HAVING to think about the “heritage of water” for a recent cruise on the Pasig for the annual Unesco-Icomos World Heritage Day reminded me of a question asked by a Middle Eastern colleague, whether “it rains in the Philippines.”
Oh, it does! It rains a lot in the Philippines. We live surrounded by an abundance of water, so very unlike life in a parched desert environment.
Our Filipino lifestyle and culture are influenced by water, something many of us don’t realize from living in an archipelago of islands surrounded by water.
I grew up on an island. Not in a small, Robinson Crusoe-sized one, but in a city on a medium-sized Visayan island where I lived my life within sight and reach of the sea.
When I moved to Manila, the first thing that struck me was realizing this city by the bay limited my access to water. The beach was kilometers away. From being immersed in a Visayan seascape, I had moved to the expanse of the Luzon landscape.
Case for insularity
These days, I commute to Cebu often enough to have developed an internal prompt that signals me when we have flown out of the solid mass that is Luzon, telling me when it is the time to look out of the window, to be calmed by the blue of the water we are flying over, and to see the islands that come into view one after another. Pristine beaches ring each island, just the kind of seascape my islander self relates to.
Many islanders live their lives within the confines and the comfort of their shores. Within those shores live your own kind—people who share the same language, outlook, cultural circumstances, even food preferences.
Because of his definite geographical confines, the islander looks inward, into a life of shared beliefs with familiar and kindred souls.
Therefore, it is understandable that those from other shores or other islands are seen as “different” people.
There rests the case for insularity and its mentality that separates “us” from “them.”
The idea that islanders accept the limitations of their shoreline boundaries came up in a conversation with a colleague in Guam, who asked me when I came “on-island and when I was scheduled to go off-island,” his way of asking when I had arrived and was leaving.
Islanders are not confined to their own islands. Across the sea lie other islands to go to, all just a short sail away, none farther than the horizon.
Water connection
How interesting it is to realize that the same water that separates islands also connects them.
Water once connected different parts of Manila, a city that grew from a network of riverine settlements built on islands on the tributary of Pasig River.
Waterways connected the different parts of early Manila, evolving years later into the system of esteros flowing through the city, providing its main transportation routes when emptied into Pasig River or Manila Bay.
A Quiapo-bred lady told me about the estero behind her house. She and her family would wait for vendors to sail to their back entrance to supply the family with vegetables and produce.
On the estero behind her house, she would row her three sisters to school every day.
When the city of Manila organized a Pasig River cruise for Icomos Philippines and Heritage Conservation Society members and their guests to celebrate the heritage of water, nothing seen from the perfumed river hinted that Manila was once a city built on water.
“The Venice of the Far East,” American urban planner Daniel Burnham called Manila in 1905.
The Burnham vision for his 1905 Burnham Plan for Manila was to blend the elegance of Parisian boulevards with Venetian waterways.
Esteros, Burnham’s Venetian waterways, have since clogged up or have been covered over.
Structures that once opened up to the waterways have been boarded up, the estero and river having deteriorated into hazards rather than urban landmarks.
Water, water once upon a time everywhere in our city, where has it gone? (Augusto F. Villalon, Pride of Place, Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 23, 2011)
Monday, May 23, 2011
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Who is the ICOMOS Philippine Committee?
The global network of ICOMOS membership links closely not only with UNESCO but also advises many national governments on cultural heritage issues.
UNESCO is the United Nations Educational and Scientific Organization, the Paris-based behemoth that, among its many functions, takes charge of the World Heritage List, overseeing conservation and management of all inscribed natural, cultural, and cultural landscape properties on the List whose number now comes close to approaching the 1,000 mark.
ICOMOS is the official adviser to the World Heritage Committee on cultural heritage matters, reviewing and evaluating proposed sites before recommending their inscription to the World Heritage List.
To monitor the far-flung World Heritage Properties, UNESCO relies on the ICOMOS network, often requesting assistance from each National Committee of ICOMOS to monitor properties in their countries.
When cultural issues arise in any World Heritage property, ICOMOS member-experts are part of the team sent by the World Heritage Committee to investigate and recommend solutions.
Unlike UNESCO, ICOMOS needs re-introduction to the Philippine pubic despite its having been active in the country, albeit in a very low, quiet key, since the late 1980’s when its primary activity was to advise the Department of Foreign Affairs and the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines on international and national cultural heritage matters.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts recognizes ICOMOS as a one of two accredited Philippine heritage NGOs who merit a permanent representative at the NCCA Committee on Monuments and Sites.
Who is ICOMOS and what does it do?
ICOMOS is the acronym for International Council on Monuments and Sites, a Paris-based global organization of professionals in the field of conservation that regulates the conservation practice worldwide through setting procedures and policies for the professional.
The ICOMOS Charter of Venice is internationally recognized as the standard to be followed for the conservation profession.
The organization has a network of approximately 20 International Scientific Committees whose membership focuses on a certain aspect of conservation.
As a sampler of the wide range of interests, some of these Committees are: Vernacular Architecture, Cultural Tourism, Historic Towns and Cities, Underwater Archaeology, Fortifications and Military Heritage, 20th Century Heritage, Legal, Disaster Management, Cultural Landscapes.
Each of the International Scientific Committees undertakes and publish research in their areas.
More importantly, each Committee prepares a Charter defining its priorities, goals, and sets guidelines for members to work towards upholding the Committee’s principles.
The international organization is composed of National Committees in practically every country whose members are recognized leaders in the heritage sector. Its roster of members provides a global network of professionals ready to render service or to provide professional advice to colleagues.
As sole adviser to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee on cultural heritage matters, its members are instrumental in evaluating and recommending properties proposed for inscription to the World Heritage List, and once inscribed, members undertake foreign missions to monitor their state of their conservation and recommend measures to improve their status.
ICOMOS Philippine Committee is a small organization whose members have been vetted by peers to be bona fide conservation specialists whose training and experience qualify them to undertake international and national assignments in various aspects of heritage conservation.
The roster of ICOMOS Philippine Committee members has been submitted to the Department of Tourism, Intramuros Administration, and other government and non-government organizations as professionals certified to undertake conservation work.
What ICOMOS members in the Philippines have been doing is networking with foreign or national colleagues, exchanging professional expertise, advising each other on their projects, and being aware of how its expertise can assist when heritage issues turn up.
More information on ICOMOS can be found at www.international.icomos.org and www.icomosphilippines.com
Now comes an announcement: Each year UNESCO and ICOMOS celebrate International Heritage Day. The theme for 2011 is the “Heritage of Water”.
To observe International Heritage Day, ICOMOS Philippine Committee, the Heritage Conservation Society, and the City of Manila have joined forces to organize a sunset cruise on the Pasig River.
A presentation on the “Heritage of Water” will be given by one Augusto Villalón, President of ICOMOS Philippine Committee, Vice-President of its International Scientific Committee on Vernacular Architecture, and Member of its International Advisory Committee in Paris.
For those who wish to attend this event on the Pasig River Ferry, departure time is exactly at 4PM on Wednesday, 04 May from Plaza Mexico at the riverbank behind the Department of Immigration in Intramuros.
Space is severely limited; reservations are essential. Please call 3534494 or fax hcs_secretariat@yahoo.com for bookings.
Please help defray expenses through contributing a suggested PhP200 for students, PhP300 for ICOMOS and HCS members, and PhP500 for non-members.
