“Construction on Different Historical and Heritage Sites in the Philippines”

Chapter I: Introduction
The Philippines is blessed to have a bountiful history, a history filled with numerous
challenges, trials and hardships because of the colonization by the other nations. These countries
are Spain, United States of America and Japan. Their colonization, had brought the Filipinos into
their knees, because of their exploitation and continual taking advantage of the beauty and
resources this nation possessed. And because of their colonization, it sprung the rise of multiple
heroes and patriots that served and loved this land. These heroes transcendental through time had
sacrificed their lives for the betterment of the welfare of the country. Their martyrdom had
brought the country to its freedom and love it truly deserves.
The colonization as well do often seen as harsh and brutal had also brought great
influences to the Philippine culture. The Spaniards, are the ones that taught us the religion of
Roman Catholicism, they as well are the first ones to introduce to us formal education by
opening schools and various monasteries and even opening universities. The Spaniard culture
had influenced us as well by in the behavior the Filipinos now have. The same can be said with
the Americans, their influence in our culture can still be manifested today, and a great example
of this is the undying devotion of the Filipinos to Basketball. The Americans had greatly
influenced the Filipinos in the food culture which can deduced in the Filipinos eating mainly on
fast food joints that sell American food. The Japanese may have stayed the shortest but their
culture can still be seen with the Filipinos.
These historical and cultural changes that Philippines had in its long history are integral
to the formation of the country is it today, though it is quite bothering that many Filipinos seems
to take it for granted and they even don’t put too much care on it. It can be seen how they treat
different historical and heritage sites. Most of the things that transpired in the previous
paragraphs had partaken in key sites, and these sites must be held up to the highest regard for
they constitute for what are we now today.
An example of this sites that are not given importance is the Rizal Shrine located at
Luneta Park, Manila. The Rizal Shrine is important historical site for it manifests the national
hero of the Philippines which is Jose Rizal, the hero who used his literary gift to awaken the
Filipino consciousness and nationalism against the colonization of Spain by writing his two
famous books: Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. He died at Luneta Park as he was given
his execution. The Rizal Shrine was tarnished when a building was constructed near it; the
building stained the vista points and vista corners of the shrine. This is integral for the reason, if
we can’t put an importance on a very symbolic shrine, how can we protect shrines or sites that
are even in a lesser degree. The other sites that are jeopardy of being tarnished or even removal
are the following sites; namely, are UST, The Anda Circle, Binondo Church, Rizal Coliseum,
Manila Bay and as well as old Theatres. The Government must ensure better protection of these
shrines or sites in the Philippines.
Presently, the Philippines have the Republic Act 10066 or the Philippine Cultural
Heritage Act of 2010 which can be used by the National Commission for the Culture and the
Arts (NCCA), as well by the National Museum (NM), Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP),
National Archives of the Philippines, Komisyon sa Wikang Pilipino and the National Historical
Commission of the Philippines (NHCP). This act was created to strengthen the cultural and
historical aspects of the Philippines. But even this act was still rendered as useless in the
construction of the Torre de Manila by the DMCI Homes, because as the NHCP former
chairperson Maria Serena Diokno argues that the DMCI are well within their rights in
constructing the building, for there are no clauses in the Republic Act 10066 Section 47 which
entail the guidelines in constructing within or near a historical or heritage site that says about the
aspect of the vista points and vista corners of a national historical sites, and that the building
were not built in a historical or heritage site but rather in a privately own area. As the Supreme
Court in its decision in Knights of Rizal vs. DMCI Homes Inc. 2017 as stated by Justice Carpio,
there are no laws that prohibit DMCI Homes from constructing Torre de Manila.
This now leads to the Objective of the research; this research aims to possibly create laws
that will govern a construction near or within a historical or heritage site. This research aims to
revise Section 47 of the Republic Act 10066 to more competent laws that are more sufficient and
necessary for companies or people in constructing infrastructure or buildings without removing
important areas in the site that can disturbed by construction. Creation of these laws is important,
for the reason a certain person or construction firm can’t be prosecuted if there was no law that
prevents it. As such was the case of the Knights of Rizal vs. DMCI Homes Inc. 2017. This
research aims to also protect the essence and symbolism of the sites that can deterred by a
construction, which can be inferred in the same case with the Torre de Manila distorting the vista
points and vista corners of the Rizal Shrine. The research also aims to protect different historical
sites that can be possibly be removed by government sanctioned projects, an example of which is
