Thomasians lead in rehab of Bohol and Cebu churches By TomasinoWeb on November 2, 2013 THOMASIANS initiated a task force that

will help in the restoration and rehabilitation of the churches, particularly in Bohol and Cebu, that was destroyed in the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit Visayas last October 15. An emergency board meeting was held at the National Historical Commission and a Heritage Task Force was created, headed by Prof. Regalado Ricky Trota Jose, Head of Committee of Archives and the Commissioner of Cultural Heritage of the National Commission on the Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and archivist in the University of Santo Tomas (UST). Thomasians are in the frontline of the rehabilitation efforts of the churches in Bohol and Cebu, said Prof. Ricky Jose in a press conference held last Thursday at the UST Miguel De Benavides Library. Two days after the earthquake, the task force immediately went to Bohol to conduct a rapid assessment on the collapsed cultural heritage sites, then to Cebu on October 20. Thomasians included in the said trip were Prof. Jose; Prof. Angel Bautista, archaeologist and head of the Cultural Properties Division of the National Museum, and also a professor in the Faculty of Arts and Letters and in the the Cultural Heritage Studies (CHS) program of the UST Graduate School; Arch. Mary Rajelyn Javier-Busmente, one of the architects of NCCAs Heritage Office; Lita Fucanan, a student of the CHS program and a member of the National Museum; former faculty member of the CHS program and the director of the National Archives, Victorino Mapa Manalo; graduate of the UST Seminary and Executive Secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines Permanent Committee for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, Fr. Milan Ted Torralba; and Noel Caeda, a graduate of the Conservatory of Music who was a lso with the Loboc Childrens Choir. The team coordinated with yet another Thomasian, Fr. Harold Rentoria, OSA, while assessing the damage on the Sto. Nio Basilica. Fr. Rentoria is the Vice-President of the University of San Agustin-Iloilo and the archivist of the Agustinian Province of the Philippines. The team encountered another Thomasian, Fr. Bryan Brigudi, when they visited the town of Carcar in Bohol. Prof. Jose also mentioned that the Augustinians requested the help of Escuela Taller, a program that trains young people in the old techniques of building, in the rebuilding of the churches. Escuela Taller is also run by Thomasians, with Program Director Arch. Michael Manalo and Executive Director Prof. Eric Zerrudo, a faculty member at the CHS and the director of USTs Center for Conservation of Cultural Property and Environment in the Tropics. Asked whether the team will merely restore or completely rebuild the churches, Prof. Jose said that they are yet to finish mapping out the churches, but in the case of the Maribojoc Church which was completely destroyed, it might be rebuilt on another location as the team found fissures in the earth, radiating from under the church. He added, Even the base itself may not be stable anymore Even the town might have to transfer. Also, one of the interventions the team is considering is adaptive reuse, or modifying a structure from its previous use to another. The team is considering of simply incorporating a most remembered part of the church into a new and redesigned church. Prof. Jose thinks that the team should first work on the Loon Church as there are still four bodies buried underneath. Restoration is secondary to humanity, he said. And that humanly speaking, the bodies must be retrieved first before they start work. The Heritage Task Force is planning to set up a satellite station in Tagbilaran, Bohol, which will be manned by the National Museum and is set to meet some time in November. They will start work on the damaged churches after the aftershocks have settled down. By Xavier Allen C. Gregorio

Urban planning sa LGUs napapanahon na Ni Butch Quejada (Pilipino Star Ngayon) | Updated November 16, 2013 - 12:00am MANILA, Philippines - Hinikayat ni dating Pangasinan 3rd District Rep. Rachel Arenas ang lahat ng local government units (LGUs) sa bansa na magkaroon ng urban planning upang maiwasan ang pagbaha at iba pang epekto ng kalamidad at mabigyan ng kaukulang pansin pati na ang housing sa ating rural areas. Sa kawalan ng urban planning, karamihan sa mga bayan sa ating bansa ay lumalaki ng walang zoning ang mga itinatatag na mga istruktura at daan, na hindi lang nagiging eye sore kundi nagdudulot ng panganib sa panahon ng sakuna. Ayon kay Arenas, napapanahon na ang urban planning dahil na rin sa pagtama ng ilang kalamidad sa bansa, tulad ng bagyong Yolanda at lindol na tumama sa Leyte, Samar at Bohol kamakailan. Paliwanag ni Arenas, napabayaan na ang ilang lugar sa bansa, partikular ang Metro Manila, dahil na rin sa mabilis na pag-unlad. Ang problema, hinayaan nating maitayo ang mga malalaking gusali sa mga natural na daanan ng tubig gaya ng estero na nagreresulta sa pagbaha tuwing tag-ulan, ani Arenas. Sa pamamagitan din ng urban planning, matutukoy na ang mga lugar na posibleng mapinsala nang husto kapag nagkaroon ng malakas na pagyanig. http://www.philstar.com/bansa/2013/11/16/1257187/urban-planning-sa-lgus-napapanahon-na

Tacloban City as global center for climate change proposed By Dennis Carcamo (philstar.com) | Updated November 20, 2013 - 5:40pm
The devastation caused by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), are seen Sunday, Nov. 10, 2013, in Tacloban city, Leyte province in central Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, slammed into six central Philippine islands on Friday, leaving a wide swath of destruction and scores of people dead. AP/Toti Navales

MANILA, Philippines - A renowned urban planner on Wednesday told the national government that it should transform Tacloban City into a global center for climate change. "I have recommended to make Tacloban City as global center for climate change because I think Tacloban City is the first victim of climate change not being addressed effectively," Architect Jun Palafox said on Wednesday during the media forum in San Juan City. Palafox said that rebuilding Tacloban City, was literally flattened by super typhoon Yolanda, should be carefully studied to prevent similar devastation and loss of countless of lives. "We have to take lessons from the mistakes and best pratices elsewhere in the world we can appropriately implement like one siguro we have to collect data na how high was the storm surge. Maybe we may have to locate the new city in a higher ground," Palafox said. He also proposed to the national government to look into allocating at least 30 hectares of land that could house three evacuation centers. "Maybe we can start with the evacuation centers. If they have 300,000 people, they should have maybe at least three evacuation centers na 10 hectares each. Because international standards, there should be one square meter of evacuation area for every resident," Palafox said.
He also cited that every evacuation area should be fitted with six facilities required by the land use policy--an emergency clinic, a water station, a food station, an emergency shelter, emergency telecommunication center, and emergency helipad. "I have been saying this for so many years administration by administration," Palafox said. Palafox, meanwhile, said he could not yet give a ballpark figure of how much the government would need to spend to remodel Tacloban City. "I cannot give big estimate until we have finished the assessment cost of reconstructing," he said. http://www.philstar.com/nation/2013/11/20/1258874/tacloban-city-global-center-climate-change-proposed