Bonifacio Monument facelift gets mixed reactions

MANILA, Philippines - A proposal to “redevelop” the Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan City has received mixed reactions from residents and stakeholders.

District 2 Rep. Edgar Erice invited local officials and representatives of business and other sectors on Friday to consult them on his plan to seek the approval of Congress to include in its 2014 budget to bankroll the redevelopment of the Bonifacio Monument to adopt it to the “present time.”

Among the salient features of the proposal includes raising the monument seven meters aboveground and converting the area into a “sky park.”

This involves creating a passage under the monument, with the passage featuring stores. The park will also have a museum and a library, Erice said.

Erice said an estimated P400 million will be spent to finance the facelift, which will take at least two years to complete. He said if Congress would approve the budget, the project will start in 2015.

Permits

However, Trixie Angeles, lawyer of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, said Erice will have to seek permits from three government agencies – the NCCA, National Historical Commission, and the National Museum of the Philippines.

She said the three agencies will not easily approve the proposed changes and the creation of a commercial area in the vicinity of what is considered a heritage site.

The proposal’s proponents will also have to seek the approval of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources before construction could start, she said.

The Bonifacio Monument was designed and completed in 1933 by the country’s National Artist for Visual Arts (Sculpture) Guillermo Tolentino.

It was created to honor Andres Bonifacio, considered the father of the Philippine Revolution.