A Church and a Monument: Two Tales of Woe

I received two very strongly worded–fuming might be a better description–letters last week regarding two separate, but perhaps not so different, matters.

John Silva, consultant to the National Museum, member of the Heritage Conservation Society and STARweek contributing writer, is up in arms over the resumption of construction of a fast food outlet on the grounds of the historic Balayan Church in Batangas. Construction was halted last December because of the lack of an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which certificate includes a clearance from the National Historical Institute (NHI) as mandated by PD 1505. Now, minus NHI approval (actually without prior NHI knowledge) but with an ECC, plus the whole-hearted blessing of the Archbishop of Batangas, construction has resumed. The rationale for the issuance of the ECC, says the DENR, is that all the laws–and there are several–protecting historical properties apply only to the structures themselves and not to the grounds on which these structures stand.

Kuya Malang–a.k.a. the renowned artist Mauro Malang Santos–for his part is upset over the inaction regarding the relocation of the Bonifacio Monument. The LRT and the MRT lines are set to rendezvous right where the Katipuneros now hold court, and the issue of where the Guillermo Tolentino monument–Kuya Malang calls it "the only great monument we have in the Philippines"–will go is still up in the air. The mayor of Caloocan, where the monument is currently located, wants to move it to Barangay Tala, as in Tala Leprosarium. The heirs of the Katipunan (known as the Kaanak) don’t like that idea one bit. There are suggestions that the monument be moved to Fort Bonifacio in Taguig, to the University of the Philippines in Diliman, to the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila or–this is Kuya Malang’s choice–to the Luneta. "Anywhere! Anywhere as long as the monument is removed from Caloocan," writes the artist. "The monument, adjudged one of the best in the world, needs a decent place..."

From the Balayan Church to the Bonifacio Monument, the sentiment underlying both problems is the same: we don’t seem to value or care about our heritage, our history, our culture. Who needs a centuries-old church when we can have a burger and fries joint, imported pa man din? Who needs Andres Bonifacio when we have Rico Yan? No wonder we’re such a screwed up nation.