Pushes for enactment of National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009
National Cultural Heritage is the only way we can sustain our identity in the face of globalization - Angara

Senator Edgardo Angara today called for the enactment of adequate laws, and effective coordination among concerned agencies in order to avert the diminution, depletion and destruction of our cultural heritage, as he sponsors the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009.

"Culture reflects and shapes values, beliefs, and aspirations, thereby defining a people's national identity. A Filipino national culture and our diverse cultures throughout the archipelago mirror and shape Philippine economic, social and political life, and the manifestations of tangible and intangible culture that comprise our heritage," said Angara who is the principal author of laws which established the National Museum and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

He added, "Culture is a manifestation of the freedom of belief and of expression. It is a human right to be accorded due respect and allowed to flourish. As manifestations of culture and a mirror of our way of life, our cultural heritage needs to be protected strongly, effectively, and unambiguously."

According to a former Director General of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), "Democracy rests on cultural foundations - including patterns of knowledge, acquisition and exchange, attitudes and values - which ultimately transcend political structures."

Angara noted that there has been observations of "cultural neglect", as some cultural heritages were not protected, preserved, conserved and promoted adequately and effectively. He then illustrated this through a number of examples where we repeatedly saw neglect.

He said that the country have painfully witnessed the defacement, if not complete destruction of buildings and other historically or artistically significant structures, bridges, parks and other public spaces or landscapes. Catholic churches have been unsystematically renovated, and relieved of precious and significant materials such as beautifully wrought religious images of ivory, and wood, relleves, even the silver frontals of altars.

Bridges, which he said are testaments of engineering ingenuity and respect for the natural environment, are also not adequately protected and preserved. Angara cited a rare bridge in Tayabas, Quezon which still stands, but it is overgrown by vegetation which could weaken its structural fabric, and is regularly subject to risk by trucks that mindlessly drive on. Other bridges, however, from Luzon to the Visayas, have been dismantled, or have been built over; or simply removed in the name of transportation development.

Angara also cited some archaeological sites have been destroyed, with some having scientific data that could have helped complete a picture of Philippine prehistory and established for the country an eminent position in the development of Homo.

Some list of irrecoverable sites are:

• Intramuros, to the Binondo and Quiapo areas, which are prehistoric and historic sites;

• Fort Bonifacio and the C-5 highway are confirmed fossil sites;

• Huluga in Cagayan de Oro contains Metal Age sites;

• In Palawan, Isumbo, a Neolithic cave site and

• Arku, a metal age cave site, were destroyed by treasure hunters.

He also added that works by our National Artists and our Gawad ng Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA), our country's living treasures, are not protected by law, and as such are subject to indiscriminate sale, and at risk to damage from indifferent hands.

"The diminution, depletion and destruction of our cultural heritage could have been averted had there been adequate laws, and effective coordination among concerned agencies. Our national cultural heritage is the only way we can sustain our identity in the face of globalization," said Angara.

Angara, a patron of the arts, also bared plans of establishing a "Sentro Rizal", which like Goethe Institute of Germany, Instituto Cervantes of Spain, Alliance Française of France, and the British Council of the United Kingdom will promote our culture throughout the world.