IN KEEPING with the spirit of the Lenten Season, 15 Stations of the Cross were installed at an old trail within the reservation of the Dominican Hill and Retreat House.
Like the Dominican Hill, use of the installation for spiritual purposes is free of charge.
City Environment and Parks Management Office (Cepmo) Assistant Department Head Ruben Cervantes said the installation is an added attraction for devotees aside from the Lourdes Grotto at Mirador-Dominican.
Cervantes explained the 15 Stations of the Cross is part of the development plan crafted by Cepmo banked on the concept of sustainable and adaptive reuse.
Two gazebos with European architectural design have been constructed in the vacant lot between the heritage building and the Municipal Council facilities where visitors can rest or have family picnic.
Aside from the gazebos, Cervantes said Cepmo is currently reconstructing the Butterfly Sanctuary within the compound of the heritage hill.
All these, he said, are part of the restoration of the compound as a heritage property of the city although the building itself remained untouched awaiting an engineering and architectural study on the proper restoration works.
The 100-year-old Dominican Heritage and Nature Park has been declared and marked with a heritage marker by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) and recognized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCAA).
The city government aims to restore the century-old building and its surroundings as a prayer and heritage site where tourists as well as locals could reflect on Baguio’s glorious past and marvel at what the Dominican friars built and one of a kind structure overlooking the Western part of the city.
Initially, the City Government had earmarked some P97 million to fully restore the century-old property.
Cervantes said the fund is allocated for the restoration of the rain harvesting facility of the building to which was destroyed during the 1990 earthquake.
“The heritage building has no pipe connection to the Baguio Water District and we are spending for water deliveries for the plants and maintenance,” Cervantes said.
Once the rain harvesting facility is restored, Cervantes said Cepmo would then restore the two fountains inside of the building.
Earlier, Mayor Mauricio Domogan announced the idea of Public-Private Partnership for the restoration and management of the building. (JMP)