II.

Introduction

Culture Matters - As stated in the Sustainable Development Goals, culture is

important. This aims to create cities more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, with
one of the goals being to upgrade cities' infrastructure. In the midst of dwindling efforts
to maintain and safeguard the world's cultural and natural heritage urban congestion-
related infrastructure.
As society tries to strike a balance between limited resources and unlimited
desires, economics plays a role. The process of development has taken many different
shapes. Previously, the community consisted of dirt roads, grasslands, and other
natural areas. However, it is now distinguished by the expansion of commercial centers,
bushes, and empty lots and spaces. Residential properties, shopping malls, theme
parks, and high-rise complexes are all examples of commercial real estate. The
evolution of society has been a quick change. However, such urban expansion was not
without its challenges. Typically, such events occur and cultural legacy has been
harmed as a result of this.
Development has traditionally been defined as the advancement of conventional
forms of practice, and proponents of modernization theory see culture as a roadblock to
development, as something that stifles change and halts growth and progress (Willis,
2005; Zerrudo, 2008). They regard cultural heritage as no utility or value, and there is
no return on investment. It not only affects the city's structure, but it also damages the
city's typical physical composition, the built environment, social and cultural values, and
residents' collective memory. As a result, cultural heritage is given the least weight in
the urban development process. Cultural legacy does not appear to be valued for
national development until a demonstrable link between it and economic activities can
be shown (Ruoss and Alfarè, 2013).
In Philippines context, many cultural sites and ancestral homes have been
demolished, converted to local warehouses or transformed to high-rise condominiums
for the sake of modernization and development, or simply left to degrade. One example
is the Metropolitan Theatre in Manila. It used to be a center for international
performances, but it was suddenly abandoned until the National Commission for Culture
and the Arts assumed control of the property in 2015 to aid its rehabilitation. Similarly,
the Rizal Monument in Manila's Luneta neighborhood has been the subject of
controversy due to the formation of a 46-story residential structure that blocks the view
of the Philippine national hero's monument. Furthermore, the "walled city" of Intramuros,
which used to be the headquarters and authority of the Spanish armies in the country, is
now surrounded by business complexes, shanties, and city dwellers. During the
Spanish era, what was formerly a "No Indio Zone" has now become a haven for
squatters.
 As a result, this article examines how cultural legacy might be used as a catalyst
for economic growth in the Philippine. This article also tries to establish ways for urban
growth and the built environment to work together. Heritage preservation is very
important in the Philippines, where there is always the question of which will be the
most important. Which should take precedence: urban development or preservation of
cultural heritage? Given the fact that both national and local governments are involved,
because governments are constrained by funds, and urban development that can
generate jobs is likely to take precedence and by these, the residents of the community
will notice a significant improvement. Furthermore, the private sector would not want to
think about investing in the preservation of cultural heritage with no promise of a return
on investment.  Likewise, the community is unconcerned. As a result, there is a push to
demolish culturally significant structures in support of urbanization.

