MY FRIEND Jobers Reynes Bersales of the University of San Carlos posted recently on his Facebook account a copy of the resignation of Architect Melva Java from the Archdiocesan Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church. The resignation was prompted by Java’s opposition to the planned demolition of Patria de Cebu, located across the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, to give way to the construction in the site of a commercial complex.
Here’s part of what Jobers posted:
“In her owns words she writes: ‘I have patiently listened to the counter arguments but cannot find any justification to demolish the Patria when it can sit side by side with a new development. The final blow came with your (i.e., Archbishop Jose S. Palma’s) decision to also take the side of the developer.’
“I have entreated Ma’am Melva Java, who originally sponsored my membership in the Archdiocesan Commission way back in 2006 (or 2007), to stay on but she has made up her mind, that she needs to be out in public to continue with the struggle to save the Patria. Godspeed, Ma’am Melvz. I understand your pain and emotional anguish at what is happening during our watch!”
Java’s resignation is not surprising because she apparently intends to continue the fight to save the Patria de Cebu, this time in the public realm. After the Archdiocese of Cebu leadership led by Archbishop Jose Palma decided with finality to demolish the structure, the fight has shifted to the government agencies tasked to preserve heritage sites.
The project’s contractor still needs to secure a permit to demolish the Patria de Cebu building and that is where the next battleground would be. The structure was built in 1954, meaning it is more than 60 years old. I still have to look into the country’s heritage law but I reckon that is one of Java’s weapons.
I have no problem with the Archdiocese of Cebu using the properties it owns as income-generating. But its leadership must be wary of the profit-motive, which is the basis for the saying that money is the root of all evil. The Catholic Church styles itself as the source of all good, so the archdiocese must not latch on to something that is considered as the source of evil.
It is when the profit-motive gnaws at the church’s innards that it strays from the original reason for its being. I say that the Patria de Cebu issue is a conflict between heritage preservation and the profit motive. Apparently, the structure needs to be demolished so the developer can maximize the income from the site. Retaining the old structure would minimize the income.
Even delaying the release of the go-signal for the demolition would apparently upset the timetable of the project and also minimize the benefits derived from it by the developer. Meaning that, this is not about listening to the Catholic faithful and to those pushing for the preservation of the Patria de Cebu structure. This is about the leadership of the Archdiocese and the developer.
Java’s resignation does not free the Archdiocese from the burden of explaining to the faithful the reason why it wants Patria de Cebu demolished. But it frees Java to do what she wants to do to further her cause.