NCCA To Kick Off 2019 Nat’l Heritage Month in Isabela

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), in partnership with the Isabela Tourism Office and LGU – Tumauini, today will kick off this year’s National Heritage Month celebration at St. Matthias Church.

Fr. Harold Rentoria, commissioner for Cultural Heritage, said the St. Matthias of Parish Church was declared by the National Historical Commission (NHC) of the Philippines as a National Historical landmark and by the National Museum of the Philippines as a National Cultural Treasure.

The church is also included in the list of tentative Baroque Churches in the Philippines by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Center.

The Baroque Churches of the Philippines is a serial inscription consisting of four Roman Catholic churches constructed between the 16th and the 18th centuries in the Spanish period of the Philippines. They are located in separate areas of the Philippine archipelago, two at the northern island of Luzon, one at the heart of Intramuros, Manila, and the other in the central Visayas island of Iloilo.

This group of churches established a style of building and design that was adapted to the physical conditions in the Philippines and had an important influence on later church architecture in the region. The four churches are outstanding examples of the Philippine interpretation of the Baroque style, and represent the fusion of European church design and construction with local materials and decorative motifs to form a new church-building tradition.

This year’s National Heritage Month theme is “Mga Pinuno para sa Pamana” (Leaders for Heritage), a challenge to leaders to take the lead in preserving and promoting cultural heritage.

In 2017, the NCCA has identified Ormoc City in the province of Leyte as kick off site for National Heritage Month while in 2018, the Davao City took pride to be the venue of the culminating event.

“Gusto nating i-revive ulit itong Tumauini church sa tentative list ng UNESCO bilang World Heritage site kaya dito natin gaganapin ang kick oof ceremony sa Tumauini,” Rentoria said.

He said once the St. Matthias church is inscribe in UNESCO as World Heritage site, it will be another pride of the country and of the province of Isabela in terms of tourism because there are only rare historical sites listed in UNESCO.

Other activities to be conducted on May 2, 2019 in Tumauini is the launching and unveiling of the Philippine Postal Corporation stamp featuring women as keepers of heritage, culture and heritage exhibit from May 2 to 21, 2019, display of tarpaulins , clean-up drives in cultural heritage sites of LGUs and several others.

Rentoria has urged the various sectors in the region to participate and raise awareness on the importance of preservation of cultural heritage sites in the country. (MDCT/MGE/PIA 2-Isabela)