Christmas tree over Bonifacio monument axed

The Christmas tree at the Cabatuan public plaza that was removed due to opposition from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. (Photo courtesy of Nereo Lujan)

A Christmas tree built atop a monument of Andres Bonifacio in a town in Iloilo province has been removed following a protest made by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).

The 30-foot-tall Christmas tree at the public plaza of Cabatuan, 24 kilometers northwest of Iloilo City, was removed by the municipal government on Saturday after NHCP chair Maria Serena Diokno wrote a letter to Cabatuan Mayor Ronilo Caspe expressing disapproval of the project.

“We firmly oppose the construction of a Christmas tree on the Andres Bonifacio monument at the public plaza of Cabatuan, Iloilo. The construction over the monument desecrates Andres Bonifacio, whose 150th birth anniversary we celebrated on November 30,” Diokno said in her letter dated December 11.

“We urge you to put up the Christmas tree elsewhere. In future projects or activities, we hope that the [local government unit] would be more responsible in protecting and preserving historic sites and structures,” Diokno said.

Nereo Lujan, provincial information and community affairs officer and a native of Cabatuan, had called the attention of the NHCP on the putting up of the Christmas tree at the 81-year-old monument.

Caspe said he ordered the removal of the Christmas tree in compliance with Diokno’s letter.

“We had hoped that by putting up the Christmas tree we would highlight the monument,” Caspe told the Inquirer. “We will stress the importance of unity and hope as symbolized by Andres Bonifacio,” the mayor said.

The mayor said he had ordered the repainting of the monument a week before November 30 in commemoration of the hero’s birth anniversary.

He said the municipal government put up the Christmas tree at the monument because it was the most strategic location at the center of the public plaza facing the main entrance.

“There was no intention of covering Andres Bonifacio because there were openings that would highlight the monument,” he said.

The mayor said town officials submitted a revised design of the Christmas tree that would make the monument more visible but the NHCP had not responded to the town’s request for approval of the new design.

“We decided not to have a Christmas tree anymore,” he said.