Heritage conservation group marks 25th year
In 2000, a then fledgling heritage advocacy group led protests against the demolition of the iconic Art Deco Jai Alai Building on Taft Avenue in Ermita, Manila, instead bringing up the idea of adaptively reusing the structure.
However, despite wide opposition against its demolition, the building was eventually torn down under the administration of then Mayor Lito Atienza to supposedly give way to a hall of justice building.
This event became an impetus, a launching pad for the organization, the Heritage Conservation Society (HCS), to vigorously advocate for the preservation and conservation of Philippine built patrimony, which had defined and enriched Filipino history and cultural identity.
In the same year, it organized the first of many “town and cities conferences” to help advance historical and built heritage awareness among different localities. This later evolved into the Heritage Conservation Summit.
In 2006, the HCS partnered with the Department of Education on the “Heritage School Building Restoration” program, in which historic schoolhouses were identified, targeted for restoration, and utilized again as classrooms and educational laboratories.
Among the school buildings restored and reused were the Gabaldon-type Rizal Elementary School in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental; the Pampanga High School in San Fernando City; and the Baguio Central School in Baguio City.
Also in 2006, the HCS advocated for the urban renewal of Iloilo City’s business district, which eventually led to the district’s declaration as a historic center (heritage zone) by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines in 2014.
Vital stakeholder
In 2009, the organization was an important stakeholder in the passage of Republic Act No. 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, which was amended by RA 11961 in 2023.
With a plethora of heritage conservation issues hounding the country, the HCS provided capacity-building assistance on heritage conservation in various local governments, and continued to protest demolitions of heritage structures such as the Alberto House in Biñan, Laguna, in 2010.
The organization also campaigned against the demolition of the American-era El Hogar Building in Binondo, Manila, in 2014, the planned commercial conversion of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila in 2016, and the demolition of the PhilamLife Theater on United Nations Avenue in Ermita, also in Manila.
It petitioned in 2018 for the protection of the sight lines and settings of the San Sebastian Church in Quiapo, Manila, a National Cultural Treasure and National Historical Landmark. This has yet to be acted upon by the government’s national cultural agencies.
From 2019, HCS has hosted various symposia on heritage conservation, either physical or online, and participated in many fora on formulating proper conservation policies.
Today, the organization says it “steadfastly remains as the prime mover and advocate for the preservation of Philippine built heritage, through advocacy and volunteerism, project implementation, education, and information,” all to “contribute toward the establishment of a society that preserves and values its cultural heritage.”
Filipino identity
The HCS was founded on June 21, 1999 with Doris Ho, Joan Orendain, Bambi Harper, Paulo Alcazaren, and Augusto Villalon as its inaugural trustees.
Apart from its heritage conservation advocacy, the organization also bats for the deepening of people’s awareness on “the role our architectural and natural spaces play in shaping our identity as Filipinos.”
It was a founding member in 2019 of the Southeast Asian Cultural Heritage Alliance, a group of organizations committed to the conservation of cultural patrimony in the Southeast Asian region.
On Sept. 21, HCS celebrated its 25th year with a program and banquet at the Osmeña Hall of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Manila.
This event was attended by its past and present officials as well as the heads of the national cultural agencies: Victorino Manalo of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and National Archives, Regalado Trota Jose of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, and Jeremy Barns of the National Museum of the Philippines.
The current HCS president is Gio Abcede, an architect who is also a coordinator for the International Council for Monuments and Sites–Philippines.
