Presentation 2

CONSERVATION LAWS AND CHARTERS

SPL 140-CONSERVATION OF THE BUILT HERITAGE
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN PHILIPPINES
VIGAN CITY

CHRISTIAN NICO R. PILOTIN, UAP

Course Facilitator
INTERNATIONAL CHARTER FOR THE CONSERVATION AND
RESTORATION OF MONUMENTS AND SITES
(THE VENICE CHARTER 1964)

• set of guidelines, drawn up in 1964 by a group of

conservation professionals in Venice

• provides an international framework for the conservation

and restoration of historic buildings.

• now seen as outdated by Modernist views opposed to

reconstruction. en.wikipedia.org
THE WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION

• Convention Concerning the Protection of the

World Cultural and Natural Heritage- international
agreement adopted by the General Conference of
UNESCO in 1972.

• Premise: certain places on Earth are of outstanding

universal value; thus, common heritage of
humankind.

• States Parties: protection of the World Heritage is the

duty of the international community as a whole.
BURRA CHARTER
• Adopted by Australia ICOMOS (the Australian National Committee of ICOMOS) on 19
August 1979 at Burra, South Australia; revised 1981,1988 and 1999

• Guidance for the conservation and management of places of cultural significance (cultural
heritage places) based on knowledge and experience of Australia ICOMOS members.
• Standard of practice for those who own, manage, care or
undertake works in places of cultural significance,

• Applicable to all types of places of cultural significance

• Cautious approach to change:

-do as much as necessary to care for the place and to make
it useable, but..
change it as little as possible so that its cultural significance is
retained.
 HOI AN PROTOCOLS for Best Conservation
Practice in Asia: Professional Guidelines for
Assuring and Preserving the Authenticity of
Heritage Sites in the Context of the Cultures
of Asia (2005)

• developed following the UNESCO Regional Workshop “Conserving the Past – An Asian Perspective of
Authenticity in the Consolidation, Restoration and Reconstruction of Historic Monuments and Sites”
organized in Hoi An, Viet Nam from 15 February to 3 March 2001

• response to an increasing number of threats within the region linked to population growth,
environmental degradation, rural-to-urban migration, urban redevelopment, industrialization and
globalization forces

• essential and practical resource for a large audience- practitioners, governmental bodies, custodians,
NGOs.
Philippine Laws
• Many restoration efforts in the country rely on proper legislation to
achieve their goals

• 1973 and 1987 Constitutions responsive to the need to guard the

country’s cultural heritage.

• 1973 Constitution, Art. XV, Sec. 9 (2): “Filipino culture shall be

preserved and developed for national identity”.

• 1987 Constitution, Art. XIV, Sec. 16: “ All the country’s artistic
and historic wealth constitutes the cultural treasure of the nation and
shall be under the protection of the State which may regulate its
disposition”
1966
• the country attempted to define objects on Filipino
identity

• earlier than enactment of the UNESCO Convention

Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and
Natural Heritage in Paris in 1972

RA 4846: Protection and Preservation of Cultural

Properties
• “old buildings, monuments, shrines, documents
and objects which may be classified as
• antiques, relics or artifacts, landmarks,
anthropological and historical sites, and
• specimens of natural history which are of
• cultural, historical, anthropological and scientific
value and significance to the nation”..
National Cultural Treasures
• unique objects having outstanding historical, cultural,
artistic or scientific value

• PD 260 (1973) declared Paoay Church, among many

other historical structures as National Cultural Treasure.

Important Cultural Properties

• Cultural properties that do not quite have the characteristics of
National Cultural Treasures but singled out from the countless
cultural properties for having exceptional historical and cultural
significance to the country
Historical site

• “any place, province, city, town and/or any location and

structure which has played a significant role in the history of
our country and nation”.

• PD 756 (1975) amended PD 260 to include the Mestizo

Section (including Leona Florentino and Padre Jose
Burgos Houses) in its scope

• noted trend in the modernization of certain parts of Vigan,

• need to preserve these areas for the development of

tourism and in the preservation of the country’s history and
culture.
Historical site

• “any place, province, city, town and/or any location and

structure which has played a significant role in the history of
our country and nation”.

