the Manila Stamp Collectors’ Club aimed at beginners and intermediates. It was later renamed as the FSCC in January 2000 and has some 70 active members to date according to the article.



Collection of postage stamps


Mr. David Celdran - host of ANC " Executive Class" and Mr. Lawrence Chan inside the Postal Museum and Library ( the show featured the Philippine Postal Heritage Tour last May 24, 2009 )


Lawrence Chan, FSCC vice president and tour guide, is quoted in the piece as saying, "The Philippines was the first country in Asia to issue stamps, printing and releasing them on Feb. 1, 1854."


To read the entire article, click here.http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquire...-postal-stamps

[icarusrising]

hi Rence!

Estancia... Santa Cruz de Malabon... and finally, Tanza!

A walk through the town reveals that many of its heritage structures have survived by appropriating commercial spaces...












Patio Real










The convent and Catholic church: Another cradle of the Philippine Revolution

[icarusrising]

Government allots P100 million to build ecclesiastical museum
By Helen Flores Updated June 15, 2009 12:00 AM


MANILA, Philippines - The government has earmarked P100 million for the construction of an ecclesiastical museum at the site of the old San Ignacio Church in Intramuros, Manila that would house roughly P140 billion worth of precious artifacts.

Intramuros administrator Bambi Harper said they partnered with the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) and other government agencies for the establishment of the Museo de Intramuros this year.

“We will reconstruct San Ignacio as the Museo de Intramuros to house the over 2, 000 items of religious images in wood and ivory… those chalices and silver altars belonging to the Intramuros Administration and excavated artifacts from this site will likewise be exhibited to further shed light to the origins of the city,” Harper said during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Museo de Intramuros yesterday.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the ecclesiastical museum was held in time for the AdMU’s sesquicentennial or 150th anniversary celebration.

Aside from Harper, the event was also attended by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, AdMU president Father Bienvenido Nebres, and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) chairman Manuel Pangilinan, who also chairs the AdMU’s board of trustees.

According to the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, a church museum is a place “that brings to light the variety of Christian cultural contributions” for “bringing together culture and evangelization” as well as a “place to store and protect what is no longer in use.”

Nebres said the construction of the museum would start soon and is expected to be completed next year.

The planned Museo de Intramuros is an addition to the six already existing historical sites in the former Walled City. The six sites are San Agustin Church, which holds a private collection of religious artifacts; Fort Santiago, which mainly houses memorabilia of National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal; Casa Manila, a house museum that is a replica of a Binondo house; Balay Tsinoy, a museum of Chinese history in the country; the Department of Tourism’s Museum of Philippine History; and the Archdiocese of Manila Museum, which displays a collection of ecclesiastical art.

Harper earlier said around P400 million is needed to fund the whole restoration project. To date, she said IA has only secured a total of P100 million from the Department of Education.

Museo de Intramuros will feature themes such as history and technology construction, role of institutions such as government, military, religion, education and business, major events, arts as well as lifestyle. Other interesting facets of the project are the Escuella Taller de Intramuros, the galleon trade exhibit and a public library and lecture hall.

Previous reports said that an estimated 2,000 to 6,000 artifacts that include furniture, jewelry and ecclesiastical arts would be displayed in the museum.

Included in the collection are an 18th-century chalice with paten and ciborium. Another is an 18th-century relief of the Virgin of the Apocalypse carved on a molave wood. This relic, which belongs to the Jacinto family chapel in Polo, Bulacan, is one of the biggest in the wood relief collection of Intramuros. It is nearly eight feet tall and seven feet wide.

A number of 16th to 17th century Marian images made from solid ivory are also included in the collection.

The San Ignacio Church, built in 1889, was located behind the Mission House, the residence of the Jesuit superiors and teachers of the Ateneo Municipal de Manila at the corner of Anda and Sta. Lucia streets in Intramuros, Manila.

It was a rectangular structure of brick measuring 40 meters long and 20 meters wide. Its ceiling was made of square panels while the columns, the pulpit and reredos of the altars were made from Philippine hardwood carved by Filipino artists.

It was once hailed by its architect, Felix Roxas, Sr., as the Jesuits’ sueno dorado (golden dream) until it was damaged during the liberation of Manila in 1945.