Your comments are invited at pride.place@gmail.com (by Augusto F. Villalón, Pride of Place, Philippine Dialy Inquirer, 02 May 2011)
UNESCO is the United Nations Educational and Scientific Organization, the Paris-based behemoth that, among its many functions, takes charge of the World Heritage List, overseeing conservation and management of all inscribed natural, cultural, and cultural landscape properties on the List whose number now comes close to approaching the 1,000 mark.
ICOMOS is the official adviser to the World Heritage Committee on cultural heritage matters, reviewing and evaluating proposed sites before recommending their inscription to the World Heritage List.
To monitor the far-flung World Heritage Properties, UNESCO relies on the ICOMOS network, often requesting assistance from each National Committee of ICOMOS to monitor properties in their countries.
When cultural issues arise in any World Heritage property, ICOMOS member-experts are part of the team sent by the World Heritage Committee to investigate and recommend solutions.
Unlike UNESCO, ICOMOS needs re-introduction to the Philippine pubic despite its having been active in the country, albeit in a very low, quiet key, since the late 1980’s when its primary activity was to advise the Department of Foreign Affairs and the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines on international and national cultural heritage matters.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts recognizes ICOMOS as a one of two accredited Philippine heritage NGOs who merit a permanent representative at the NCCA Committee on Monuments and Sites.
Who is ICOMOS and what does it do?
ICOMOS is the acronym for International Council on Monuments and Sites, a Paris-based global organization of professionals in the field of conservation that regulates the conservation practice worldwide through setting procedures and policies for the professional.
The ICOMOS Charter of Venice is internationally recognized as the standard to be followed for the conservation profession.
The organization has a network of approximately 20 International Scientific Committees whose membership focuses on a certain aspect of conservation.
As a sampler of the wide range of interests, some of these Committees are: Vernacular Architecture, Cultural Tourism, Historic Towns and Cities, Underwater Archaeology, Fortifications and Military Heritage, 20th Century Heritage, Legal, Disaster Management, Cultural Landscapes.
Each of the International Scientific Committees undertakes and publish research in their areas.
More importantly, each Committee prepares a Charter defining its priorities, goals, and sets guidelines for members to work towards upholding the Committee’s principles.
The international organization is composed of National Committees in practically every country whose members are recognized leaders in the heritage sector. Its roster of members provides a global network of professionals ready to render service or to provide professional advice to colleagues.
As sole adviser to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee on cultural heritage matters, its members are instrumental in evaluating and recommending properties proposed for inscription to the World Heritage List, and once inscribed, members undertake foreign missions to monitor their state of their conservation and recommend measures to improve their status.
ICOMOS Philippine Committee is a small organization whose members have been vetted by peers to be bona fide conservation specialists whose training and experience qualify them to undertake international and national assignments in various aspects of heritage conservation.
The roster of ICOMOS Philippine Committee members has been submitted to the Department of Tourism, Intramuros Administration, and other government and non-government organizations as professionals certified to undertake conservation work.
What ICOMOS members in the Philippines have been doing is networking with foreign or national colleagues, exchanging professional expertise, advising each other on their projects, and being aware of how its expertise can assist when heritage issues turn up.
More information on ICOMOS can be found at www.international.icomos.org and www.icomosphilippines.com
Now comes an announcement: Each year UNESCO and ICOMOS celebrate International Heritage Day. The theme for 2011 is the “Heritage of Water”.
To observe International Heritage Day, ICOMOS Philippine Committee, the Heritage Conservation Society, and the City of Manila have joined forces to organize a sunset cruise on the Pasig River.
A presentation on the “Heritage of Water” will be given by one Augusto Villalón, President of ICOMOS Philippine Committee, Vice-President of its International Scientific Committee on Vernacular Architecture, and Member of its International Advisory Committee in Paris.
For those who wish to attend this event on the Pasig River Ferry, departure time is exactly at 4PM on Wednesday, 04 May from Plaza Mexico at the riverbank behind the Department of Immigration in Intramuros.
Space is severely limited; reservations are essential. Please call 3534494 or fax hcs_secretariat@yahoo.com for bookings.
Please help defray expenses through contributing a suggested PhP200 for students, PhP300 for ICOMOS and HCS members, and PhP500 for non-members.
Your comments are invited at pride.place@gmail.com (by Augusto F. Villalón, Pride of Place, Philippine Dialy Inquirer, 02 May 2011)
Monday, April 18, 2011
ICOMOS Philippines joins in the celebration of World Heritage Day 2011
April 18 is the International Day for Monuments and Sites or World Heritage Day. For 2011, the theme is: The Cultural Heritage of Water.
According to ICOMOS, "Water is one of the key resources required to sustain life. It has led to the development and generation of significant material culture in the form of items, technology and places. How to obtain it, how to store it, how to harness its power and conserve it has motivated human endeavour in a myriad of ways. It has also been the catalyst for the development of significant cultural practices which have generated intangible cultural heritage values. It has inspired poetry, literature, artistic endeavour such as painting, dance and sculpture. It has informed and inspired the development of philosophies and religious practice. The cultural heritage of water, therefore relates not only to the technology and architecture that humankind has developed to manage, utilise and celebrate its life giving properties but also to those intangible values that have shaped our beliefs and practices."
Ivan Anthony Henares, a member of the ICOMOS Philippines National Committee and expert member of the International Cultural Tourism Committee (ICTC), writes about the cultural heritage of water in the Philippines in International Day for Monuments and Sites 2011 celebrates the cultural heritage of water.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
ICOMOS Philippines and PALA host Cultural Landscapes Forum
The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras are simply beautiful, a living cultural landscape and inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List. What does it mean to be referred to as a cultural landscape? Are there Philippine laws that can protect and conserve them? How do we become stewards of an entire mountain ecosystem and even just a single tree?
ICOMOS Philippines and the Philippine Association of Landscape Architects (PALA) will be hosting a Cultural Landscapes Forum on February 26, 2011, 12 to 6 p.m. at the UP College of Architecture. ICOMOS members Archt. Joy Mananghaya, Atty. Kay Malilong-Isberto and Archt. Susan Aquino-Ong will share and give a talk about cultural landscapes, the legal aspects of conservation, and the protection and conservation of Philippine heritage trees.
This is the first of PALA's CPE-2011 series of lectures. For more information, e-mail Susan Aquino-Ong at sca.susan@gmail.com.
ICOMOS Philippines and the Philippine Association of Landscape Architects (PALA) will be hosting a Cultural Landscapes Forum on February 26, 2011, 12 to 6 p.m. at the UP College of Architecture. ICOMOS members Archt. Joy Mananghaya, Atty. Kay Malilong-Isberto and Archt. Susan Aquino-Ong will share and give a talk about cultural landscapes, the legal aspects of conservation, and the protection and conservation of Philippine heritage trees.
This is the first of PALA's CPE-2011 series of lectures. For more information, e-mail Susan Aquino-Ong at sca.susan@gmail.com.
Monday, July 19, 2010
ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee 2010 Annual Meeting held in Douro Valley, Portugal
The 2010 Annual Meeting of the ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee (ICTC) was held in Douro Valley, Portugal from June 18 to 21, 2010. Ivan Anthony Henares, ICTC Expert Member and representative of the ICOMOS Philippine National Committee, was present at the said meeting.
