Heritage advocates in Malolos, Bulacan, are opposing the planned demolition of the city’s 91-year-old water tank, a structure presumed important cultural property under the National Heritage Law.
The 80-foot water tower, also called aguas potables, is located in the historic center of Malolos, declared National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) in 2001.
It is the City of Malolos Water District (CMWD) that has proposed the demolition allegedly due to the tank’s structural instability as the tower is supposed to be leaning already.
No permit of demolition has been issued by the Malolos City Engineer’s Office, said heritage advocate Raf Santillan.
Despite the absence of any permit, the contractor continues to mount scaffoldings on the heritage structure, Santillan said.
The scaffoldings started to be mounted early October, raising fears among locals that the water tower would be demolished.
Opposition
“I’m, of course, against it,” said architect Osie Bautista of the Bulacan Heritage Conservation Society.
“First, there is a law to protect our heritage structures. Second, structures are like books. The spaces tell the story of the past lifestyles or activities.”
Bautista said it was “ironical” that the Malolos government was promoting the city as “Renaissance City” for its heritage and history while demolishing heritage structures.
“Bakit pa sila naglagay ng markers at mayroon silang promotional slogan na ‘Renaissance City’? Wala sa puso talaga nila ang heritage preservation. (What’s the use of putting up historical markers and having the promotional slogan ‘Renaissance City’? They do not take heritage preservation seriously),” she said.
Restoration recommended
A letter by the NHCP dated March 31, 2014, addressed to Malolos Mayor Christian Natividad “recommends that authorities restore and retrofit” the tower.
The letter was in response to CMWD’s request to the NHCP to demolish the structure.
“The 93-year-old water tank, which is within the core zone of the historic center, forms part of the declaration of the City of Malolos as national historical landmark in 2001,” said the NHCP.
It added that the structure is one of the remaining American period town water storage systems in the country which needed to be preserved.
It added that the communal value of the structure is important in providing historical meaning of Malolos as a place for people who relate to it, or for whom the structure figures in the collective experience or memory.
The NHCP said CMWD may temporarily discontinue the use of the structure until proper preservation measures are undertaken. Strict consideration for public safety must be observed, it added.
“It would be advisable to retain and restore the old water tank as your contribution to the preservation of cultural heritage,” said the NHCP.
Elsewhere, local government have taken pains to preserve old water towers.
In Roxas City, Capiz and Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, old water towers have been converted into local museums.
Likewise, two adjacent water towers in Socorro in Cubao, Quezon City, now serve as barangay offices.
The former water tower of Villamor Airbase in Pasay City, now located on a commercial property, has been refurbished and integrated into the new mixed-use complex.