The bus terminals being built in front of the Capitol Building along Osmeña Blvd as part of the BRT project in Cebu City are structures that would destroy the historical and cultural integrity of the Cebu Capitol–Osmeña Boulevard–Fuente Rotunda Vista Corridor.
The principle of Vista Corridor refers to unhampered or unimpeded visual setting and physical integrity of a heritage property.
No other structure must mar the visual space, the line of sight, and the appearance of the Capitol vis-a-vis Fuente Osmeña as well as Osmeña Boulevard, as these three are heritage zones accorded recognition and protection by the government, said Dr. Jose Eleazar Bersales.
Dr. Bersales is the Capitol’s consultant on heritage and museum as well as a member of the advisory board of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
“What we see today is the rising of a structure that clearly will mar the vista of the Capitol,” Dr. Bersales said during a media briefing at the Capitol on February 29.
“This is really an ultra-modern structure. When you look at that, mora gyod siyag mga alien nanugpa. You have a heritage structure here. Mao ni problema karon: i-allow ba ang usa ka station nga sukwahi sa iyang desenyo ug dili morespeto sa historicity sa kapitolyo?” he added.
The Cebu Capitol has been declared a National Historical Landmark declared in 2008 by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines; as well as an Important Cultural Property declared by the National Museum of the Philippines in 2020.
Under Sec. 7(e) of RA 11961 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, cultural properties declared as Grade I Level shall be entitled to “[p]riority protection from modification or demolition resulting from all government projects.”
The added that “[g]overnment projects that may potentially affect the integrity of any Grade I or Grade II Level cultural property must consult with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) at the planning stages.”
Moreover, Fuente Osmeña and Osmeña Boulevard easily qualify as Important Cultural Properties for their being at least 50 years old, by virtue of Sec. 5(f) of RA 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Law of 2009, and can very well qualify for a buffer zone of 200 meters all around as defined by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.
The Capitol found out that there is no record of any design and plan submitted to NCCA regarding the bus stations on Osmeña Blvd, which is a violation on the part of the proponent. | IPA