THE DAVAO Historical Society (DHS) plans to map out old properties and legacy sites in Davao City under Republic Act No. 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009.
During the Kapihan sa PIA on August 14, Patmei Bello Ruivivar, DHS vice-president, said they started visiting two cultural properties formerly designed by Leandro Locsin, the late National Artist of the Philippines for Architecture.
“The old Davao airport in Sasa, and the Waterfront Insular Hotel are very important works of Leandro Locsin, at dahil important cultural property siya, siya ay may priority funding ng government support, priority protection also ng government, and incentives for private sector investment in conserving all of these important cultural properties,” Ruivivar said.
Ruivivar said this follows Republic Act No. 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, which presumed that a national artist’s works are Important Cultural Properties (ICPs) with exceptional national cultural, aesthetic, and historical value.
“Na-surprise ang National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) na maraming important cultural properties ang Davao City, and so we are encouraging all the Davaoeños kasi ang magde-decide n’yan kung bakit important siya na cultural property ay ang community mismo ng Davao, that it has social and historical significance,” Ruivivar added.
She also said there is also a process for the declaration of these cultural heritage sites, such as the Davao City Council (DCC) declaring the local cultural property followed by national recognition through NCCA, which takes three months to complete.
“That area, we are proposing to declare it as a historical zone. That means that we’re going to protect it, and whenever there are any earthquakes (for example), and the properties might be broken, then we get priority government fundings from the national and local government,” she said.
Ruivivar also said they are working on declaring the entire San Pedro Square, the Davao City Hall, which is the oldest structure standing, the San Pedro Cathedral which has an Ang Kiukok painting, the Osmeña Park, which is also the settlement of Datu Bago, as heritage sites.