During the said meeting, Henares invited the ICTC to Vigan, Ilocos Sur for its 2012 Annual Meeting. This invitation had been confirmed by Augusto Villalon, chairperson of the ICOMOS Philippine National Committee. The invitation was accepted by the committee. The Philippines looks forward to hosting the ICTC Annual Meeting in 2012.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
ICOMOS Philippines celebrates the heritage of Agriculture
This year's theme is: The Heritage of Agriculture. Ivan Anthony Henares, ICOMOS Philippines member and expert member of the International Cultural Tourism Committee (ICTC), introduces the agricultural heritage of the Philippines in International Day for Monuments and Sites 2010 celebrates the heritage of agriculture.
Accroding to ICOMOS, "In the last two decades, the international NGO’s and public administrations in charge of heritage protection have begun to define and characterize the heritage of agriculture as well as to establish the criteria and tools that should guide the assessment of its values, protection and management. Accordingly, ICOMOS, UNESCO and other international organizations have included these objectives in their ongoing research and projects. It is therefore pertinent to evaluate how heritage properties linked to agricultural and livestock rearing practices are taken into account in current heritage practice by examining significant international experiences in this field, such as the listing of such properties in UNESCO’S World Heritage List and in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as well as the Globally Important Ingenious Agricultural Heritage Systems Programme (GIAHS), led by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) with other partners such as UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), UNESCO and its World Heritage Centre, ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property), IUCN (The World Conservation Union) and CGIAR (the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research)."
Friday, April 16, 2010
New concrete Batanes houses ‘with doors’
In 1996 Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) dispatched a mission of Filipino and foreign anthropologists, archaeologists, and heritage experts to the Batanes islands on a one-week survey to determine whether the site was of World Heritage caliber.
Positive was the answer. The entire Batanes archipelago had potential. Therefore in 1997 the mission recommended a financial grant from Unesco in Paris to begin nomination preparations.
World Heritage Areas embody the diversity of the planet and the achievements of its peoples. They are places of beauty and wonder; mystery and grandeur; memory and meaning. In short, they represent the best Earth has to offer.
World Heritage sites are universally significant areas deserving of protection and preservation by both Unesco and the site’s host country against the threats of aging, globalization, or ravages of man by unwarranted modernization, industrialization or war.
The nomination process for World Heritage inscription is a lengthy, detailed process. Practically completed are all nomination requirements for Batanes. But, for the past five or so years, the nomination somehow still lacks that elusive 5 percent to complete the last hurdle of the process.
Completed during the World Heritage preparation process was the essential introduction and passing of local legislation to protect Ivatan cultural and natural heritage.
The required in-depth site documentation uncovered a wealth of cultural (man-made) heritage in Batanes, ranging from archaeological sites that substantiate the claim of a continuous Ivatan culture as far back as 400 BC to burial grounds with boat-shaped burial mounds akin to those of prehistoric Vikings that demonstrated the existence of a seafaring people.
There is the unsurpassed natural beauty of the Batanes islands with the surviving Ivatan villages of stone-and-thatch houses, the only examples of such type of architecture in the Philippines so totally in tune with the harsh environment of the islands.
Batanes is one of those few places where the man-and-nature continuum, which shows how the population is so in tune with its environment, is still preserved.
Preciosa Soliven writes: “The fabled Batanes stone houses is nowhere to be seen in Basco, the capital city of Batanes. But, our major outing to Dr. Florentino Hornedo’s (respected Ivatan scholar) island of Sabtang, less than an hour after a pump boat trip, gave us that treat.
“Our first vision of Sabtang was like a postcard with the lighthouse perched on the rocky promontory and the very old white Spanish church of San Vicente Ferrer.
“We took a leisurely walk around (Hornedo’s) hometown of Savidug and saw the traditional houses, laid out in neat rows. They all look the same including that of Flor’s.
“They are door-less houses with low open windows that could also serve as entrance. He said that a ‘door-less house is a poor man’s house.’ Unless one gets ‘security of job,’ he cannot leave his poverty. That is why when an Ivatan leaves his family to work abroad, he will be determined to save so that when he comes home, he could construct a new house with a door.”
And that’s what is happening now in Savidug. Prosperous Ivatans have come home to construct a ‘new house with a door.’”
Ivan Henares writes: “For those who are not familiar with Batanes heritage, the villages of Savidug and Chavayan on Sabtang Island are the two most intact villages of vernacular Ivatan architecture, showcases of the Sinadumparan and Maytuab styles of houses.
“These new hollow-block houses being constructed will most definitely destroy the unique architectural fabric of Savidug.”
According to architect Joy Mananghaya of the Unesco National Commission (Unacom), “There are ordinances protecting the heritage of Batanes. Almost all municipalities have their own ordinance.”
If the local governments of Sabtang and Batanes care about the inscription in the Unesco World Heritage List, could they do something about preserving the local heritage of Batanes and enforce existing ordinances?
Tourism is the obvious benefit of conservation, and despite seasonal and travel difficulties, Batanes has made its mark on local tourism.
Unlike Batanes, Bohol, now acknowledged to be the premier tourism destination in the Philippines, recognizes its heritage as the basis of its tourism industry and the entire population goes to great lengths to conserve their heritage, something that seems not to be grasped in Batanes.
Heritage, if properly maintained and managed, is a valuable income-generating resource as the communities in Bohol and the Rice Terraces have found.
There are benefits to conservation indeed, which the Batanes community still fails to realize.
And inscription in the World Heritage List increases arrivals, as studies prove, although increasing arrivals is not the single raison d’être for World Heritage listing. Preserving heritage for future generations is.
E-mail your comments to pride.place@ gmail.com (Augusto Villalon, Philippine Daily Inquirer)
For background information on the Sabtang issue, please read: Batanes heritage in danger!
Monday, September 07, 2009
RP-Australia pact to restore Camiguin school
by Augusto F. Villalon
Streetwise Asia has committed funding to support a second project following completion of its first conservation project in Champasak, Laos, PDR, last year. The Streetwise Asia Fund for Heritage Conservation was established in Australia with the support of Unesco and the World Bank.
The fund aims to provide culturally appropriate education facilities and heritage programs for children in urban and rural areas in Asia, and to increase the financial sustainability of Asia’s unique heritage.
Kugita Elementary School, a three-classroom heritage building on the island of Camiguin, has been selected by Streetwise Asia for its second project.
The Heritage Conservation Society (HCS) partnered with the Department of Education for the first three heritage schoolhouses conserved under the DepEd’s Heritage Schoolhouse Program, which that has evolved into a nationwide program to restore unused schoolhouses to ease the severe classroom shortage in the country’s educational system.
Australian and Philippine conservation non-government organizations have jointly sourced the expertise and conservation costs to carry out the complete conservation of Kugita at no cost to the DepEd Heritage School Program.
The project was identified for Streetwise by Sydney architect Bruce Dawbin, who volunteered his expertise and is working in the Philippines with the HCS. International Council for Monuments and Sites (Icomos) Philippines, the national committee of the Paris-based international heritage NGO, is also supporting the project.
At a recent Icomos conference in Sydney, a fund-raising dinner raised additional resources for the project. The Australian Embassy in Manila, through its AusAID program has granted supplementary funds.
The source of the Streetwise Asia Fund for Heritage Conservation is from the publication of “Streetwise Asia: A Practical Guide for the Conservation and Revitalization of Heritage Cities and Towns in Asia” (2005), authored by prominent Australian conservation architect Elizabeth Vines, of Deakin University in Melbourne.
Having waived her royalties, the author donates every dollar from book sales to the Streetwise fund.
