Friday, May 02, 2008 Capitol plans to handle Boljoon church repair
IF Capitol handles the rehabilitation of the four-century-old Boljoon Church, the structure may lose its status as one of the 26 national cultural treasures in the country.
This was the concern of lawyer Edmund Villanueva of the Boljoon Heritage Foundation Inc.
The National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) includes the Nuestra Señora Patrocinio de Maria Church in its list of national cultural treasures.
The church is also the only one in Cebu to be declared as such. The Church was also declared a national historical landmark in 1995.
"We might be de-listed if we do not abide by the NCCA restoration master plan. The NCCA is the agency tasked to take care of the restoration," Villanueva said.
Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia is not satisfied with how the renovation works of the Church is going. She received reports that the renovation has made the church look like a "shopping mall" rather than a heritage site.
This is reportedly the result of a "plastering binge" undertaken by the NCCA.
Resolution
Garcia asked the Cebu Provincial Board (PB) to pass a resolution protecting the Church from the NCCA.
Villanueva said he understood the governor, but he worries that the church might lose its honor as a national treasure.
PB Member Agnes Magpale, chairperson of the committee on tourism, said the board is currently drafting an ordinance to take care of all Churches in Cebu.
"The Provincial Government will be on top of it. We won't be taking orders from NCCA anymore," said Magpale.
But she disagreed with Villanueva that the Church will lose its national treasure status.
Transferred
"It will remain a cultural treasure. But with the ordinance, supervision, management, and construction will be transferred to the Province," Magpale said.
Villanueva said churches are not allowed to receive funding from government because of the separation of the Church and the State.
But with the NCCA declaration, the National Government is funding for the rehabilitation of the 408-year-old Church.
When asked about the statement that the Church now looks like a "shopping mall" because of the plastering, Villanueva said that after some years, the Church will gain its old appearance.
But Garcia asked why wait for years for the Church to look antiquated when it already looked that way before the renovation.
"More significantly, we are following the restoration plan of the NCCA," said Villanueva.
He said that under the Memorandum of Agreement between the NCCA and the Provincial Government, the task to rehabilitate the Church was delegated to the foundation, which in turn, is only following the NCCA's master plan. (JGA)
