Sunday, August 15, 2004 'Teach traders to save Carcar' By Jeanette P. Malinao
CEBU CITY -- A private organization is asking Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia to convince local officials of Carcar to declare the southern town as a "heritage district."
The Carcar Heritage Conservation Society (CHCS) is alarmed over what it sees as "rapid" development in Carcar "without heritage considerations."
Zarah Silva Castro, CHCS vice president, told Garcia in a letter that the declaration they are seeking will see the drafting of guidelines on how commercial and tourism establishments can be built while being "sensitive" to Carcar's heritage structures.
The organization also wrote last July 27 to Vice Mayor Rogelio Montesclaros, who presides over the local council.
The concern raised in the letter is the entry to Carcar of a popular fastfood chain, which the group sees as a "big threat to the local food heritage industry."
Moreover, the fastfood outlet would be built only four meters away from Carcar's rotunda and kiosk, the town's most famous landmark.
Carcar, some 40 kilometers southeast of Cebu City, is famed for its stone houses that date back to the Spanish era. It has a population of 90,000.
"The value, significance and importance of this structure is as important as its setting or surrounding area. A very modern and commercial structure (as the fastfood outlet) will take away some meaning of the visual representation of our identity and history as Carcaranons," read the letter.
"Tourism is about being able to offer something unique: in what he can see, in what he can eat, in what he can experience and learn that is different from where he came from. The uniqueness is in our history and our identity," it added.
The preservation of Cebu's local heritage as tourism attraction is one of the main priorities of Garcia's administration.
Heritage council
The creation of a Provincial Heritage and Tourism Council, which will involve local government units and the private sector, is already underway.
Even before the council's creation, Garcia, who is expected to chair it, already went to Boljoon to inspect its old church that houses hundreds of old sculptures and relics.
Garcia will meet with the conservation society, a group registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and said to be accredited by the Carcar Municipal Government.
"A declaration through an ordinance would mean town development with heritage conservation considerations... would establish guidelines to protect, preserve and conserve our heritage," CHCS said in its letter to the governor.
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