By Mary Judaline Partlow/Philippine News Agency
DUMAGUETE CITY — A team of cultural heritage and conservation experts from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) is visiting some churches and historical sites in the Diocese of Dumaguete to help map a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for the diocese.
Prof. Eric Zerrudo, director of the UST Graduate School Center for Conservation of Cultural Property and Environment in the Tropics, along with architects, researchers, and other staff, first visited the San Isidro Labrador Church in Lazi, Siquijor on Tuesday.
The team, accompanied by Msgr. Julius Heruela, chair of the Commission on Church Cultural Heritage of the Diocese of Dumaguete, also met with members of the Lazi Parish Pastoral Council and local officials.
On Wednesday, they visited the San Nicolas de Tolentino Church in Dauin and the San Isidro Labrador Church in Zamboanguita, as well as the so-called ruins of what is believed to be a former convent in Bonbonon, Siaton, all in Negros Oriental.
Heruela said the UST Team is being requested to help in the formulation of a CMP, a document which is vital in the conservation of church cultural heritage as it will guide the different stakeholders in the management and sustainability of structures, objects, and other items of historical and cultural value.
The priest also said that it is hoped that Zerrudo and his team can help the diocese in the setting up of a museum, considering that its churches have plenty of religious artifacts and other items that date back to the Spanish era.
An architect in Zerrudo’s team is specializing in museums.
The Lazi Church, declared a National Cultural Treasure, and is on the list of nominees for the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The churches in Dauin and Zamboanguita, are currently being restored by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) with total funding of almost PHP60 million.
These churches, which are already in the finishing touches, are to be turned over sometime in July or August, depending on the availability of NHCP and diocese officials, Heruela said.
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