The Kugita school building is among the varied examples of Gabaldon schools now widely recognized by Filipinos as an important group heritage structures. Some 3,000 school buildings of the Gabaldon type were erected all over the Philippines during the American colonial period (1898-1945), some surviving in precarious condition today.
Supported by concrete foundations, the circa 1920s wooden school building at Kugita is a characteristic example of a Gabaldon school, named after Assemblyman Isuaro Gabaldon of Nueva Ecija who authored the Education Law appropriating the initial funding for schoolhouse construction in the early 20th century.
Assisted by DepEd engineers, documentation for the project is being completed by Dawbin.
The innovative structural system of concrete foundations that raise the wooden structure off the ground is typical of the Gabaldon prototype. Totally attuned to tropical conditions, the building design takes its cues from the Philippine bahay-kubo that raises the main quarters off the ground for ventilation.
Large center-pivoted kapis windows swing to allow maximum ventilation. The pierced wooden fretwork openings (calado) along tops of interior walls bring ventilation deep into the high ceilings of the school building.
It is of architectural interest as the three-pointed wooden arches on its façade framing a shallow entrance porch allude to Moorish influences, reflecting an American-era image of the cultural heritage of Muslim Mindanao.
The exterior is rapidly deteriorating, requiring re-roofing, structural stabilization of concrete foundations and upgrading of services.
It is also proposed to reconstruct some of the distinctive architectural details, including the remarkable pivoted joinery screens which provide ventilation and diffuse light to the interior through a mosaic of kapis shells.
Once completed, the small building, unsafe for occupancy, therefore unused by students, will add three classrooms much needed by the overpopulated school.
The conservation process itself is bound to be a learning process to all who participate in it. Filipino professionals will be introduced to conservation procedures outlined in the Australia Icomos Burra Charter which guides conservation practices in Australia.
Those from the West could learn traditional Philippine construction techniques, termed “craftsman joinery” in developed countries where the skill has vanished. Experiencing indigenous materials such as tropical hardwood and kapis shells unavailable overseas is likewise a learning process for the Australians.
What better way is there to bring home to Filipinos the reality that the high value of our very unique national heritage draws admiration from the international community!
“Streetwise Asia: A Practical Guide for the Conservation and Revitalization of Heritage Cities and Towns in Asia” can be purchased from the Australia Icomos Secretariat (austicomos@deakin.edu.au); or from the author Elizabeth Vines (McDougall & Vines Conservation and Heritage Consultants: liz@mcdougallvines.com.au). Cost of the book is $25 00 plus $5 handling cost for orders from outside Australia.
Streetwise Asia has committed funding to support a second project following completion of its first conservation project in Champasak, Laos, PDR, last year. The Streetwise Asia Fund for Heritage Conservation was established in Australia with the support of Unesco and the World Bank.
The fund aims to provide culturally appropriate education facilities and heritage programs for children in urban and rural areas in Asia, and to increase the financial sustainability of Asia’s unique heritage.
Kugita Elementary School, a three-classroom heritage building on the island of Camiguin, has been selected by Streetwise Asia for its second project.
The Heritage Conservation Society (HCS) partnered with the Department of Education for the first three heritage schoolhouses conserved under the DepEd’s Heritage Schoolhouse Program, which that has evolved into a nationwide program to restore unused schoolhouses to ease the severe classroom shortage in the country’s educational system.
Australian and Philippine conservation non-government organizations have jointly sourced the expertise and conservation costs to carry out the complete conservation of Kugita at no cost to the DepEd Heritage School Program.
The project was identified for Streetwise by Sydney architect Bruce Dawbin, who volunteered his expertise and is working in the Philippines with the HCS. International Council for Monuments and Sites (Icomos) Philippines, the national committee of the Paris-based international heritage NGO, is also supporting the project.
At a recent Icomos conference in Sydney, a fund-raising dinner raised additional resources for the project. The Australian Embassy in Manila, through its AusAID program has granted supplementary funds.
The source of the Streetwise Asia Fund for Heritage Conservation is from the publication of “Streetwise Asia: A Practical Guide for the Conservation and Revitalization of Heritage Cities and Towns in Asia” (2005), authored by prominent Australian conservation architect Elizabeth Vines, of Deakin University in Melbourne.
Having waived her royalties, the author donates every dollar from book sales to the Streetwise fund.
The Kugita school building is among the varied examples of Gabaldon schools now widely recognized by Filipinos as an important group heritage structures. Some 3,000 school buildings of the Gabaldon type were erected all over the Philippines during the American colonial period (1898-1945), some surviving in precarious condition today.
Supported by concrete foundations, the circa 1920s wooden school building at Kugita is a characteristic example of a Gabaldon school, named after Assemblyman Isuaro Gabaldon of Nueva Ecija who authored the Education Law appropriating the initial funding for schoolhouse construction in the early 20th century.
Assisted by DepEd engineers, documentation for the project is being completed by Dawbin.
The innovative structural system of concrete foundations that raise the wooden structure off the ground is typical of the Gabaldon prototype. Totally attuned to tropical conditions, the building design takes its cues from the Philippine bahay-kubo that raises the main quarters off the ground for ventilation.
Large center-pivoted kapis windows swing to allow maximum ventilation. The pierced wooden fretwork openings (calado) along tops of interior walls bring ventilation deep into the high ceilings of the school building.
It is of architectural interest as the three-pointed wooden arches on its façade framing a shallow entrance porch allude to Moorish influences, reflecting an American-era image of the cultural heritage of Muslim Mindanao.
The exterior is rapidly deteriorating, requiring re-roofing, structural stabilization of concrete foundations and upgrading of services.
It is also proposed to reconstruct some of the distinctive architectural details, including the remarkable pivoted joinery screens which provide ventilation and diffuse light to the interior through a mosaic of kapis shells.
Once completed, the small building, unsafe for occupancy, therefore unused by students, will add three classrooms much needed by the overpopulated school.
The conservation process itself is bound to be a learning process to all who participate in it. Filipino professionals will be introduced to conservation procedures outlined in the Australia Icomos Burra Charter which guides conservation practices in Australia.
Those from the West could learn traditional Philippine construction techniques, termed “craftsman joinery” in developed countries where the skill has vanished. Experiencing indigenous materials such as tropical hardwood and kapis shells unavailable overseas is likewise a learning process for the Australians.
What better way is there to bring home to Filipinos the reality that the high value of our very unique national heritage draws admiration from the international community!
“Streetwise Asia: A Practical Guide for the Conservation and Revitalization of Heritage Cities and Towns in Asia” can be purchased from the Australia Icomos Secretariat (austicomos@deakin.edu.au); or from the author Elizabeth Vines (McDougall & Vines Conservation and Heritage Consultants: liz@mcdougallvines.com.au). Cost of the book is $25 00 plus $5 handling cost for orders from outside Australia.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
ICOMOS Philippines meeting held last April 18
ICOMOS Philippines met at Escuela Taller in Intramuros last April 18, 2009 to celebrate the International Day for Monuments and Sites. Present at the meeting were Augusto Villalon (Chairperson), Christian Aguilar, Dominic Galicia, Ivan Henares, Jojo Mata, Mico Manalo (Escuela Taller Director), Melvin Patawaran, Tats Rejante Manahan, Cynthia Loza, Nady Nacario, Issa Avendano, Susan Aquino Ong, and Bruce Dawbin (ICOMOS Australia).