• PD 756 (1975) amended PD 260 to include the Mestizo

Section (including Leona Florentino and Padre Jose
Burgos Houses) in its scope

• noted trend in the modernization of certain parts of Vigan,

• need to preserve these areas for the development of

tourism and in the preservation of the country’s history and
culture.
RA 10066 - Philippine Cultural Heritage Act of 2009

• Protection, preservation, and promotion of the nation’s cultural heritage

• Strengthens the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and affiliated cultural
agencies
 ORDINANCE NO. 7, S. 2006- The Vigan
Conservation Code

• (amended from Ordinance No. 4, s. 2000- Conservation

and Preservation Guidelines for Vigan Ancestral Houses);
currently undergoing revision again

• guidelines on conservation, preservation, restoration,

adaptive re-use, new construction and infill works in the
Core and Buffer Zones
Special City Zoning ORDINANCE
No. 12, s. 1997
(Ord. No. 5, s.1999 redefined the boundaries of
the Core and Buffer Zones)

• Core Zone – concentration of heritage

structures
• Buffer Zone- provides authentic setting and
protection to Core Zone

Total area: 17.24 hectares

Source: Vigan Master Plan, 2001

 UNESCO Homeowners’
Preservation Manual for Vigan City
(2010)

• conservation guide on traditional building

techniques and modern scientific conservation
methods for ancestral houses and heritage
structures

• referral document to the Vigan Conservation Code

ORDINANCE NO. 14, S. 1997:
Allowable Uses in the Core Zone

• Single or multiple residential density up to eight units

• Mixed residential and commercial uses- shops, stores, offices
• Financial service businesses
• Hospitality uses – hotel, pension, inn, conference hall, restaurant
• Educational house
• Museum
CULTURAL AGENCIES
AS STEWARDS OF OUR CULTURAL PATRIMONY
ICOMOS. The International Council on
Monuments and Sites

• professional association that works for the conservation

and protection of cultural heritage places around the
world

• headquartered in Charenton-le-Pont, France

• founded in 1965 in Warsaw as a result of the Venice

Charter of 1964 to offer advice to UNESCO on World
Heritage Sites

• Philippine commission (ICOMOS Philippines)

The International Centre for the Study of the
Preservation and Restoration of Cultural
Property (ICCROM)

• intergovernmental organization dedicated to the preservation of

cultural heritage worldwide through training, information, research,
cooperation and advocacy programs.

• aims to enhance the field of conservation-restoration and raise

awareness to the importance and fragility of cultural heritage.

• result of a proposal at the UNESCO General Conference held in New

Delhi, in 1956.

• established in in its headquarters in Rome, in 1959

National Historical Commission of the Philippines
(NHCP) (formerly NHI)

• identify, designate and mark historic places

• construct national monuments, shrines and historic markers, and

• maintain and care for these structures

• supervise the restoration, reconstruction and preservation of churches

and places declared as national shrines, monuments or landmarks by
PD 260

National Museum
• restoration, reconstruction and preservation of government historical
buildings, shrines, landmarks, monuments, and sites designated as
National Cultural Treasures or important cultural properties

• supervisory powers over immovable properties

National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA)

• official government agency for culture

• established 1987

• overall policy making body, coordinating, and grants

giving agency for the preservation, development and
promotion of Philippine arts and culture

• an executing agency for the policies it formulates;

• administers the National Endowment Fund for Culture and

the Arts (NEFCA) – fund exclusively for the implementation
of culture and arts programs and projects.
HERITAGE AND
THE UN SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT GOALS 2030
- an urgent call for action by all countries - developed
and developing - in a global partnership

SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and

Communities (calls for mainstreaming
culture and heritage in the strategies)

- various sectors, including the

energy sector must respond to
achieving this particular goal
Thank you.
Acknowledgement:

Slides from

Ar/EnP FATIMA NICETAS A.RABANG-ALONZO, Ph.D., FUAP, PIEP, CHCS

Dean, College of Architecture