Philippines
Luzon
Davao Historical Society seeks declaration of San Pedro Square as heritage zone
Davao Historical Society seeks declaration of San Pedro Square as heritage zone
DAVAO CITY – A group is pushing for the declaration of the San Pedro Square here as a heritage zone.
Patmei Ruivivar, vice president of the Davao Historical Society, told the Kapihan sa Dabaw on Monday that San Pedro holds cultural and historical significance to Dabawenyos because it is where this city’s most important landmarks, including San Pedro Cathedral, City Hall of Davao, Osmeña Park, and decades-old building of Philippine National Bank (PNB)-Davao at San Pedro St. corner C.M. Recto St. are located.
Ruivivar said the City Hall of Davao is the oldest building in Davao while the Osmeña Park was where the settlement of Datu Bago once stood.
She said that heritage buildings include those structures that are more than 50-years-old like the PNB, which has retained its distinct architectural style over the decades.
Ruivivar said San Pedro is also the venue of the city’s cultural celebrations, making it a very important cultural hub.
She said that officials from the National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA) visited this city from August 7 to 10 and had a walking tour at the historical sites.
Ruivivar said the group is urging the city council to declare San Pedro as a heritage area to support ongoing efforts to have it officially declared by the NCCA as an heritage zone that would be protected under the Republic Act 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009.
Aside from San Pedro, she said the historical society is pushing for the declaration of 50 other sites as important cultural property.
These include, among others, the Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao and the old building of Davao International Airport, which are designed by Leandro V. Locsin, the “Little Tokyo” of Mintal, and Oboza Heritage House where former President Manuel A. Roxas took shelter and hid in one of its rooms from the Japanese Imperial Army.
She said Locsin was a national artist for architecture who designed the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Pasay City and Francisco Balagtas Theater, two of the country’s important cultural landmarks.
She said that these buildings are presumed important cultural property because these are works of a national artist, and thus protected by the law.
The Oboza residence is now home to Tola, a restaurant on the upper floor, and Huckleberry Southern Kitchen and Bar on the lower floor.
The NCCA is accessing these landmarks, she said.