Post Conference Report: 2007 CIAV Meeting
The ICOMOS National Committee Philippines successfully hosted the 2007 meeting of the ICOMOS International Committee on Vernacular Architecture (CIAV), held last 2-8 December at the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, a UNESCO World Heritage site. International heritage experts, members of ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) participated in the event.
ICOMOS is the official 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. Its headquarters is in Paris and its Philippine members are prominently involved in conservation projects for the government or private sectors and are also members of the academe.
The conference was unveiled with a welcome dinner organized at the National Museum. Sumptuous dishes were shared as the hosts presented their welcome remarks to the numerous distinguished guests and delegates of the conference. Respected heritage specialists from Canada, Italy, Finland, Germany, United States, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Japan and Korea joined their Philippine counterparts in the welcome event.
Following this was a long day trip to Ifugao, with heritage specialists and experts looking forward to seeing the rice terraces that is of great beauty and majesty.
Reaching the Ifugao province, a tour and site visit was organized, showing the delegates Hungduan’s Abatan-Hapao heritage cluster site, one of the 5 priority sites that was identified in the UNESCO World Heritage inscription. The participants were overwhelmed with the beauty of the landscapes surrounding them. They were hosted by the Mayor of Hungduan, Hon. Pablo Cuyahon. The first site shown to the delegates was the Hapao heritage cluster. The delegates noticed the number of structures dispersedly strewn on the terrace paddies. He explained the development of the place and said that during early times, the houses would be built together in clusters, but due to population increase, the paddies were ultimately used for house building.
In the five cluster sites, the heritage clusters of Nagacadan-Julongan, Abatan-Hapan, Bangaan and Batad are found clustering of houses called boble. These clustering of houses are located near rice terrace paddies to facilitate management of work, and is also near a muyong or a private forest, usually owned by community members of the boble.
Following this, the delegates were indulged with the view of the spider web terraces as they passed through them going to the to Hungduan’s Municipal hall. The spider web is known to be an interlacing of rice terraces that are weaved together in a pattern of a web. This pattern in clearly discernable from a birds point of view.
Reaching Hungduan’s Municipal hall, a delectable lunch buffet with traditional rice and Filipino dishes was served for the guests’ content. This was followed with the beating of Ifugao gongs and dances by Ifugaos in native costumes. Guests willingly accepted requests to dance.
This site visit was also enriched as the group went to Banaue’s museum of Ifugao culture where the Otley Beyer collection was unveiled to the participants. Artifacts ranging from historic literature to heirloom beads and ceramics and Ifugao wooden cultural implements were showed to the delegates. They were also amazed at the ingenuity of the Ifugao as an Ifugao house artifact was presented to them, with its design mostly made of wood without nails.
Similarly, the group trekked to Ujah village preached high up in the mountains of Banaue, where young Ifugao youth enjoined the participants for a tree planting session. Again, dances were performed and the delegates were invited to join in the festivities.
The conference session proper started with the delegates sharing their experiences on the protection of endangered traditional landscapes. The meeting focused on the current status of the 5 terrace clusters located in Ifugao province inscribed in the World Heritage in Danger List. The “In Danger” designation simply means that conservation measures for a site on the World Heritage List must be stepped up to prevent its rapid deterioration.
The foreign heritage specialists who participated in the conference are Architect Valeria Prieto of ICOMOS Mexico who is the Secretary of ICOMOS-CIAV. She shared her experiences and brilliant ideas in the conservation of Purepecha settlements and their traditional trojes that are found in Michoacan, Mexico. Likewise, Prof. Mariolina Besio of the University of Genoa, Italy who was sent by the World Heritage Centre presented the Cinque Terre Cultural Landscape, a vineyard terraced site that is presently experiencing various challenges of change related to tourism and development.
Marc de Caraffe of ICOMOS Canada, Chairman of ICOMOS-CIAV presented a talk entitled ‘Hot Fuzz, Wild Cats and Telephone Poles’. Architect Esteban Prieto of ICOMOS Sto. Domingo on the other hand shared the ‘El Bohio, Expresion de Arquitectura Vernacula y Recurso Turistico Cultural de la Republica Dominicana’. Toyota Matsuoka of the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) presented the Ambanghal Mini-hydroelectric Project in Ifugao, which is presently in its feasibility stage. Proceeds from this project will help in the conservation of the rice terrace heritage cluster sites.
Similarly, Ron Anthony a wood preservation expert of ICOMOS-USA presented ideas on wood science and technology, which are very much helpful as most vernacular heritage buildings in traditional landscapes are made of wood. Dr. Christoph Machat of the University of Munich and ICOMOS Germany shared his experiences in the protection of cultural landscapes and presented a power point presentation of the different terraced landscapes in the world. Another German heritage specialist, Kirsten Malezer of ICOMOS Germany talked on ‘The Inheritance of the German Settlement Movement in the Ukraine’. She sought solutions from plenary on how to preserve the vernacular houses found in the Ukraine German settlements, which are similarly facing challenges of sustainability and continuous use, as the residents opt to move to cities, leaving behind these precious heritage buildings.
Likewise, Architect Natsuko Akagawa of ICOMOS Japan presented management strategies that were employed in the Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama in Japan. She shared the different charters that were applied in the conservation of these Japanese cultural properties.
Successful Philippine heritage efforts were also presented such as the cultural mapping of some of our heritage sites in the Visayas and Mindanao. The Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement (SITMO) on the other hand shared its community development programs in Ifugao province, while the Provincal government of Ifugao presented to the body the different strategies of conservation and management of the rice terraces and culture of Ifugao. Some of these are its programme on the documentation, processing and transmission of Ifugao’s Indigenous wherein UNESCO Japan has financed the first phase of the IK transmission programme and has recently approved the second phase. Through this assistance from UNESCO Japan, SITMO has started the mapping of traditional knowledge holders and for its second phase, it is currently developing a course on IK with the Ifugao State College of Agriculture and Forestry. It will also develop a module for the teaching of elementary and high school education, integrating IK, which will be undertaken with the DepEd.
SITMO also presented its efforts for the preparation of the pilot Community-Based Land Use project for Nagacadan, Kiangan, one of the five priority heritage cluster sites in the WH List. Its recent success in holding eco tourism projects revived the Bakle festival of Nagacadan and with it was the organization of eco tours that brought tourists to the place, enjoying the festival, the dances, rice pounding and the place’ traditional food specialties such as the binakle and the baya.
SITMO has also been involved in Sustainable Agriculture Programmes, with the promotion of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) with pilot farms in Kiangan and Lamut. It won a grant through the Panibagong Paraan competition that holds a two-year biodiversity cum SRI promotion for four towns. And through its partnership with the International Kutzu Green Sannan (IKGS) of Japan, it has started a two-year project entitled Kiphodan di Payo, Kiphodan di Muyung, which includes the establishment of nurseries for indigenous species in Mayoyao, Asipulo and Kiangan. It has also worked on interventions to minimize out-migrations of Ifugao people through the Kiphodan project wherein the dojo fish promotion and rabbit production are encouraged, hoping to tap restaurants in Manila for their use and consumption.
One of the most important efforts of SITMO is its programme on renewal energy, having garnered a finalist award in the International Ashden Award for Renewable Energy for the development of its micro-hydro program. This involved the repair of the Bokiawan Micro-hydro plant in Kiangan, the improvement of the Sustainable Energy centre at the ICHEC and the continuation of the Tungdo Micro-hydro plant in Maggok, Hungduan.