[dvbaicrviser]

Heritage Conservation in the University of Santo Tomas

DISCURSO DE APERTURA

By: Architect John Joseph T. Fernandez, Dean, College of Architecture

REV. FATHER ROLANDO V. DE LA ROSA, O.P., RECTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS,
REV. FR. PABLO T. TIONG, O.P., VICE-RECTOR,
REV. FR. MANUEL F. ROUX, O.P., VICE RECTOR FOR FINANCE AND REGENT OF THE COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE,
PROF. CLARITA D.L. CARILLO, PHD VICE RECTOR FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS,
REV. FR. ISIDRO ABANO, O.P., SECRETARY GENERAL,

MEMBERS OF THE ACADEMIC SENATE AND COUNCIL OF REGENTS , ADMINISTRATORS, FACULTY MEMBERS, NON ACADEMIC PERSONNEL, STUDENTS, GUESTS, FRIENDS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, A PLEASANT MORNING TO EACH AND EVERYONE.

FOR MY DISCURSO DE APERTURA I HAVE CHOSEN A TOPIC WHICH HAS BEEN CONSIDERED BY SOME AS SUBJECT MATTER OF LESS SIGNIFICANCE. I HOPE THAT AFTER MY DISCURSO, I WOULD HAVE CONVINCED MANY OF YOU HERE THAT IT IS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE AND OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE. MY DISCURSO DE APERTURA... HERITAGE CONSERVATION IN THE UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS.

What is Heritage Conservation? In order for us to understand and appreciate Heritage Conservation allow me to show you an excerpt in a presentation made by Architect Willa Solomon in 2005, depicting the University of Santo Tomas campus evolution.

The University of Santo Tomas was first located in Intramuros in 1611 and was later transferred to a new site in the Sulucan District (Sampaloc) in 1927. the 22-hectare land was acquired in 1900 as a donation by the Sulucan Development. As early as 1917, Fr. Roque Ruaño, O.P., prepared the plans for the Main Building and the new campus. Expansion outside Intramuros was foreseen because of the growing enrollment.

1923-1929

The construction of the new structure began in 1923. On July 2, 1927, the first occupants who transferred to the new building were the Faculties of Medicine and Pharmacy, the Colleges of Philosophy and Letters, Liberal Arts, Engineering, and Education. Since then, the Main Building has been the focal point of the campus. It is where all succeeding structures revolved. The Anatomy Building was added in 1929 to support the Medical program of the College of Medicine.

1930-1941

The addition of the Fathers’ Residence, designed by Arch. Fernando de Ocampo relieved the structure of congestion, as the priests transferred to the newly-constructed Central Seminary complex in 1933.

The period was also marked by the organization of the Department of Physical Education. The UST Gym with its Olympic size swimming pool, was noted first in Southeast Asia.

The addition of the succeeding structures within the campus were witnessed: Mines Building (1934); the Home Economics Building (1935); the Restaurant now the Student Health Center (1939); the Education Building, now the UST Hospital; the transfer of the Benavides Monument (1940); and the UST Printing Press (1941).

1942-1945

The bombing of the Pearl Harbor signaled the beginning of the Second World War. On December 8, 1941, as Manila became an “open city”, the Japanese infantry entered Manila. Accordingly, from 1942-1945, the UST grounds and the Main Building served as shelter to the 3, 759 foreign internees. On February 5, 1945, UST was the first to be liberated from the Japanese occupation.

1946-1962

1946, the High School Building (now the UST Hospital) was transformed as the hospital’s Pay Division.

The founding of several Colleges like Nursing and Conservatory of Music; the offering of related courses and creation of academic departments; the construction of the Botanical Gardens, and the old Department of Military Science and Training (DMST) Building (1946), the Conservatory of Music Building, and Architecture and Fine Arts Building (1948), and the addition of the Tria Haec Figures (1949), all attested to the expansion of UST.

A master plan was proposed in the early fifties. These years observed the erection of the Ruaño Building, the Cooperative Building, the Nurses Homes (1950); the Medicine building and botanical gardens (1954); also the completion of the statues on the Main Building (1955). The latter years of the decade witnessed the remodeling of the Seminary Building and transfer of the old Intramuros gate (Arch of the Centuries), and The addition of the Main Building Porte Cochere (1956); the construction of the Education Building now the Commerce Building and fountains (1957); the present Education Building (1959), the upgrading of the Medicine Building (1960), the Charity Hospital (1962)and the expansion of the Ruaño Building (1967).

1970’s

The Filipinization of the Administration began in June 1970, when Fr. Leonardo Z. Legaspi, O.P., was appointed. Two historical events happened during the decade, giving the institution a special international recognition and honor. First, the visit of His Holiness Pope Paul VI on November 28, 1970, that led to the construction of the present Grandstand. Second, was the visit of His Royal Highness Prince Juan Carlos de Borbon (today King Juan Carlos of Spain) on February 19, 1974.

In terms of infrastructure development, grand expansion of hospital facilities was done, to house the modern medical equipment and accommodate more patients (1973 to 1974). The City of Manila provided an overpass for UST for the growing number of accidents along España Street (1976). A three-storey structure replaced the 1962 High School Building when it was burned in 1977, and the addition of the Tinoko Park was put up in 1979.

1980’s

In the 1980’s, events that were noteworthy include: the visit of Pope John Paul II to UST, to address the Filipino youth and to beatify the Martyrs of Japan, including Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino saint in 1981; the addition of the gym’s facilities and hostel facilities were also recognized.

The University established Academic Linkages with foreign and local institutions from 1987-1989. Improvement of support facilities was seen through the construction of the Engineering Sports Complex and a two-storey parking for the hospital.

1990’s

The last decade of the 20th century was noted by the redefinition of the University’s mission and vision; excellence in three levels: research, instruction, and community service.

The upgrading of facilities to meet the demands of the academics programs and increase of student population paved the way to the construction of the Central Library (1991), the initial floors of Beato Angelico (1993 and 1999); the expansion of the Student Health Center, the Local Area Network (LAN) was provided to the different colleges and departments by the UST Computer Center (USTCC) (1995); and, the renovation of Museum of Arts and Sciences (1997).

2000-2005

The Sciences Research Center, the millennium gate, the B & G Building were constructed, together with other support structures. The Research Center was inaugurated and the Botanical garden underwent major renovation in 2001.

A trend of in-fill construction happened within the campus, including the Sewage Plant, Botanical Laboratory, MRI and Pharmacy Building in 2002, GS Laboratory (now the Data Center), Storage in 2003, and the Cancer Institute Building at present.

After that short trip down memory lane, I believe a lot of nostalgia and déjà vu has been triggered... For the younger ones, an enriching journey and increase in knowledge about the evolution of the University campus, we now tend to look at the old buildings differently with appreciation ... Some are gone to give way to the ever increasing need of the University and its users ... . so let me go back now to the question ... What is Heritage Conservation? ... Heritage Conservation is a process of identification, recording, analysis and protection of historic and cultural resources. The protection of one’s environment both built and natural is of great importance. Conservation of heritage resources brings about wiser decision concerning development of one’s personal and collective quality of life. Simply putting it ... one has to learn from the past to avoid mistakes in the future ... .

Many Filipinos are unaware of what is Heritage conservation. It is not a new thing. Many of us who have traveled to Europe and admire the unbelievable feat of the Egyptians in their pyramids, the gracefulness of Greek architecture through their temples, the well preserved ruins, cathedrals of the Roman era, the Gothic Architecture of the medieval period, the churches and palaces of the Renaissance period, the stonewash structures in the Greek isles of Mykonos and wonder, ... how these countries were able to conserve or preserve their heritage and made it into their country’s top revenue earner.

In Europe for instance, they have Europa Nostra. Europa Nostra was founded in 1963, upon the initiative of Italia Nostra, as a response to the serious threat to the survival of Venice caused by the regular floods. In 1991, it merged with the Internationales Burgen Institut (the International Castles Institute). Today, through its various activities, Europa Nostra seeks to highlight the importance of cultural heritage as a building block of European identity and as a contribution to the strengthening of the sense of European citizenship.

