PRESERVE EVERYTHING WE HAVE

What is preservation? From the root word “preserve”, it is to maintain, sustain, protect, save, and to keep alive. For me, to preserve is something we do to give value to something that is very important for us, to sustain it for a long time for the people to remember.  

The Alberto house is important, not only for Biñan and the province of Laguna but also for the Philippines. The people should know the value of their heritage and the need to preserve it. Part of their memory will be gone if we won’t take part on preserving it.

Republic act no. 10066, this Act is also known as the “National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009”. Their objectives were to maintain the Filipino identity, and promote the nation’s cultural heritage.  The act states that, the demolition of structures at least fifty years old cannot proceed without the authorization of the “National Commission for culture and arts.”

The Alberto House is more than a century and they started demolishing it without any permit. On June 9, 2010 (Wednesday, 7 p.m), they held a campaign “Isang Gabi ng Dula, Awit, Sayawan, Atbp.” to save and to keep Alberto House.  It’s a cultural protest of condemning the demolition and transfer of Alberto House to Bataan. They protested in front of the house located at the plaza of Biñan. The city of Biñan stepped in and offered to purchase the house.

The “United Artist for Cultural Conservation and Development, City of Biñan, Inc.” has begun the fund raising efforts for the eventual restoration of the house and the city of Biñan Laguna pledges its full support for the restoration of the Alberto House. The local government is trying to gather 20 million pesos to revoke it in court, to give them the reputation to enter and to be able to intervene. 

Pictures from: June 9, 2009 (Before) and October 22, 2012 (After)

 

This shows how people wanted Alberto House to be preserved.  Together as a citizen of the Philippines, we should do something as a sign of support.  LET’S SAVE ALBERTO HOME!

 

Other sources: Ivan About Town. (2010, June 3). Save the historic Alberto House in Biñan, Laguna! Retrieved (2012, Oct. 23) from http://www.ivanhenares.com/2010/06/laguna-save-alberto-house-in-binan.html

Discover My Hometown

I went home to visit our house in Biñan last September 28, 2012. It’s been a month since the southwest monsoon hit the country. I saw cars were elevated only improvised boats made from water containers were used, thick and dirty mud, clogged drainage, plastics, junk food wrappers, and knee level flood. I can still remember the smell of the flood, it’s very nasty. It wasn’t like that before, I remember during this month, people who live in our subdivision used to stay outside of their houses in the afternoon because of the cold and fresh air. They even wear jackets, but now what I saw were those people wearing boots, walking in the flood just to cross the street. There were also some abandoned apartments, houses because of the flood; even my family evacuated the place for a while because we might get Leptospirosis, the illness cause by rat’s urine. I don’t know what kind of Christmas celebration the people will be experiencing this year if the flood won’t draw off.

2-3km away from our home is where the largest public market in the province of Laguna is located. It’s where most of the people had transferred during the flood. The place didn’t flood because of the large creek, near the old municipal hall of Biñan which is now the police headquarters. If you could only see of the municipal hall, it’s like an antique house with a modern twist design. In front of the old municipal hall was the Alberto – Alonso house, it is one of the historical land marks in Biñan. It wasn’t that famous, even I wasn’t aware that it was the old house where Teodora Alonso (mother of Dr. Jose Rizal) lived. The demolition of this house last year was a big mistake. The interior structure of the house was destroyed and many people protested against it, especially the students who live near that area. I was curious and intrigue by this issue and because of that I wanted to know more about it.

Let’s turn gold to green

Do you think that the future generation will still be able to experience and see the beauty we’re currently living in? Will they be able to see the different species that are now endangered? Feel the fresh air that we’re having right now? Can we still continue this current life style without changing the quality of life style in the future? 

It’s possible but I think it’s a little bit too late. Some people are starting to change because they can already experience the bad effect of it, but some people they still continue doing things that harms the environment. I hate it but most of the people prefer to be rich, to have a good economic status than to save our planet. It’s like a mine; they prefer to choose the gold than to save the earth.

Here in my hometown in Biñan Laguna, I already experience having a flood. When I was a kid, whenever there’s a typhoon it will flood but it will quickly drain, but now it will take a week or more before it drains (as you can see in the picture). I think it’s because of the new villages and the loss of other farms in the area.  Now people around there are starting to change, especially in the market place. They’re promoting the use of bayong and paper bags. They are very strict in using plastics. When they see you using plastic they will punish you by cleaning the area. There we’re also preserved ancestral homes and other historical landmarks.  So I would say that in my hometown we’re trying and coping to live sustainably.

We should always remember that everything is limited and we should always give importance to everything we have. We should learn to be contented of what we have and not ask for more. Getting only the right amount and necessary things that will satisfy our needs and not always the wants.

We should be responsible for everything here on earth and maintain it for the future users. I hope that the gold will turn to green.