Order to stop Torre de Manila construction lauded

Torre de Manila, which mars the view of the Rizal Monument in Manila. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / EDWIN BACASMAS

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Pia Cayetano lauded on Wednesday the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) for “asserting” its mandate when it ordered a stop to the construction of Torre de Manila condominium behind the iconic Rizal monument.

Critics say that once completed, the rising 49-story condominium project would mar the sight of the national hero’s monument.

“I welcome the issuance of the Cease and Desist Order (CDO) by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) against DMCI’s Torre de Manila condominium project in Manila. The CDO suspends the construction of the 49-storey tower across Rizal Park that has significantly compromised the landscape of the Rizal Monument,” Cayetano said in a statement on Wednesday.

“It is high time that we, as a people, take the protection of our history, culture and heritage more seriously as these make up the intangible ideals that bind us as Filipinos and define our national identity,” she said.

Cayetano, head of the Senate committee on education, arts and culture, initiated an investigation on the issue.

In an order dated January 5, 2014, the NCCA ordered DMCI Homes, builder of Torre de Manila, to stop work on the project indefinitely.

“I fully support the NCCA in asserting its mandate to safeguard our heritage,” Cayetano said.

“The Rizal Shrine, as a national monument, is entitled to full protection under our national heritage law, whose objective is to preserve and protect important cultural properties and national cultural treasures and to safeguard their intrinsic value within their  historical  setting, and that includes their vistas and visual corridors.”

It was not too late yet, she said, “to rectify the lapses that led to the construction of the Torre de Manila skyscraper that has now marred the sightline of the historic Rizal Shrine.”

“I believe the CDO is a step in the right direction towards correcting those mistakes and putting things back in order,” the senator added.

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