Europa Nostra supports national and international campaigns for the preservation and rescue of Europe’s heritage at risk. It encourages exemplary initiatives in the favor of the conservation and enhancement of cultural heritage by recognizing outstanding heritage achievements, in particular through the running of the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards, in partnership with the European Commission.

Similarly another international organization which promotes Heritage Conservation is (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO World Heritage Committee.) UNESCO seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world, considered to be of outstanding value to humanity ... as embodied in an international treaty called ... The Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage adopted in 1972.

In the Philippines, UNESCO has identified 8 Heritage Sites;

1. Tubbataha Reef Marine Park in Palawan

2. Banaue Rice terraces of the Ifugaos, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Now in the endangered list of the world heritage sites.

3. Historic Town of Vigan specifically the Crisologo St. in Vigan Ilocos Sur

4. Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Puerto Princesa, Palawan

5. 4 Baroque Churches

a. San Agustin Church, Intramuros, Manila.

b. Nuestra Senora de asuncion, Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur. Aslo in the endangered list

c. St. Agustin Church, Paoay, Ilocos Norte, also in the Endangered List

d. Miag-ao Church, Miag-ao, Iloilo also in the endangered list.

Unfortunately out of the 8 declared UNSCO World Heritage sites 4 are presently in the endangered list. Endangered list refers to the world heritage sites that are slowly in the process of decay due to poor conservation maintenance, and maybe in the brink of collapse if no conservation steps are employed.

Philippine Conservation groups are now working at nominating the Island of Batanes to be included in the UNESCO World heritage list.

But what role does the University of Santo Tomas play in all of these?

In September 4, 2003, the Center for Conservation of Cultural Property and Environment in the Tropics (CCCPET), was officially inaugurated. It is the organizing body to hold the flagship, of all cultural heritage research concerns in the University, with Rev. Fr. Isidro Abaño, O.P. as the director. The CCCPET has extended its assistance not only within the University but to several local government units. One of its pioneer endeavor is the UNESCO World Heritage site of Vigan. The UST CCCPET was responsible in training Vigan’s local conservation workers in the heritage conservation. It was also the primary catalyst in the cultural Mapping of both its tangible and intangible heritage. Because of this, several projects in the province of Vigan became offshoot of this training, one of this is the children museum and the soon to run river cruise tour. Because of such assistance, Vigan is able to maintain its title as a world heritage site. Several new projects have also been accepted by the CCCPET commissioned to undertake the following:

1. The Ifugao Rice terraces infrastructure guidelines
2. Butuan Archeological Mapping
3. Maranaw Intangible heritage Mapping, Tugaya, Lanao del Sur
4. Samar National heritage Mapping

As well as the cultural mapping of the Provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga and Bicol.

Clearly the university has been very active in conservation works beyond its walls.

The Office of the Secretary General through the initiative of Fr. Isidro Abaño added a special screening of the last year’s Christmas Concert, which was attended by society’s who’s who ... to raise funds for the conservation many of the Museum’s collection.

Within the University, The UST Museum of Arts and Sciences and the UST graduate school have been offering postgraduate program in the Heritage Conservation. Because of this, the University of Santo Tomas holds a permanent seat in the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts or the NCCA’s Committee for Monument and Sites. This committee is composed of LGU and NGU such as the National Museum, National Historical Institute and the Heritage Conservation Society ... And is tasked in allocating and approving request for funding conservation projects. The funds disbursed by the NCCA CMS come from the National Government. In the College of Architecture, many of our faculty have also received training in the conservation practice through lectures, seminars, short courses and conference. Some have gone into research resulting in Conservation Management plan of several historical buildings in the country including the UST Main Building.

Some are active members of both local and International organization such as the Heritage Society and the International Council on Monuments and Sites more popularly known as ICOMOS.

ICOMOS is an international organization of heritage conservation professionals involved in heritage conservation and who are recognized as international leaders in the field. It regulates the worldwide conservation profession and is the only NGO accredited to advise the UNESCO World Heritage Committee on cultural heritage matters. 7 of our faculty members are founding members of the ICOMOS Philippines.