Likewise, Fundacion Santiago’s Chaco Molina shared his insights on community development, centering on the numerous projects that this NGO has undertaken. Molina presented its vision through its two-fold mission statement that is represented by its Pamana (Cultural Heritage) and Pag-asa (Social Development) programs. Its mission statements push for the contribution to a strong grasp of national identity by the promotion and sustainability of historical awareness among Filipinos, by using this sense of self and of shared purpose as one of the foundations of national development. It also pushes for the contribution to true, sustainable and equitable national development through the promotion of entreprenuership and commitment to community among economically marginalized Filipinos, particularly those in the countryside.
Fundacion Santiago has partnered with PHILDRRA, a national network of 65 rural development NGOs that builds models of sustainable development in the different communities they serve.
One of the projects undertaken by Fundacion Santiago is the preparation of the Master Plan for the revitalization of the historic center of Vigan, another UNESCO WH site. This project was supported by the Government of the Kingdom of Spain and the Agencia Espanola de Cooperacion Internacional (AECI), the DOT and the City Government of Vigan. It included such projects as the Integrated Water Supply and Management System, the Materials Recovery Facility for the Vigan Integrated Solid Waste Management project, the Metal Craft and Food Processing project for the University of Northern Philippines, and so much more. This Master Plan is serving as the tool for guiding local government and other agencies in the coordination of efforts related to development and the preservation of the WH site.
Molina particularly pointed to the role of community development facilitators, whom he said are supposed to guide work in the project. He stressed the importance of ‘letting go’ when the community feels that it is able to stand on its own. He said that at a certain stage in a project, ‘we’ should not feel bad if we become irrelevant because this means that we have done something good and that the project and the community can now stand on its own.
Molina also stressed out that community workers are catalysts of change and that ‘hope’ has to be transmitted to the people, equated through pesos and cents. He also said that the promotion of community based heritage tourism is an instrument for alleviating poverty in a site. He said that heritage is seen by the community as being theirs and that it should not be perceived as an irritant, but should bring cash to the people.
The Heritage Conservation Society (HCS) likewise shared its projects of restoration of historical monuments and buildings. These success stories prove that the Filipino, contrary to popular opinion, has actually done well in conserving his heritage.
As discussions on the rice terraces centered on the natural and cultural condition of the landscape and the necessary steps and strategies to address the challenges of conservation, the delegates agreed that restoring the terraces and the culture that comes with it must go hand in hand with the establishment of cultural and economic opportunities that make terrace life more viable for the 21st century. Among the positive measures suggested by UNESCO is the establishment of additional income-generating opportunities focusing on community based cultural and eco tourism programs.
Several conferences held in the past that were organized by UNESCO have already identified strategies to meet the challenges of conservation in the rice terraces. These are all incorporated in the Conservation Management Plan of the Province of Ifugao.
This ICOMOS meeting’s sub-theme of identifying methods in the use of the underutilized rice terraces as a resource to increase present income levels of its residents, strengthened and enhanced the already identified strategies. This was realized when the delegates gathered together in workshops held on the last day of the conference. They further augmented the already established strategies with great and interesting viable and doable solutions for the sustainable development of the heritage cluster sites. The conference came about with the awareness that conserving heritage in traditional landscapes has been challenging to most site residents who aim for a change in quality of life that is in contrast with their present day life.
Some of these great new ideas that came out of the workshops aim to make life in the terraces much more livable. These are the packaging of the entire cultural landscape as a product for cultural tourism; the identification of incentives such as special taxes and subsidies that will encourage the people to preserve the terraces; the development of a global vision for cooperative movement for the rice terraces; and the encouragement of lightweight construction methods that continuously use traditional methods and avoiding concrete and concrete blocks. The delegates likewise underscored the need for zoning and land use in the heritage cluster sites. They also reiterated the need for the preparation of design guidelines as new buildings are being constructed in concrete and concrete blocks that totally contrasts with the beauty of the landscape.
Ifugao’s Provincial Governor, Hon. Teodoro Baguilat Jr.’s similarly shared his vision for the rice terraces conforming the suggestions of ICOMOS and the already established recommendations of UNESCO. He centered on the provision of basic needs and economic development for the people while beefing up on the advantages of conservation. He likewise stressed on the utilization of heritage as tourism resource. Baguilat said that this could be achieved with the development of low land municipalities in the province, proceeds of which shall support the conservation of upland areas. The upland areas will then be the resource for tourism and heritage. He however said that restrictions cannot be imposed on the people and that land use and zoning will indeed identify areas for development and for preservation. He encouraged novel ideas for the conservation of the rice terraces.
Although the atmosphere of the conference was serious and focused on issues of conservation and management of traditional landscapes, an interesting thing happened during the session proper. Several delegates noticed that those who presented at the stage’s podium would be teary eyed as they were delivering their talks. Some of these were the US Ambassador, H.E. Kirsty Kenney, the Japanese delegate Architect Natsuko Akagawa and some of our local participants who presented papers at the session proper. People were already talking about the incidents, and in the last day of the session proper, some delegates decided to investigate by going to the podium themselves. Those who went sensed that some kind of strong energy was effecting them to be teary eyed. The energy was so intense that some felt sad and depressed, while others felt light yet affected by the intensity of it all. They decided to approach Tony Perez, a known personality in spirit questing. He said that the one causing the energy was a tree spirit, a ‘capre’ as it is called in the vernacular. According to him, this tree spirit lived in a big tree that was felled during the construction of the hotel and it felt sad about the felling. The delegates and Tony Perez went to the stage and held some kind of prayer for the tree spirit. One of the delegates sensed that what the spirit wanted was some offering of soil.
It would be interesting to note that some of the local delegates have personal experiences about trees. One of them, Landscape Architect Susan Ong is a tree conservation advocate who fought for the stoppage of the felling of a giant dao tree in UP Los Banos. Another heritage conservation advocate and very young and vibrant litigation lawyer, Atty Lucille Karen Malilong-Isberto shared stories about trees being cut in her hometown in Cebu and the bad things that have happened to the persons initiating the felling. Being a member of ‘inner dance’, she thought it necessary to offer prayers to the tree spirit.
Altogether, the tree spirit incident brought the group together, with some of them offering prayers, an orange and a traditional musical instrument of bamboo at the podium prior to leaving for Manila. Some surmised that the rice terraces, its beautiful environs and this particular tree spirit incident brought them together, invigorating them all with the consciousness of working for a common goal, which is the conservation of heritage.
At the end of the conference, the ICOMOS meeting further strengthened the idea that heritage must be preserved not only to provide community identity, but also as a livelihood opportunity that could be achieved through the use (not exploitation) of its the values as sustainable cultural and eco-tourism resource.
The other objective of the meeting, which is the training of Philippine practitioners, was also met as members of youth organizations came, joined and learned from the conference discussions. Since only a few conservation courses are offered in Philippine universities, ICOMOS Philippines envisioned that the presence of foreign colleagues is a rare opportunity for ICOMOS Philippine Committee members and other heritage professionals to widen their personal international network and to upgrade professionals.
On December 7, 2007, the delegation went back to Manila passing by Dupax church in Nueva Vizcaya, a National Cultural Treasure. Organizers showed them the restoration of the baptistry and two magnificent columns, all of which are ornately decorated in relief stucco.
