Lamenting on the Conservation of the Borongan Cathedral
By Ced Solidon • Jan 15th, 2008 • Category: FeaturesI came across a short blog post from the blog of the Heritage Conservation Society (HCS). The post basically laments on the loss of the original structure of the Borongan Cathedral in Borongan, Eastern Samar in favor of practical considerations such as tearing down walls to create space for more doors and the like.
You can check out the HCS’s post by clicking this link.
Ced Solidon is the blog's founder. He currently works as a freelance writer. Aside from that, he also maintains a writing blog, Write Like a Rock Star! He loves to read books and play music.
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Natindog an katedral han Borongan ha 17th Century (kun diri ak’ nagsasayop). Maiha na nga panahon it’ nga nabakdaw ha iya kinalulugaran.
Subay han lokal nga historyograpiko, umage it’ hin damo nga mga pagbabag-o ha paghagos han iya panahon. An bantog nga “Moro raids” asay an syahan nga rason han mga kauswagan o pagbabag-o ha iya pisikal nga aspeto.
Ha panahon naman naton, iba na an himig han iya pagbabag-o…
The replacement of the old adobe stones of the old cathedral is past; we should not cry over spilt milk. There’s a lesson though; we should try to preserve old structures in Borongan because they were labors of love by past leaders. Preserving what is left of our ancient structures will help us understand ourselves and our culture better. Our leaders have the tendency to destroy existing structures and replacing them with their own as the imprimaturs of their reigns. Look at the Provincial Capitol, the elevated concrete structure where the flag was flown was demolished. That circular centerpiece served as a traffic calming device because drivers would know that they had to move clockwise. Now the place looks extremely bare and drivers can just go any direction they want. We should take the cue from Sulat which has retained its old walls and just improved the interior of their church. Balangiga has also done the same.
The thing with restoration and preservation is that they cost a lot of money. Oftentimes, practicality gets in the way of the factors mentioned earlier.
I think it would take more than just the government’s effort to preserve these landmarks. Concerned individuals should also do their part. And I hope we have as many concerned individuals as the things that need to be preserved in the province.