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By
Rommel C. Lontayao, Correspondent from Manila Times
TO restore the former grandeur of
the city’s rich and colorful history and legacy,
Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim yesterday led the launching of
the Manila Historical and Heritage Commission (MHHC) at
the Army and Navy Club Building, on South Boulevard,
near Rizal Park.
Lim recently signed an executive
order, including the “heritage” component to the
then Manila Historical Commission (MHC).
“Manila is the only city that
shows all the periods of our history—the native, the
Spanish and then the American period. Legacies from the
past like archeological sites in Arroceros, Spanish
edifices in Intramuros and the American period.
Buildings have to be conserved, that is why
‘heritage’ [conservation] is now also an equal
concern of the commission,” Lim noted.
The MHHC is tasked to document built
heritage resources of Manila and its heritage districts.
It will also undertake efforts to increase and inculcate
historical and cultural awareness in all sectors of the
city, especially in barangays and in all levels of
public and private school and universities.
The newly-launched commission will
also spearhead the refurbishing of the Army and Navy
Club, reopening of the Museo ng Maynila to the public,
and restoration of the Metropolitan Theatre.
While the Army and Navy Club is
being restored, the Museo ng Maynila and the MHHC will
also sponsor programs, such as the exhibition of
paintings, sculptures, crafts and other creative
expressions of Manileños; the revival of Manila Studies
Historical lecture series; the staging of chamber
concerts featuring rondallas; and the revival of the
tertulia and poetry reading.
Lim heads the MHHC as honorary
chairman, writer and historian Carmen Guerrero Nakpil as
chairperson; Vice-Mayor
Francisco Domagoso as vice-chairman; and
Councilor John Marvin C. Nieto as chairman for Arts and
Culture of the City Council.
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