The delegates who were revitalized and brimming of energy and great ideas are hopeful that the rice terraces and other traditional landscapes will be in good hands as everybody seek and work to conserve and maintain them for the present and the future generations. (Prepared by Ma. Joycelyn B. Mananghaya)
ICOMOS is the official 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. Its headquarters is in Paris and its Philippine members are prominently involved in conservation projects for the government or private sectors and are also members of the academe.
The conference was unveiled with a welcome dinner organized at the National Museum. Sumptuous dishes were shared as the hosts presented their welcome remarks to the numerous distinguished guests and delegates of the conference. Respected heritage specialists from Canada, Italy, Finland, Germany, United States, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Japan and Korea joined their Philippine counterparts in the welcome event.
Following this was a long day trip to Ifugao, with heritage specialists and experts looking forward to seeing the rice terraces that is of great beauty and majesty.
Reaching the Ifugao province, a tour and site visit was organized, showing the delegates Hungduan’s Abatan-Hapao heritage cluster site, one of the 5 priority sites that was identified in the UNESCO World Heritage inscription. The participants were overwhelmed with the beauty of the landscapes surrounding them. They were hosted by the Mayor of Hungduan, Hon. Pablo Cuyahon. The first site shown to the delegates was the Hapao heritage cluster. The delegates noticed the number of structures dispersedly strewn on the terrace paddies. He explained the development of the place and said that during early times, the houses would be built together in clusters, but due to population increase, the paddies were ultimately used for house building.
In the five cluster sites, the heritage clusters of Nagacadan-Julongan, Abatan-Hapan, Bangaan and Batad are found clustering of houses called boble. These clustering of houses are located near rice terrace paddies to facilitate management of work, and is also near a muyong or a private forest, usually owned by community members of the boble.
Following this, the delegates were indulged with the view of the spider web terraces as they passed through them going to the to Hungduan’s Municipal hall. The spider web is known to be an interlacing of rice terraces that are weaved together in a pattern of a web. This pattern in clearly discernable from a birds point of view.
Reaching Hungduan’s Municipal hall, a delectable lunch buffet with traditional rice and Filipino dishes was served for the guests’ content. This was followed with the beating of Ifugao gongs and dances by Ifugaos in native costumes. Guests willingly accepted requests to dance.
This site visit was also enriched as the group went to Banaue’s museum of Ifugao culture where the Otley Beyer collection was unveiled to the participants. Artifacts ranging from historic literature to heirloom beads and ceramics and Ifugao wooden cultural implements were showed to the delegates. They were also amazed at the ingenuity of the Ifugao as an Ifugao house artifact was presented to them, with its design mostly made of wood without nails.
Similarly, the group trekked to Ujah village preached high up in the mountains of Banaue, where young Ifugao youth enjoined the participants for a tree planting session. Again, dances were performed and the delegates were invited to join in the festivities.
The conference session proper started with the delegates sharing their experiences on the protection of endangered traditional landscapes. The meeting focused on the current status of the 5 terrace clusters located in Ifugao province inscribed in the World Heritage in Danger List. The “In Danger” designation simply means that conservation measures for a site on the World Heritage List must be stepped up to prevent its rapid deterioration.
The foreign heritage specialists who participated in the conference are Architect Valeria Prieto of ICOMOS Mexico who is the Secretary of ICOMOS-CIAV. She shared her experiences and brilliant ideas in the conservation of Purepecha settlements and their traditional trojes that are found in Michoacan, Mexico. Likewise, Prof. Mariolina Besio of the University of Genoa, Italy who was sent by the World Heritage Centre presented the Cinque Terre Cultural Landscape, a vineyard terraced site that is presently experiencing various challenges of change related to tourism and development.
Marc de Caraffe of ICOMOS Canada, Chairman of ICOMOS-CIAV presented a talk entitled ‘Hot Fuzz, Wild Cats and Telephone Poles’. Architect Esteban Prieto of ICOMOS Sto. Domingo on the other hand shared the ‘El Bohio, Expresion de Arquitectura Vernacula y Recurso Turistico Cultural de la Republica Dominicana’. Toyota Matsuoka of the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) presented the Ambanghal Mini-hydroelectric Project in Ifugao, which is presently in its feasibility stage. Proceeds from this project will help in the conservation of the rice terrace heritage cluster sites.
Similarly, Ron Anthony a wood preservation expert of ICOMOS-USA presented ideas on wood science and technology, which are very much helpful as most vernacular heritage buildings in traditional landscapes are made of wood. Dr. Christoph Machat of the University of Munich and ICOMOS Germany shared his experiences in the protection of cultural landscapes and presented a power point presentation of the different terraced landscapes in the world. Another German heritage specialist, Kirsten Malezer of ICOMOS Germany talked on ‘The Inheritance of the German Settlement Movement in the Ukraine’. She sought solutions from plenary on how to preserve the vernacular houses found in the Ukraine German settlements, which are similarly facing challenges of sustainability and continuous use, as the residents opt to move to cities, leaving behind these precious heritage buildings.
Likewise, Architect Natsuko Akagawa of ICOMOS Japan presented management strategies that were employed in the Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama in Japan. She shared the different charters that were applied in the conservation of these Japanese cultural properties.
Successful Philippine heritage efforts were also presented such as the cultural mapping of some of our heritage sites in the Visayas and Mindanao. The Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement (SITMO) on the other hand shared its community development programs in Ifugao province, while the Provincal government of Ifugao presented to the body the different strategies of conservation and management of the rice terraces and culture of Ifugao. Some of these are its programme on the documentation, processing and transmission of Ifugao’s Indigenous wherein UNESCO Japan has financed the first phase of the IK transmission programme and has recently approved the second phase. Through this assistance from UNESCO Japan, SITMO has started the mapping of traditional knowledge holders and for its second phase, it is currently developing a course on IK with the Ifugao State College of Agriculture and Forestry. It will also develop a module for the teaching of elementary and high school education, integrating IK, which will be undertaken with the DepEd.
SITMO also presented its efforts for the preparation of the pilot Community-Based Land Use project for Nagacadan, Kiangan, one of the five priority heritage cluster sites in the WH List. Its recent success in holding eco tourism projects revived the Bakle festival of Nagacadan and with it was the organization of eco tours that brought tourists to the place, enjoying the festival, the dances, rice pounding and the place’ traditional food specialties such as the binakle and the baya.
SITMO has also been involved in Sustainable Agriculture Programmes, with the promotion of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) with pilot farms in Kiangan and Lamut. It won a grant through the Panibagong Paraan competition that holds a two-year biodiversity cum SRI promotion for four towns. And through its partnership with the International Kutzu Green Sannan (IKGS) of Japan, it has started a two-year project entitled Kiphodan di Payo, Kiphodan di Muyung, which includes the establishment of nurseries for indigenous species in Mayoyao, Asipulo and Kiangan. It has also worked on interventions to minimize out-migrations of Ifugao people through the Kiphodan project wherein the dojo fish promotion and rabbit production are encouraged, hoping to tap restaurants in Manila for their use and consumption.
One of the most important efforts of SITMO is its programme on renewal energy, having garnered a finalist award in the International Ashden Award for Renewable Energy for the development of its micro-hydro program. This involved the repair of the Bokiawan Micro-hydro plant in Kiangan, the improvement of the Sustainable Energy centre at the ICHEC and the continuation of the Tungdo Micro-hydro plant in Maggok, Hungduan.