the Anda Circle which is seen as an impediment to a MMDA project which is to commence. This
research aims to protect Anda Circle and other historical and heritage sites on that matter. Also
this research aims to render a hefty punishment to the people or corporations that will disobey
the said laws; this is part of the objective to integrate to the people the possible fines and
punishment that will people have to comply if they break such laws in protecting different
historical and heritage sites in the Philippines.
The Purpose of the research is to create laws that will be a basis of future construction
near or within a historical or heritage site. This research intents to make a framework that such
companies or people wants to construct infrastructure or a building, they already have a set of
rules and guidelines which they will follow that would be detrimental to the historical or heritage
sites. Another purpose of the research is to create a behavior within companies and people that
will be constructing near such historical or heritage site. A behavior that will be transcendental to
the other different companies that will construct as well, a behavior that will embody proper
etiquette in constructing an infrastructure within the laws. Finally the research intents to protect
different historical or heritage sites for the next generation of Filipinos to see these sites that
embodies their culture and history, that embodies themselves as well. The true reason why we
put so much importance in these historical and heritage sites are for the next generation, hoping
for the next generation of Filipinos to learn, to understand and to integrate the Filipino history,
Filipino culture and Filipino way of life through going on different historical and heritage sites.
The significance of this research is to protect the importance of the different historical
and heritage sites as it is. These historical and heritage sites are important to Filipinos because it
reflects who truly they are, people often argue about history of what is what and which is which,
history at times can be opinionated and can be biased for people who wrote history have their
biases. What remains stagnant and true to form are these historical and heritage sites for the sites
have no opinions and have no biases. These sites as well show the neutrality of the life Filipinos
had before, a definitive example of the past. The walls of Intramuros is often argued that it was
an example of the discrimination of the Spaniards those who lived in inside are high and mighty
and those who live outside show the low and poor, another historian argued that the walls
symbolized the greatness of the Philippines and how it showcase a powerful city. These two
arguments are either be right or wrong but one stay as it is, and that is the walls regardless of
what it symbolized, it exist and it is part of our history, culture and way of life. Another
significance of this research is that these historical or heritage sites awakes our nationalism and
patriotism for our country. Every time a Filipino sees a historical site, he/she will remember its
story and essence, and then he/she integrate it to his/her life. The sites serve as a reminder of our
heroes sacrifice and martyrdom and that inspires us to be nationalist and patriotic. Another
significance of this research is to give respect to our heroes and ancestors that gave their lives for
what we are experiencing today. Distorting and deterring different historical or heritage sites
shows disrespect to things these people have done, as if the Filipinos have taken for granted their
sacrifices for this nation.
With the different aims, purpose and importance pointed out in the paper, the proposed
revision of Section 47 of Republic Act 10066 will create a better harmony in the future of
construction and building sites on near or within historical or heritage sites. The revised rules
will better protect the historical sites and will preserve its symbolisms, its meaning and its worth
for the next generation of Filipinos to cultivate and learn to. This revised rules as well will help
the different developers and construction firm on building near or within historical or heritage
sites, for them to know what things that they can able to do and the things they can’t able to not.
In the future, these sets of rules that will be part of the revised law will create a system of
coordination within the construction firm and the historical and heritage sites. This system will
be of ease and simplicity on the regards of constructing near or within historical or heritage sites.
Which will result to the preservation of the sites and a cohesive way for the construction firms on
handling said sites.
Bibliography

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supreme-court-timeline

Knights Of Rizal, v. DMCI Homes, Inc., DMCI Project Developers, Inc., City Of Manila,
National Commision For Culture And The Arts, National Museum, And National
Historical Commission Of The Philippines,. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2018, from
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Republic Act. No. 10066. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2018, from The LawPhil Project:
Arellano Law Foundation:
http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2010/ra_10066_2010.html

Sembrano, E. A. (2014, September 15). Inquirer.net. Retrieved September 10, 2018, from
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in-manila/

Certificate of Authenticity

I hereby certify, upon my honor that this work is my own work and that all ideas and direct
quotations from other sources have all been documented with proper citations.