And for the undergraduate program in Architecture, the College of Architecture will be the first school of architecture beginning this school year that will be offering Conservation as part of its Curriculum. Due to this, preliminary discussion have gone underway in possibly signing a memorandum of agreement with the National Historical Institute in assisting them in documenting heritage structures in the country, making it a part of the syllabus for Conservation. It is hoped that with this kind of exposure to our students, our future architects, will no longer look at old buildings as simply an edifice to demolish and replace… they will now look at the possibility of approaching their design using conservation as an alternative.

Another development would be the formation of a new student organization in the College of Architecture named Heritage Conservation Society UST chapter, which was recently formed and was recognized by the Office of Student Affairs. This organization objective is to increase the awareness of students in conservation.

The UST main building, the icon which identifies the Thomasian Community has undergone several renovations and repair ... the most recent was the refurbishing of several of its office to accommodate the ever increasing number of students every year. These also include the pavers’ stones along the periphery of the building. These repairs have led to some unacceptable intervention in the building fabric which contributes to its deterioration. Many have probably noticed the huge bollards connected by big chains bordering the front and the rear façade of the main building. Some mistake these barrier as a security protection for the building... not knowing that the purpose of this is for the safety of the passers by not to come too close to the façade due to falling debris. Yes falling debris... The main building is presently in a slow process of deterioration due to its age, the environment, and the numerous interventions done to its building fabric in the past. Sad to say that if such unacceptable intervention are not reduced and no conservation procedures are done in the near future, the main building will continue to deteriorate and may not see its 500 years.

Clearly the demands of the times such as increase in number of users as well as the increase in equipment requirements have resulted in the hodge podge addition of utilities, facilities, etc. As a conservation architect, I am not saying that these intervention should be stopped and prevented, what I am recommending as a conservation architect, is that such intrusion to the building fabric may be avoided or lessened and still be able to deliver the needs of the users of the main building, by adapting a conservation management plan which have already been formulated in research papers done by other architects. This way we are able to conserve the main building and not compromise the building fabric as well as its aesthetic value. I would like to stress further the cost of conservation though maybe quite restrictive is still the best approach rather that a total rehabilitation of a structure whose damage have been irreversible.

Last school year, the Office for the Alumni Relations through Professor Evelyn Songco, Phd and the College of Architecture through Architect Norma Alarcon, Architect Willa Solomon and Architect Issa Avendano initiated a design competition for the adaptive reuse of the UST gymnasium to the UST Alumni Center. Prof. Evelyn Songco have been promoting this in several home coming events and I am proud to say that through the efforts of both the Office for Alumni Relations and the College of Architecture, the university has again crossed a milestone in conserving its heritage structures. As mentioned earlier the UST gymnasium was constructed in 1932 and has a rich history... The proposed approach for this project is a combination of an adaptive reuse and addition conservation approach. This clears the wrong impression that conservation is purely for the maintenance of the original structure and does not allow any extension or renovation. Conservation allows this … as long as it is done properly and is based on conservation principles.

Recently, I was informed by Professor Eric Zerrudo, present director of the CCCPET that the National Museum and the National Historical Institute is waiting for the request of the University of Santo Tomas to nominate the UST Main Building as well as the UST Central Seminary as the National Treasures. Both buildings are also qualified to be listed as UNESCO World heritage sites. It is a pity that Far Eastern University Manila Campus has already been nominated in the UNESCO Asian heritage list as having the most Art Deco structure in one campus. I believe and a majority agrees, that this is a right time for the University to move for the listing of the both structure as world heritage site and as a national treasure... .coinciding with its quadricentennial celebration. It would be a legacy that future Thomasians will be proud of. I know there are concerns about the restrictions imposed by such recognitions, but again the University has the people, the expertise, to design and create ways to accommodate revisions that are acceptable to conservation. As mentioned earlier the false fear of not being able to do renovations, changes, extension, etc. once declared as a heritage building is completely false notion.

At the end of the day despite all of this talk about the heritage conservation, conservation management plan… all we could do as conservation architects is to advice the people concerned of the other alternatives to demolition... Which is conservation…it is possible... it is doable... .it is achievable ... and more profitable in the end... To the stakeholders of the University ... Learn from the past and avoid the same mistake in the future... Let us conserve our heritage, let us preserve our culture, let us preserve our Thomasian icons ... good morning to all and may we have a great school year ahead of us...

thank you.

from varsitarian.net