Calle Real MP3 raffle extended
Organizations working to save Calle Real announced the extension of a raffle promo that encourages a thorough public review of the draft Iloilo City Downtown Central Business District Heritage Conservation Guidelines.
The deadline for sending comments and suggestions on the draft guidelines through email has been reset to June 8, according to Jose Roni Peñalosa, chief of the Iloilo City Planning and Development Office (ICPDO), a co-organizer of "Save Calle Real" public consultation.
The raffle, where five winners will be picked to receive one MP3 player each, was supposed to be conducted at the close of the public consultation on the draft guidelines on May 25 but was moved to June 9, the day following the deadline.
"My inbox had received a lot of emails but these were not really reviews of the guidelines but comments and even criticisms on the city government program on heritage conservation. As much as possible, we want to receive reviews of the guidelines," Peñalosa said.
A copy from the guidelines can be downloaded from www.philippines.canurb.com, the website of the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) Philippines, another co-organizer of the public consultation. Reviews can be sent to jrpenalosa@skyinet.net, Peñalosa's email address.
The guidelines can be downloaded either as one 10-megabyte PDF document or in two parts, for those having slower Internet connections, at 5-megabyte each. The first part includes the cover until section 11 while the second covers sections 12 to 24.
Emails should have the subject "Save Calle Real" and should contain the sender's complete name, mailing address and contact numbers, either landline or mobile phone.
The cultural heritage conservation guidelines cover conservation, restoration and development measures for heritage buildings and sites in Iloilo City, particularly Calle Real, which originally refers only to J. M. Basa Street but has evolved as a nomenclature for Iloilo City's central business district.
The district, which is home to Art Deco-styled commercial buildings built during the 1920s up to the 1950s, consists of the streets of J. M. Basa, Aldeguer, Mapa, Guanco and Iznart. It has been declared as the Iloilo City Heritage Zone under the Ordinance No. 00-054 otherwise known as the Local Cultural Heritage Conservation Ordinance.
The guidelines will serve as the implementing rules and regulations of the ordinance, which also created the Iloilo City Cultural Heritage Conservation Council (ICCHCC), currently the main mover in the effort to save Calle Real and main organizer of the public consultation.
For more information, Peñalosa can be contacted at 3351334 or one can get with touch with Jay Presaldo of CUI at 3367827, or visit the CUI Philippines website at www.philippines.canurb.com.