August 01, 2015, 12:09a.m. – ENVIRONMENTAL, architecture, and heritage conservation experts
are defending UST after President Benigno Aquino III implied in his final State
of the Nation Address (Sona) that the University was to blame for flooding in
Manila.
The proposed flood “catchment area,” which the President claimed
was opposed by a “big university,” would place UST’s heritage buildings in
danger, and there was also no guarantee that it would work, experts told the Varsitarian.
“For the President to even put in his speech a snide remark
about UST not cooperating, and for [his spokesman] to call the [UST] Open Field
a ‘prized soccer field’ just shows they are insensitive to cultural heritage,
and they don’t value things,” said heritage architect Richard Bautista.
Bautista said there were plenty of solutions, including dredging
rivers, esteros, and Manila Bay. “And in using UST Open Field, what is their
plan to discharge water there? The fact that Pasig River overflows, touching
UST will be a waste of money and heritage,” he said.
Ivan Henares, president of the Heritage Conservation Society of
the Philippines, said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and
Malacañang speechwriters forgot that the government itself had declared the
University a heritage zone.
“They placed President Aquino in a position of criticism. It is
the duty of the Philippine Government to preserve and protect National Cultural
Treasures,” Henares told the Varsitarian.
The DPWH proposed to dig out a “retarding” or “detention” tank
for flood water under the UST Open Field in October 2011, a month after the
21-hectare University campus was declared a National Historical Landmark by the
National Historical Commission of the Philippines in time for the UST
Quadricentennial celebrations.
In January 2010, the UST Grandstand and open spaces, the Main
Building, the Central Seminary, and the Arch of the Centuries were declared “National Cultural Treasures”
by the National Museum.
‘Prized
soccer field’
Aquino did not mention UST by name, but presidential spokesman
Edwin Lacierda and DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson later confirmed that the
President was referring to UST in his speech at the Batasang Pambansa last July
27.
“Para matugunan ang madalas na pagbaha sa Maynila, isinulong
natin ang pagpapagawa ng catchment area; pero tumutol po dito ang isang
malaking unibersidad. May lumang mga gusali daw kasi silang baka maapektuhan ng
gagawing proyekto,” the
President said in his sixth and final Sona.
Lacierda questioned UST’s priorities in a television interview
last July 28, asking: “Would you forgo safety over a prized soccer field?”
“Is that being unreasonable if we dig it (open grounds) up and
make sure that the millions within that area would be safe from inundation,
would be safe from danger and would put them (residents) out of a danger zone
in times of storms and floods?” Lacierda said on ABS-CBN News Channel’s “Beyond
Politics.”
On dzIQ990 Radyo Inquirer last July 29, Singson said that
because UST had rejected the proposed water catchment area, Thomasians would
have to bear with flooding. He added that roads around UST had been raised.
“Ngayon magtya-tyaga ang mga taga UST dahil tumaas ang kalye diyan,” he said.
Thomasians led the public backlash against Aquino and his aides
on social media, saying they had long been sacrificing because of the perennial
flooding.
The militant group STAND UST said Aquino let out “yet another
immature and arrogant innuendo,” and suggested that clearing Manila’s natural
waterways be prioritized over digging out a huge tank under the UST Open Field.
‘Flooding
worsened in UST’
Environmental planner Felicisimo Tejuco Jr., a professor at the
College of Architecture, pointed out that the road elevation projects cited by
Singson had worsened flooding inside the University.
“There seems to be no noticeable change in the average flood
levels in and outside the campus. However, floodwater seems to creep into UST
faster and subside slower,” Tejuco said.
Tejuco said the catchment area proposal was at best a partial
solution, as it would only be effective in dealing with flash floods and not a
“deluge like Ondoy,” the storm that brought a century’s worth of rainfall in
2009.
He asked: “Where are the studies that the catchment proposal
will be successful? Where are the simulation studies that will prove na hindi
magbabaha? This could have been presented to us, to prove the catchment’s efficiency
and convince the school.”
Citing Malaysia’s Smart
Tunnel, which functions as a road and storm drain, Tejuco said the tank could
instead be built under the
two-kilometer España Boulevard that passes in front of UST.
Against
the law
Henares said “[all] engineers of the DPWH should be required to
undergo heritage and cultural sensitivity training conducted by the [NCCA] or
National Museum to avoid incidents like these from happening in the future.”
The National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 defines National
Cultural Treasures as “unique cultural property found locally, possessing
outstanding historical, cultural, artistic and/or scientific value which is
highly significant and important to the country and nation, and officially
declared as such by pertinent cultural agency.”
Under this law, National Cultural Treasures are “immovable” and
“shall not be relocated, rebuilt, defaced or otherwise changed in a manner,
which would destroy the property’s dignity and authenticity, except to save
such property from destruction due to natural causes.”
The campus is a witness to historic events. For instance, it
served as an internment camp for foreign prisoners of war during World War II.
The Open Field hosted youth rallies during all four papal visits to the
country: Pope Paul VI in 1970, Pope St. John Paul II in 1981 and 1995, and Pope
Francis last January.
Eric Zerrudo, director of the UST Graduate School Center for
Conservation of Cultural Property and Environment in the Tropics, said the Open
Field and other National Cultural Treasures of the University serve as a
“memory and identity of the nation.” Clarence
Hormachuelos
What can you expect from a Leader who is not Dominican-trained? All blatant lies, manufactured issues, and irrelevant statements. This is the man who destroyed the country for six long years – blaming others, past administrations, and even venerable institutions like Santo tomas for his shortcomings and for bungling his job. Together with his minions in the Government, he sadistically and immaturely eliminated his perceived foes in a manner that is irrational and psychotic. Poor Mar Roxas, he has just lost the vote of 45,000 Thomasians and their Families, not to mention the millions of Thomasian Alumni and their Families! It is not too late, Mr. President. You and Mr. Lacierda can still enroll in the UST Graduate School and take the course GMRC. And maybe, too, you and Mr. Lacierda will be able to learn how to “Pursue the Truth” under the guidance of the Dominican Fathers in the “Big University in Espana that is not Jesuit”.
What can you expect from a Leader who is not Dominican-trained? All blatant lies, manufactured issues, and irrelevant statements. This is the man who destroyed the country for six long years – blaming others, past administrations, and even venerable institutions like Santo tomas for his shortcomings and for bungling his job. Together with his minions in the Government, he sadistically and immaturely eliminated his perceived foes in a manner that is irrational and psychotic. Poor Mar Roxas, he has just lost the vote of 45,000 Thomasians and their Families, not to mention the millions of Thomasian Alumni and their Families! It is not too late, Mr. President. You and Mr. Lacierda can still enroll in the UST Graduate School and take the course GMRC. And maybe, too, you and Mr. Lacierda will be able to learn how to “Pursue the Truth” under the guidance of the Dominican Fathers in the “Big University in Espana that is not Jesuit”.
Perhaps a formal complaint should be made to Malacanang and published in the major papers!