ISANG TOMASINONG propesor ang isa sa mga nangunguna sa cultural heritage preservation sa Filipinas.
Binigyang-diin ni Assoc. Prof. Eric Zerrudo ng UST Graduate School na ang pag-aalaga sa heritage ng bansa ay isang paraan ng pagpapanatili ng mga alaala at kasaysayan nito.
“When you work on heritage, you are embedded in that dimension of memory,” aniya sa isang panayam sa Varsitarian. “The biggest challenge is how do peple conserve memory and what happens if memory changes.”
Si Zerrudo ay ang kasalukuyang direktor ng Center for Conservation of Cultural Property and Environment in the Tropics ng Unibersidad.
Nitong Hunyo lamang ay napabilang ang Tomasinong propesor sa isang cultural heritage team na naatasang ng Diyosesis ng Dumaguete na magsagawa ng isang conservation management plan sa mga lumang simbahan at makasaysayang pook pasyalan sa nasabing probinsya.
Bilang isang komisyoner sa United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), nagkaroon ang Filipinas ng pagkakataong makaupo sa Unesco World Heritage Committee mula 2013 hanggang 2017.
“I was given the opportunity to defend some of the important sites of the world,” ani Zerrudo. “I heard how they were able to look at heritage and what were the conservation practices that they would operationalize in the different countries.”
Matapos makamit ang degree sa programang economics sa Pamantasang De La Salle, kumuha si Zerrudo ng kaniyang masterado sa cultural heritage sa Deakin University sa Australia. Sa UST naman siya nagtapos ng kaniyang doktorado sa development studies. Nagsisilbing world heritage expert si Zerrudo sa Unesco at International Council on Monuments and Sites na nakabase sa Paris, France.
Nilalayon ng Unicef, kasama si Zerrudo, na mapabilang ang Mt. Mantalingdajan sa Palawan sa listahan ng mga world heritage sites.
“[The mountain range] is very high in biodiversity. It is attractive to all these mining companies, palm plantations, and large swaths of land for development. The pressure has mounted considerably and dramatically,” aniya. “The moment you work in the field, that’s when you realize how you negotiate and navigate all this knowledge that you have so that you will be able to push for your advocacy.”
“Advocacy is good because it would always have motherhood statements, the nice words will always reverberate in print or media,” dagdag pa niya.
Sa kaniyang pamumuno, sinisikap ng CCCPET na magbukas ng doktorado sa cultural heritage studies sa Unibersidad.
Hinimok din niya ang mga administrador at mag-aaral ng UST na ugaliing bumisita sa mga museo lalo na ang Museum of Arts and Sciences sa Main Building.
“I think it is very important for all the students, faculty and administrators always to touch ground with the University. They should visit our archive and museum and try to harness this wealth of memory, this wealth of heritage materials that not all the universities would have.”
Ayon kay Zerrudo, magtatalaga ng science track sa programa para sa mga nais magpakadalubhasa sa material conservation at ng management track para sa management planning, tourism planning at site development planning.
“These two tracks are needed by the Philippines now. We lack the specialists with regards to material conservation. We also lack the manager and policymakers who would overlay how to use heritage as an ingredient of development,” aniya.
Bukod sa pagiging dalubhasa sa cultural heritage conservation, naging direktor na rin ng iilang museo sa bansa si Zerrudo, tulad na lamang ng Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Museo ng Maynila at ang Government Service Insurance System Museum.
Ilan sa mga naging kontribusyon ni Zerrudo ay ang cultural heritage mapping project sa San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte, ang Banaue Rice Terraces at ang pamosong Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park.