Likewise, Fundacion Santiago’s Chaco Molina shared his insights on community development, centering on the numerous projects that this NGO has undertaken. Molina presented its vision through its two-fold mission statement that is represented by its Pamana (Cultural Heritage) and Pag-asa (Social Development) programs. Its mission statements push for the contribution to a strong grasp of national identity by the promotion and sustainability of historical awareness among Filipinos, by using this sense of self and of shared purpose as one of the foundations of national development. It also pushes for the contribution to true, sustainable and equitable national development through the promotion of entreprenuership and commitment to community among economically marginalized Filipinos, particularly those in the countryside.
Fundacion Santiago has partnered with PHILDRRA, a national network of 65 rural development NGOs that builds models of sustainable development in the different communities they serve.
One of the projects undertaken by Fundacion Santiago is the preparation of the Master Plan for the revitalization of the historic center of Vigan, another UNESCO WH site. This project was supported by the Government of the Kingdom of Spain and the Agencia Espanola de Cooperacion Internacional (AECI), the DOT and the City Government of Vigan. It included such projects as the Integrated Water Supply and Management System, the Materials Recovery Facility for the Vigan Integrated Solid Waste Management project, the Metal Craft and Food Processing project for the University of Northern Philippines, and so much more. This Master Plan is serving as the tool for guiding local government and other agencies in the coordination of efforts related to development and the preservation of the WH site.
Molina particularly pointed to the role of community development facilitators, whom he said are supposed to guide work in the project. He stressed the importance of ‘letting go’ when the community feels that it is able to stand on its own. He said that at a certain stage in a project, ‘we’ should not feel bad if we become irrelevant because this means that we have done something good and that the project and the community can now stand on its own.
Molina also stressed out that community workers are catalysts of change and that ‘hope’ has to be transmitted to the people, equated through pesos and cents. He also said that the promotion of community based heritage tourism is an instrument for alleviating poverty in a site. He said that heritage is seen by the community as being theirs and that it should not be perceived as an irritant, but should bring cash to the people.
The Heritage Conservation Society (HCS) likewise shared its projects of restoration of historical monuments and buildings. These success stories prove that the Filipino, contrary to popular opinion, has actually done well in conserving his heritage.
As discussions on the rice terraces centered on the natural and cultural condition of the landscape and the necessary steps and strategies to address the challenges of conservation, the delegates agreed that restoring the terraces and the culture that comes with it must go hand in hand with the establishment of cultural and economic opportunities that make terrace life more viable for the 21st century. Among the positive measures suggested by UNESCO is the establishment of additional income-generating opportunities focusing on community based cultural and eco tourism programs.
Several conferences held in the past that were organized by UNESCO have already identified strategies to meet the challenges of conservation in the rice terraces. These are all incorporated in the Conservation Management Plan of the Province of Ifugao.
This ICOMOS meeting’s sub-theme of identifying methods in the use of the underutilized rice terraces as a resource to increase present income levels of its residents, strengthened and enhanced the already identified strategies. This was realized when the delegates gathered together in workshops held on the last day of the conference. They further augmented the already established strategies with great and interesting viable and doable solutions for the sustainable development of the heritage cluster sites. The conference came about with the awareness that conserving heritage in traditional landscapes has been challenging to most site residents who aim for a change in quality of life that is in contrast with their present day life.
Some of these great new ideas that came out of the workshops aim to make life in the terraces much more livable. These are the packaging of the entire cultural landscape as a product for cultural tourism; the identification of incentives such as special taxes and subsidies that will encourage the people to preserve the terraces; the development of a global vision for cooperative movement for the rice terraces; and the encouragement of lightweight construction methods that continuously use traditional methods and avoiding concrete and concrete blocks. The delegates likewise underscored the need for zoning and land use in the heritage cluster sites. They also reiterated the need for the preparation of design guidelines as new buildings are being constructed in concrete and concrete blocks that totally contrasts with the beauty of the landscape.
Ifugao’s Provincial Governor, Hon. Teodoro Baguilat Jr.’s similarly shared his vision for the rice terraces conforming the suggestions of ICOMOS and the already established recommendations of UNESCO. He centered on the provision of basic needs and economic development for the people while beefing up on the advantages of conservation. He likewise stressed on the utilization of heritage as tourism resource. Baguilat said that this could be achieved with the development of low land municipalities in the province, proceeds of which shall support the conservation of upland areas. The upland areas will then be the resource for tourism and heritage. He however said that restrictions cannot be imposed on the people and that land use and zoning will indeed identify areas for development and for preservation. He encouraged novel ideas for the conservation of the rice terraces.
Although the atmosphere of the conference was serious and focused on issues of conservation and management of traditional landscapes, an interesting thing happened during the session proper. Several delegates noticed that those who presented at the stage’s podium would be teary eyed as they were delivering their talks. Some of these were the US Ambassador, H.E. Kirsty Kenney, the Japanese delegate Architect Natsuko Akagawa and some of our local participants who presented papers at the session proper. People were already talking about the incidents, and in the last day of the session proper, some delegates decided to investigate by going to the podium themselves. Those who went sensed that some kind of strong energy was effecting them to be teary eyed. The energy was so intense that some felt sad and depressed, while others felt light yet affected by the intensity of it all. They decided to approach Tony Perez, a known personality in spirit questing. He said that the one causing the energy was a tree spirit, a ‘capre’ as it is called in the vernacular. According to him, this tree spirit lived in a big tree that was felled during the construction of the hotel and it felt sad about the felling. The delegates and Tony Perez went to the stage and held some kind of prayer for the tree spirit. One of the delegates sensed that what the spirit wanted was some offering of soil.
It would be interesting to note that some of the local delegates have personal experiences about trees. One of them, Landscape Architect Susan Ong is a tree conservation advocate who fought for the stoppage of the felling of a giant dao tree in UP Los Banos. Another heritage conservation advocate and very young and vibrant litigation lawyer, Atty Lucille Karen Malilong-Isberto shared stories about trees being cut in her hometown in Cebu and the bad things that have happened to the persons initiating the felling. Being a member of ‘inner dance’, she thought it necessary to offer prayers to the tree spirit.
Altogether, the tree spirit incident brought the group together, with some of them offering prayers, an orange and a traditional musical instrument of bamboo at the podium prior to leaving for Manila. Some surmised that the rice terraces, its beautiful environs and this particular tree spirit incident brought them together, invigorating them all with the consciousness of working for a common goal, which is the conservation of heritage.
At the end of the conference, the ICOMOS meeting further strengthened the idea that heritage must be preserved not only to provide community identity, but also as a livelihood opportunity that could be achieved through the use (not exploitation) of its the values as sustainable cultural and eco-tourism resource.
The other objective of the meeting, which is the training of Philippine practitioners, was also met as members of youth organizations came, joined and learned from the conference discussions. Since only a few conservation courses are offered in Philippine universities, ICOMOS Philippines envisioned that the presence of foreign colleagues is a rare opportunity for ICOMOS Philippine Committee members and other heritage professionals to widen their personal international network and to upgrade professionals.
On December 7, 2007, the delegation went back to Manila passing by Dupax church in Nueva Vizcaya, a National Cultural Treasure. Organizers showed them the restoration of the baptistry and two magnificent columns, all of which are ornately decorated in relief stucco.
The delegates who were revitalized and brimming of energy and great ideas are hopeful that the rice terraces and other traditional landscapes will be in good hands as everybody seek and work to conserve and maintain them for the present and the future generations. (Prepared by Ma. Joycelyn B. Mananghaya)
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