Leyte shrine-museum needs makeover

TACLOBAN CITY—The Sto. Niño Shrine and Heritage Museum in Tacloban City is still the top tourist destination in Leyte, but it is fast losing its grandeur.

After 25 years of government sequestration, the building needs rehabilitation.

Termites have gnawed portions of the walls and ceiling.  When it rains, the roof leaks. Some decorative tiles are falling off walls and ceiling, bulbs on a chandelier are busted, a mirror is cracked, and a lyre on display has broken strings. A tie wire is used to lock a second-floor window.

Tour guide Glen Roa, 42, says a room light is switched on only when a touring group enters and off when it leaves. “We have to save on electricity because our electric bill is very high,” he explains.

Former first lady and now Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Romualdez Marcos had the Sto. Niño Shrine and Heritage Museum built in late 1970s to showcase Filipino ingenuity and her collection of art objects, priceless furniture, fine porcelain and ivory sculptures from abroad. It was actually one of the 29 presidential rest houses built during the Marcos dictatorship.

Showcase

The two-story edifice on Real Street also displays some valuable art pieces, antique Chinese jars, Russian icons, Italian sculptures, French and English period furniture, mirrors from Austria, chandeliers from the Czech Republic, floor carpets from Argentina, and sculpted elephant tusks from China.

On the ground floor are a chapel, conference room, dancing hall, governor’s room and 13 guest rooms. Each of the 13 rooms has a native motiff and dioramas of Imelda’s growth to womanhood—her coronation as the “Rose of Tacloban,” her meeting with Libyan strongman Col. Moammar Ghadafi, and the oath-taking of her husband, Ferdinand, as senator and as President.

On the second floor are eight rooms dedicated for each member of the Marcos family, a wide hall that is a replica of one of the halls in Malacañang, a big conference hall, and expensive furniture, Chinese sculptures and other items on display.

Thieves have taken some of its display items.

Behind the main building is an Olympic-size swimming pool, which is now for rent.

In 1986, the government sequestered the Sto. Niño Shrine and Heritage Museum as part of the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses. Up to now, the place is under the supervision of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG).

Some 3,000 people visit the museum every month, according to Annabel Arpon of the PCGG. They are amazed by what they saw and some even come back for another tour, she says.

Participants of national events held in Tacloban visit the place as part of their city tour itinerary.

Arpon says the income from entrance fees is only good for minor building repairs.

Karen Tiopes, tourism regional director, says her office had assessed the condition of the Sto. Niño Shrine and Heritage Museum. “One of our recommendations was for them to throw away anything that’s already infected by termites so that they won’t infect the other items,” she says.

They also suggested a general clean-up.

According to Tiopes, the An Waray party-list group has shown interest in rehabilitating the building and looking for maintenance fund.

An Waray Rep. Florencio “Bem” Noel says the Department of Tourism has approved an P80-million budget for the rehabilitation. “I am just waiting for the SARO (special allotment release order) from the department,” he says.

Out of respect, the lawmaker says he has informed Imelda about his group’s plan. “She was very happy about this because the building is already dilapidated,” he says.