Preserving Iloilo City’s legacies
Iloilo City is a virtual time machine that will transport anyone back to its colonial past. While malls have risen in various corners of the city, they could not outshine the splendor of its colonial buildings and houses that respectively adorn its commercial center and its adjoining districts. They are not only testimonies of city’s rich cultural heritage but are tourism assets worth promoting.
However, these mute witnesses to the rise and fall of the Queen City of the South stand voiceless to those who found them of no use as they struggle daily to put food on their tables and clothes on their backs. Jeepney drivers pay no attention to their elegance. Sidewalk vendors shut their eyes to their grandeur. Bargain hunters take no notice of their value.
To the common folk, they merely serve as backdrops for the clatter of traffic, the sweat of commerce and the dust of shopping. They appear inconsequential to the everyday street tenant. As they labor to keep both ends meet, they are oblivious to the splendor hidden behind billboards and panaflex signage.
But at closer look, Iloilo City’s heritage houses and buildings are treasures worth keeping.
As a response, the Iloilo City government has embarked on a laudable program that is aimed at conserving its heritage buildings in a bid to boost economic development through tourism and by reviving business activities along the city’s central business district.
But the program is not just about culture, tourism and economic development. It is also about public-private partnership, about multi-stakeholder approach to planning and about innovative strategies worth looking into.
The Colonial Past
Built during the sugar boom and mostly found in the Central Business District, these structures are not just symbols of opulence and luxury but are proofs to Iloilo City’s economic, industrial, educational and cultural dominance during the mid-19th and early 20th centuries.
The opening to world trade of the port of Iloilo in 1855 saw the birth of the Queen City of the South. Serving as hub for support services to the flourishing sugar industry in nearby Negros Island, Iloilo City became host to banks, social clubs, warehouses, machine shops, printing presses, retail shops, commercial firms, educational institutions and medical services.
Before the turn of the previous century, Iloilo City already has electricity, telephone, telegraph, railway, ice plants, automobiles, theaters, cemented roads and other modern conveniences. It was also the home of the country’s first department store, first car assembly plant, first commercial airline and first luxury liner. Proof to its early global dealings was the presence of foreign business houses and the consular offices of Spain, Great Britain, China, Japan, Netherlands and Norway.
Even outside of the commercial district, there are a lot that speaks about Iloilo City’s distinguished history. The famed cathedral of Jaro and its belfry across the street as well as the church of Molo symbolize the engineering genius of the Spanish friars. The academic legacies of the Ilonggos started with the tutelage of the Augustinians and other religious orders who opened a number of schools that up to these days, still mold the minds of the youth. Iloilo City’s mansions and old houses stand with majesty as they display a unique mix of Asian and Hispanic architecture.
The decline of the sugar industry and the Japanese invasion did not only doom the city’s economy but also left some of these structures in ruins. While nothing can be done to rebuild or restore those that were ravaged by neglect and bombs, those that are left standing require a second look. Conservation efforts are a must to promote Iloilo City’s cultural heritage, and arrest the disappearance of these heritage structures as they are torn down to give way to new and modern buildings in the city.
Restoring the Pride
These structures can be a source of pride for every Ilonggo; reminders that this city was once an important economic anchor for the Philippines, starting from the Spanish colonial period to the American commonwealth era. As such, they can also encourage everyone to strive for greatness. Restoring the splendor of these structures, especially those found in the Central Business District, can also provide the local government with the much-needed income from tourism. Iloilo City’s distinctive landscape, the unique architecture of its heritage structures and its historical wealth can give tourists a very fulfilling visit.
Recognizing this, the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) sponsored in October 1998 a cultural heritage tourism workshop. Attended by individuals from local and national governments, cultural institutions, universities, tourism-related businesses and concerned citizens, it introduced the concept of cultural and heritage tourism and identified local cultural and historical resources, and determined how they can be best marketed locally, nationally and internationally.
Responding to the call for cultural and heritage tourism, the Iloilo City government created the Iloilo City Cultural Heritage Conservation Council (ICCHCC) by enacting in April 2000 Ordinance No. 00-054 otherwise known as the Local Cultural Heritage Conservation Ordinance. The council, composed of individuals from the arts and culture community, was envisioned to be the city government’s body responsible in advancing cultural heritage conservation and promotion.
Preserving Heritage
The council was tasked to conduct an inventory of cultural heritage and legacy buildings and promulgate rules and regulations for their preservation to address the need to preserve the city’s heritage structures that are slowly disappearing and enhance the city’s tourism potentials. Tourism is seen as a major economic driver for Iloilo City, generating investments and local government revenues as well as jobs for its people.
