P5M needed for face-lift of Talisay Landing Shrine

The Talisay City Council is asking Cebu officials for  P5-million financial assistance for the renovation of the Landing Shrine in barangay Tanke.

Vice Mayor Alan Bucao said that the shrine needed an upgrade.

“The council finds and believes that maintaining the cultural heritage of the city is vital to its people’s historical knowledge,” Bucao said.

The landing shrine, which was constructed in the 1990s, had only two renovations over the years.

“We also believe that beautification of the historical landmarks will realize important returns such as the people’s historical values, city’s unique character and ability to attract tourists,” he said.

The landing shrine in the Liberation Park at Tanke has been declared a national historical shrine as it marks the spot where the Armed Forces made its historic beachhead landing on March 26, 1945.

The resolution for the Landing Shrine renovation, which the Talisay City Council approved on Tuesday, is asking P1 million from Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, P3 million from Rep. Eduardo Gullas (Cebu 1st district), P500,000 each from Provincial Board Members Julian Daan and Sergio Restauro.

The shrine has life-sized statues of American soldiers, which vandals had disfigured.  The steel railings that protect and separate the pedestal where these statues stand has deteriorated and become rusty.

The shrine was made to honor the Filipino and American soldiers, who shed blood to liberate Cebu from the invading Japanese Army in World War II. /Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus