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fEATURE | DEVCOM

iloilo City: Where the Past Meets the Present

wriTTen by MDPN. ANJO D. TUBOC PHOTOS by ILOILO CITY DEVELOPMENT OFFICE

Iloilo City can be deemed as a virtual time machine that will direct anybody back to its frontier past. The city’s heritage houses and structures are undoubtedly treasures worth keeping as they bring splendor to the local folks and tourists. They are not just manifestation of the city’s rich cultural inheritance but are assets worth maintaining.

However, the community found them of no use as they are busy struggling to put nourishment on their tables and provide the basic needs of their family. The community treated them as insignifi cant as folks pay no attention to its beauty and value. Shopping centers popped out in diff erent spots of the city and gradually outshine the grandeur of its colonial buildings. As a response to the issue, the local government has devised a strategic plan which aims to conserve the city’s heritage buildings in an attempt to thrust economic development through tourism and also improve business activities along the central business district of Iloilo City.

THE PAST

In 1855, the port of Iloilo was opened to the world trade. In this case, Iloilo’s industry and agriculture were put on direct access to foreign markets. During the 19th century, the sugar industry was developed and triggered the economic boom of Iloilo. This gave birth to Iloilo City to be called the Queen City of the South. Institutions and establishments were built which are mostly found in the Central Business District and became not just a representation of richness but are evidence to the dominance of Iloilo when it comes to economic, industrial, educational and cultural aspects. Indeed, even outside of the business locale, numerous folks talk about Iloilo City’s prosperous history. The popular Jaro cathedral, as well as the diff erent churches in the city, displays the engineering prowess of the Spanish colonizers. The numerous Catholic schools who were opened up during the Spanish era which up to this date, still molds the minds of the youth. The Camiña Balay na Bato and other decade-old houses that exhibits the unique blend of Spanish and Asian design. However, with the decline of the sugar industry in the city and the Japanese invasion, it doomed the city’s economy and even left some of the structures of the city in ruins. Sadly, nothing can be done to rebuild nor restore those that were destroyed by the bombs and have been neglected by the people while those that are left unscathed needs to be taken with another look.

RESTORING THE PAST

The buildings that are left are pieces of evidence of how rich our cultural past, starting from the Spanish colonial era until the end of the Japanese colonization. These are unquestionably a source of pride for every Ilonggo as these are symbols of struggles and perseverance of Ilonggo people through the times. Recognizing this, the Iloilo City Government created the Iloilo City Cultural Heritage Conservation Council (ICCHCC) by enacting in April 2000 Ordinance No. 00-054 otherwise known as the Local Cultural Heritage Conservation Ordinance. This council serves as the government body which is responsible for heritage conservation and promotion. Through this, the splendor of each cultural structures, especially those located at the Central Business District, will be restored and as

The DOLPHIN | OCTOBER 2019

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NEGLECTED. The past appearance of the building before the renovation. UNBLEMISHED. The building stand anew after it underwent restoration.

well the local government will be provided with suffi cient income from tourism.

PRESERVING THE PRIDE

The ICCHCC is in charge of the proclamation and implementation of the Implementing Rules a nd Regulations for the Downtown Central Business District (CBD) Heritage Zone, as coordinated by Executive Order No. 46, Series of 2009, marked by then-City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas. This is in pursuant of Iloilo City Regulation Ordinance No. 00-054, as revised, also called the “Local Heritage Conservation Ordinance of Iloilo City”, that was passed by the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the City of Iloilo all together “to conserve cultural heritage and legacy buildings in the City of Iloilo” through the formation of the ICCHCC. The main target of this conservation eff ort is the Central Business District, which consists of the streets of J. M. Basa, Aldeguer, Mapa, Guanco and Iznart. Declared as the Iloilo City Heritage Zone, the area is home to Art Deco-styled commercial buildings built during the 1920s up to the 1950s. The ICCHCC was made by a gathering of residents longing to halt the continuing rot of heritage structures and the decay of cultural appreciation among the adolescent, back in the years during the term of previous City Mayor Mansueto A. Malabor. Through a consultative public consultation at that point, the mission and vision of the gathering were shaped and organized, with the plan to make the city the “Heritage Capital of the Visayas”. The ordinance, which undertook a few revisions in April 2001, states that all structures in Iloilo City that are 50 years or more in presence are to be viewed as legacy or inheritance structures. The law commands that the utilization, upkeep, and protection of these structures and tourist spots the extent that practicable will consistently be the worry of the Iloilo City government. Proprietors, chairmen, renters or any people accountable for legacy or heritage structures are denied from undertaking any fi x, recovery or development of any sort except if there is a good suggestion from the ICCHCC. If the fi x or restoration is earnest, building proprietors, managers or residents are ordered to ensure that the façade demonstrating the structural plan of the structures is held, re-established and protected. All organizations inside the legacy zone are given motivators. These incorporate exclusion from payment of business expenses and building charges. Old speculators just as new ones can benefi t from these motivating forces as long as they are in the legacy zone.