The main target of this conservation effort is the Central Business District, which consists of the streets of J. M. Basa, Aldeguer, Mapa, Guanco and Iznart. Declared as the Iloilo City Heritage Zone, the area is home to Art Deco-styled commercial buildings built during the 1920s up to the 1950s. A catalogue of these buildings has already been prepared as an initial step in conservation planning.
The ordinance, which underwent some amendments in April 2001, states that all buildings in Iloilo City that are 50 years or more in existence are to be considered heritage or legacy buildings. Likewise, Plaza Libertad and the district plazas of Molo, Arevalo, Mandurriao, La Paz and Jaro were declared historical and cultural landmarks and can only be used for historical, cultural and fiesta celebrations. The ordinance mandates that the use, upkeep and preservation of these structures and landmarks as far as practicable shall always be the concern of the Iloilo City government.
Owners, administrators, lessees or any persons in charge of heritage or legacy structures are prohibited from undertaking any repair, rehabilitation or construction of any kind unless there is a favorable recommendation from the ICCHCC. In the event that the repair or rehabilitation is urgent, building owners, administrators or lessees are mandated to make sure that the façade showing the architectural design of the buildings is retained, restored and preserved.
All businesses within the heritage zone are given incentives. These include exemption from payment of business taxes and building fees. Old investors as well as new ones can avail of these incentives as long as they are in the heritage zone. The grant of incentives are aimed to revive business activities within the heritage zone which, prior to the onset of shopping malls, was the busiest area in Iloilo City. With challenges like shrinking business profitability, deteriorating commercial area and poor environment, it is feared that the Central Business District will have an untimely demise if nothing is done to rescue it. The revival of the area is expected to spur more investments and create more jobs.
Conservation Framework
To achieve the intents of the cultural heritage conservation program, the council, with the assistance of CUI, prepared in 2001 the Iloilo City Cultural Heritage Conservation Framework. The document, completed following a multi-stakeholder strategic planning workshop, outlines the issues, goals and strategic actions for preserving and promoting Iloilo City’s cultural heritage in general, and the Central Business District in particular.
Guided by the vision statement “Iloilo City: The Heart of Visayan Heritage,” the framework sought to transform Iloilo City into a “culturally-vibrant community working for the preservation, development and promotion of its heritage.”
The CBD Preservation Framework wishes to strengthen the downtown area’s position as a special heritage zone for socio-economic and cultural development. Its strategies include the preparation of ordinances that will call for the gradual phase-out of big billboards and the regulation of signage, enforcement of environmental standards to enhance urban design and structures, traffic re-routing, the introduction of pedestrian amenities, and the forming of a “heritage watch” to monitor compliance of the CLUP and of the city’s zoning ordinance.
Taking Steps
With financial assistance from the Ford Motor Company Conservation and Environmental Grants, the ICCHCC completed the first phase of the Iloilo City Downtown CBD Heritage Buildings Catalogue Project, producing a progress report in September 2002. Dubbed as an initial step in conservation planning for the city’s oldest business center, it was aimed to generate baseline information on the city’s heritage buildings at the downtown CBD which may be used for the planned heritage conservation and economic revitalization activities for the area.
Undertaken in cooperation with the University of San Agustin and University of the Philippines in the Visayas, the project resulted to the profiling of buildings, which include the measurement of nine lot and 16 building areas. A total of 31 sketches of building elevations and ornamentations were also made. It also yielded six architectural drafts of buildings’ perspectives, front elevation drawings of 20 buildings and spot details showing ornamentations from 22 buildings. Photo-documentations were also undertaken involving facades and ornamentation of buildings.
Among the buildings surveyed include the 1922 S. Javellana Building on the corner of J.M. Basa and Guanco streets, the 1925 S. Villanueva Building on the corner of Aldeguer and J.M. Basa Streets that used to house the International Hotel, the first hotel in Iloilo City; another S. Villanueva Building on J.M. Basa Street built in 1927; the 1927 Cine Palace, now the Regent Theater Building also on J.M. Basa Street; and the Elizalde-Ynchausti Building built in the 1930s also on J.M. Basa Street.
Boosting the Economy
Reviving the Central Business District (CBD) to encourage investments in the area can be a boost the city’s economy, but such is just one factor that may spur growth and development. By and large, it is the city’s positioning as a cultural destination that will eventually serve as an impetus of economic advancement as far as tourism is concerned. Heritage buildings, old houses and churches, historical spots, festivals and food, all of which can be found in Iloilo City, provide a perfect cultural experience for tourists.
With structures and policies already in place, thus ensuring the program’s sustainability beyond changes in political leadership, Iloilo City’s cultural heritage conservation efforts can surely bear fruits for a proud people. By the time its economic benefits shall have already trickled down to the everyday street tenant, then jeepney drivers will already pay attention to their elegance, sidewalk vendors will already see their grandeur, and bargain hunters will value them more than the inexpensive goods that they can buy.