"Ciudad de la Identidad"
The conservation-restoration of cultural heritage focuses on protection and care of tangible cultural heritage, including artworks, architecture, archaeology, and museum collections. Heritage structures defines its cultural, historical, social, architectural, and artistic values. It could be a structure of indigenous tradition, the Spanish colonial, American colonial, post-Second World War periods, and must be at least fifty years in existence. Most of the heritage structures are characteristics of the best period of Boholano contribution to Philippine architecture and they retain the marks left by those who previously enjoyed them.
The houses and other heritage do not only represent different cultures in the Philippine history but they also established the Filipino’s response to the problems presented. Tagbilaran City has historically been a very important crossroad of the Republic of the Philippines, and has been a testament to numerous events. Despite the fact that many towns or municipalities were already founded in the eighteenth century, no heritage structures survive from those times. In fact, the oldest surviving houses only date back to the early and mid-nineteenth centuries and are found in the city.
The bustling capital of Bohol, Tagbilaran City, became a municipality during the 1750s. This place was called “Tinabilan” for it is lovingly protected from the elements by the island of Panglao that acts like a screen or a veil before it. When Bohol was administratively separated from Cebu in 1854, under whose control it had been for almost 300 years, Tagbilaran became the new capital of the new province. Tagbilaran also claims the highest number of heritage structures in Bohol. Most of which date back to the American period and yet also contains the highest number of Spanish-era structures.
To raise awareness and to preserve the country’s diverse culture and heritages through documenting and providing a brief history of each houses and structures within the Tagbilaran City Heritage District in order to identify and classify its architectural characters was the main objective of the study. Since the city has lack of identity to recognize in terms of the tourism industry, the researchers primarily aimed to gather all valuable records that can be used to identify and classify each structure. The city’s heritage zone is located within Barangay Poblacion 1, Poblacion 2, and Poblacion 3 of Tagbilaran, and approximately comprised of 20.7 hectares. This area showcases the historical, artistic geographical areas and settings that are significant to the country, as declared by the National Commission of the Philippines. From the data gathered, it was stated that the heritage zone has thirty one (31) different historical structures of at least fifty (50) years of age and above. These structures include private residences, institutions, and churches.
Significant information was gathered and an observation guide was used as an aid in gathering data for this study. Personal interviews from the owners or any residents of the heritage structures were also done regarding to its brief history. The researchers took advantage of image-based method in conducting the study and was also limited in terms of having an accurate dimension of the architectural details, its interior architectural elements, and the heritage structures outside the said city’s heritage zone. Based on the data gathered from the heritage structures, its particular type of fusion-architecture (arquitectura mestiza) is uniquely Filipino and can only be found in the Philippines.
The obligation to conserve the architectural heritage of our local communities is as important as our duty to conserve the significant built heritage and its values or traditions of previous eras. More than ever, architectural heritage everywhere is at risk from a lack of appreciation, experience and care. Some have already been lost and more are in danger. It is a living heritage and it is essential to understand, define, interpret and manage it well for future generations.
Through this study, the researchers concluded its possible contributions of work to the field of architecture:
• The researchers believed that this study would be beneficial to the Tagbilaran City Heritage District as guideline for new development and structures;
• It serve as a reminder of our endearing past and can be used to rebuild these structures and sites that provides a sense of identity and continuity in a fast changing world for future generations;
• It basically represent the past history and culture of a nation and possess historical values resulting from their beautiful architecture and their correlation with important events that occurred in the heritage area such as religious, social and political events;
• Restoration and adaptive reuse of heritage buildings is an important factor in creating sustainable communities;
The retention and management of heritage places and structures has an important role to play in protecting the environment, creating vibrant communities and sustaining local economies. This study would be beneficial not just to the city of Tagbilaran but also to the Bohol’s culture and history. Through this, the local governments, property owners and members of the community have a role to play in ensuring that the valuable asset of our heritage is recognized, respected and promoted.
"Ciudad de la Identidad" - Architectural Characterization of the City's Heritage Zone
Janlyn B. Polinar
Jose Louis F. Orcullo
Lloyd E. Sandulan
BOHOL ISLAND STATE UNIVERSITY
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