THE Victorias City Government is asking the National Historical Commission (NHC) to declare its City Hall as a heritage site.
Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez said the building is considered one of the only two surviving government structures in the Philippines built during the American colonial period.
Benitez said the NHC requires that a historical marker be in place, and he also had the Victorias City Hall painted back to its original colors.
"The original colors are beige and maroon. It has been painted green and white. We brought back its original colors to celebrate it as a cultural and historical site. We finished it in time for the Kadalag-an Festival," he added.
Victorias City in Negros Occidental kicked off the celebration of its 25th Charter Anniversary and Kadalag-an Festival on Friday, March 17.
Benitez said the structure has the image of an eagle, which symbolizes that it was built during American time.
Last week, the City Council passed on third and final reading the ordinance declaring the Victorias City Hall Building as a cultural property.
Councilor Dino Acuña, the main author of the ordinance, said a marker would be installed at the entrance to remember the history of the building.
Its neo-classical architecture was designed by Filipino architect Juan Arellano during the term of then-mayor Felix Montinola Sr., he noted.
Victorias became a component city through the promulgation of Republic Act 8488 on Feb. 11, 1998, and Presidential Proclamation Order 1180 dated March 19, 1998 declared March 21 as the city's Charter Day.