LUCENA CITY—Concerned that cultural and historical sites and structures in the province are being threatened by the development and infrastructure work of the government, a neophyte provincial board member of Quezon has proposed the hiring of a cultural-heritage worker in every municipality of the province to protect and preserve these sites and structures.
Quezon First District board member Aileen Resplandor Buan took the cudgel to preserve the Spanish-era stone arch bridges of Tayabas City, which are being threatened by the road and bridge-widening projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Buan said each cultural-site worker will monitor the province’s cultural and heritage sites and structures. Specifically, the worker needs to identify, record, protect and preserve these sites and structures from any possible harm from any government agency or the private sector. Buan made the call during her privilege speech at the regular session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of Quezon on Monday.
Buan cited the revelations made by an engineer of the Second District engineering office of the DPWH that they made lapses in not following the internal department order issued by the central office about the historical sites and cultural structures while doing construction work.
Buan referred to Department Order 138 issued by former Public Works Secretary Rogelio L. Singson on December 1, 2014, that said, “The DPWH, which must be responsible in undertaking major infrastructure projects, specifically in the planning, design, construction and maintenance of national roads and bridge, as they impact on heritage structures or aspects of heritage conservation, shall consult, coordinate and work closely with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts [NCCA] in the implementation of their
programs/projects.”
Buan said the department order stressed “the preservation of the historical sites and structures is a national concern. The relics of the past are national treasures, which must be preserved, restored and enhanced for the benefit of this and future generations.”
Buan added the local offices of the DPWH may not be aware of, or just ignored the existence of Republic Act 10066 or An Act Providing for the Protection and Conservation of the National Cultural Heritage, Strengthening the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and its Affiliated Cultural Agencies.
Earlier, the SP sought to summon the heads of the two local engineering district offices of the DPWH on the alleged destruction of 12 Spanish-era stone arched bridges in Tayabas City declared as national cultural treasures by the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP).
Buan and her colleague, SP board member Claro Talaga Jr., deplored the road and bridge-widening project being undertaken by district engineering 1 and 2 of the DPWH, which they said ruin the historical and cultural value of the ancient bridges.
Members of the Oplan Sagip Tulay, a task force group of Tayabas City government said the DPWH started work on the bridges last week of February and on March 4, they saw construction workers using jackhammers. They said some parts of the bridges were being chipped, and the abutment removed without the permission of the NMP and the NCCA.