Torre de Manila should be demolished – SolGen

GOVERNMENT lawyers, for the first time, has faced the Supreme Court to defend its position that Torre de Manila should be demolished for marring the visual corridor of the Rizal Monument.

In his opening statement, Solicitor General Florin Hilbay said Rizal Monument is part of the  “cultural treasure of the nation” regardless of any formal declaration. 

The Rizal Monument in Luneta is Kilometer Zero by virtue of E.O. 487 (20 September 1977). It is one of the most recognizable historic sites in the Philippines, and an almost mandatory stop for visitors from the provinces or even those from abroad, Hilbay said.

“Our desire to protect it is so overwhelming it is guarded seven days a week by the Philippine Marines. It is the site where our national hero’s remains are buried. It has been formally declared by the NHCP as a National Monument, by the former National Historical Institute as part of a National Historical Site, and by the National Museum as a National Cultural Treasure….These facts undeniably make the Rizal Monument in Luneta a prime object of the Constitution’s conservationist and protectionist policies under Article XIV,” he added.

The Rizal Monument, the bronze sculpture and the obelisk, according to Hilbay, is protected by the Constitution.

He said the high court should order DMCI, Torre de Manila developer, to demolish Torre de Manila which Hilbay said is an “illegal construction.”

The government lawyer also urged the high court to “order the City of Manila and/or the concerned national agencies, by way of continuing mandamus, to oversee the demolition of Torre de Manila and provide the necessary reports to this Honorable Court until such time that its judgment is fully enforced.”