ILOILO CITY CULTURAL HERITAGE CONSERVATION FRAMEWORK

To fulfi ll the objective cultural heritage conservation program, the council, with the help of the CUI, constructed the Iloilo City Cultural Heritage Conservation Framework in 2001 which includes the issues, goals and strategic actions for the preservation and promotion of Iloilo City’s cultural heritage.

TARNISHED. The color of the S. Villanueva Building fades when it was left unattended.

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VIVID. The building was brilliant after it was newly painted.

BEFORE. The old image of the Iloilo Customs House.

PHOTOS SOurce: jed PaTrick mabilOg fb Page

HISTORY OF CALLE REAL

Most of the buildings were constructed during the Spanish era (The Philippines was colonized by Spain for 377 years from 1521 – 1898) and served as the shopping and entertainment center of the region. Most of the buildings show European and American infl uences of the late 19th and early 20th century. Most of the buildings are one or two storeys. The fi rst levels serve as commercial establishments while the second levels serve as residential places for Iloilo’s elite back then. Although the heritage buildings located on the street still stand up to this day, they have also been damaged from the wear and tear of the time. Other factors include World War II and the 1948 magnitude 8.3 great earthquake that struck Panay, Iloilo City and Antique. Because of this, the old buildings have been neglected.

RESTORATION

In the year 2000, the Local Cultural Conservation Ordinance was passed by the City Government in order to preserve the establishment and prevent future damages to the buildings. Today, with the efforts of the local government and private sectors, most of the buildings have already been restored and beautifi ed.

Source: https://www.iloilo.net.ph/calle-real-restoredrevisited/

PRESENT. The Iloilo Customs House after being restored.

Its procedures incorporate the planning of laws that will require the measured removal of enormous boards and the guideline of signage, implementation of ecological measures to upgrade urban plan and structures, traffi c re-directing, the presentation of pedestrian facilities, and the shaping of a “heritage watch” to detect the compliance of the CLUP (Comprehensive Land Use Plan) and of the city’s zoning act.

PHOTOS SOurce: wikimedia.Org

A FORM OF REPRESENTATION

Culture and its heritage refl ect and shape values, beliefs, and aspirations, thereby defi ning a people’s national identity. It is important to preserve our cultural heritage because it keeps our integrity as a people. To be kept alive, cultural heritage must remain relevant to culture and be regularly practiced and learned within communities and between generations. Heritage is not, as many believe, so much about the past as it is about the present. Heritage looks to the past, but it is something that is produced in the present for a particular purpose within human groups and societies. Following on from this idea is the concept that heritage is a form of ‘representation’, and when we talk about heritage as a form of representation, we refer to the way in which heritage objects, places, and practices come to ‘stand for’ something else, whether that be an idealized sense of nationhood and its citizens, an ethnic group, or a particular set of histories and ideas about the past. For this reason, heritage is also about the power to control the past and to produce it in the present. With all the eff orts and regulations already laid in place, thus Iloilo City’s eff orts to preserve the cultural heritages can surely yield positive results. When the time comes, the community will surely realize its signifi cance, the folks will heed to its beauty and value as these heritage structures gradually overshadow the newly popped out shopping centers.

The DOLPHIN | OCTOBER 2019