Samsam hopes Carcar heritage bill gets nod

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu first district Representative Gerald Anthony "Samsam" Gullas is hoping his bill proclaiming Carcar City a national cultural heritage zone gets approval at the committee level.

He is positive about this as the city is home to numerous historical structures and artifacts.

According to Gullas, his House Bill 1340 is now pending at the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture chaired by Pangasinan Representative Kimi Cojuangco.

Located some 40 kilometers southwest of Cebu City, Carcar boasts of an assortment of artistic creations, including architecturally distinctive Spanish to American vintage houses.

The city's classical Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria is admired for its Byzantine design, Greco-Roman altar, and twin bell towers with a minaret, a distinctive architectural feature of mosques.

Carcar's rotunda, a principal landmark, is also unique and remarkable for its shape and scope.

"The city features a number of century-old houses and a culture so rich in history that's similar to Vigan of Ilocos Sur. Hopefully in the near future, Carcar will be a tourism destination that Vigan is today," Gullas said.

Gullas further said Carcar's preservation will give more meaning to the mandate of the 1987 Constitution for the state to safeguard and popularize our historical resources for the purpose of enriching the national culture.

Once declared a heritage zone, Carcar's streets, parks, monuments, buildings and even natural bodies of water shall be kept as close as possible to their form if the area is of great importance to Philippine history as determined by the National Historical Institute.

Carcar was established as a municipality 414 years ago.