III. Statement of the Problem

This paper aims to answer the following questions:
1. How may the Philippines' cultural legacy be a driver of economic
development?
2. In the Philippines, how can urban growth be pursued without jeopardizing
cultural heritage?
3. Why is cultural legacy seen as the least important aspect of economic
progress in the Philippines?
 IV. Issue
Culture or Development?
The linear road to development, according to modernization theory, involves a
move from agrarian to industrial. Through technical diffusion and the growth of market
relations, the economy has progressed to industrialization (Pieterse, 2010). As a result,
as the Philippine economy progresses in line with such a linear growth model, there are
calls for improvement. The uttermost pursuit for urban development has led to the
destruction of communal structures, buildings, and facilities. Demands for more social
infrastructures such as housing and commercial facilities were on the rise as the
Philippine population contributed its fair share to the estimated 75 million people added
to the world's population per year. Most of the time, if not always, such demands are
met at the expense of cultural heritage preservation.
Moreover, one possible alternative for the displacement of built heritages such as
national monuments and landmarks, historical parks, and ancestral houses is projected
due to poor urban planning and zoning regulations implementation, in addition to the
paucity of available places. High-rise infrastructures such as residential condominiums,
shopping malls, theme parks, and commercial centers are developed in place of such
cultural treasures, destroying the original design and construction. As a result, Katrinka
Ebbe (2009) regards growing urbanization as a threat. There is a serious risk of
valuable cultural and natural resources being jeopardized.
Threats to culture and heritage have increased considerably over the world in the
last 20 years, according to the United Nations (United Nations Task Force on Habitat III,
2015). Joan Henderson is a writer who lives in the United (2012) states that  urban
development is an extension of globalization or cities' unending drive to be international
corporate centers and financial hubs, and so has often been accompanied by major
social and environmental problems, according to this assessment. As a result, any
resemblance to the past is regarded as a negative and scarce resources are being
thrown away in an inefficient manner.
In the Philippines, Republic Act No. 10066 (R.A. 10066), also known as the
National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, establishes cultural heritage standards based on
UNESCO treaties. The statute defines cultural heritage as the entirety of cultural
property that has been protected and developed over time and passed down to future
generations (Art II, Section 3). As a result, a cultural property refers to all products of
human ingenuity that indicate a people's or nation's identity. It also contains inherited
from ancestors and passed down to the next generation traditions or live manifestations
that are often shared, taught, symbolic, adaptive, and integrated (Balco, 2011; Radzuan
and Ahmad, 2015; UNESCO, 2011).
 The World Heritage Convention divides heritage into two types: cultural heritage
and natural heritage. Cultural heritage includes monuments, groups of structures, or
sites of historical, artistic, archaeological, or scientific significance. The second is
natural heritage, which contains remarkable physical, biological, and geographical
aspects of various plant and animal species, as well as regions of great scientific or
aesthetic worth that are deemed for conservation (UNESCO, 1972). In a broader
sense, Radzuan and Ahmad (2015) defined cultural heritage as moveable and
immovable assets of artistic, literary, architectural, historical, archaeological,
ethnological, scientific, or technological values that express a nation's soul. Cultural
heritage, on the other hand, has been regarded as an essential. the elements that
support a country's national identity and sovereignty As a result, it can act as a link
between successive generations and their forefathers and mothers, offering a source of
social attachment and a sense of belonging (Ghafar Ahmad, 2006; Henderson, 2012;
Chohan and Wai ki; 2005). In addition, cultural legacy might be defined as tangible or
intangible. On the one hand, tangible cultural heritage is a cultural asset with historical,
archival, anthropological, archaeological, aesthetic, or architectural significance.
Intangible cultural legacy, on the other hand, refers to the behaviors, representations,
expressions, knowledge, and abilities that may be identified within a certain set of
cultural or social values that societies acknowledge as part of their history (Radzuan
and Ahmad, 2015; UNESCO, 1972).
However, as cultures progress toward urbanization, urban deterioration has
become a prevalent challenge for cultural asset preservation, putting conservation in
jeopardy. As a result, cultural heritages cannot simply be laid aside; they must be
carefully safeguarded as national assets (Balco, 2011; Radzuan and Ahmad, 2015).
Hence, heritage is non-renewable in nature, Chohan and Wai Ki (2005) view
heritage conservation on a long-term basis, indicating a conservation method that
preserves the legacy without imposing unsustainable costs or disrupting the balance
between conservation and change. Veldpaus and colleagues (2013) backed such an
argument, proposing a landscape-based approach that sees conservation as a way to
mitigate the negative effects of socioeconomic development by combining urban
development and historic management. Cultural heritage conservation appears to be
based on the various sorts of value ascribed to it. It includes values in addition to the
normal aesthetic and emotional worth assigned to it by cultural proponents. From an
economic standpoint, such as the culture capital defined by Throsby (2007), which
considers both the direct use value and the indirect non-use value of cultural assets.
V. Historical Background
The following are some historical structures destroyed and replaced.

Location: Rizal Avenue (now Avenida)

Style: Art Deco
Date and Architect: 1930s National Artist for
Architecture Juan F. Nakpil
Claim to fame: Once the venue for vaudeville acts and
American movie premieres during the 1930s & 1940s.
Date Demolished: 2006 to accommodate a parking lot

Location: Near Quirino Grandstand and Luneta

Date and Architect: 1898 William E. Parsons
Claim to fame: Declared a National Historical Landmark
by cultural agencies in 1991
Date Demolished: 2014, when two annex buildings
were demolished to give way to the Rizal Park Hotel

Location: La Union
Date and Architect: 1877 Fr. Casimiro Melgosa
Claim to fame: It was where the seven martyrs of
Balaoan were executed by Spanish authorities during the
1896 Philippine revolution.
Date Demolished: 2018 and transformed into a cockpit
 Location: Caloocan
Claim to fame: Used by Antonio Luna in sending
telegrams during the war
Date Demolished: March 2019

VI. Summary
The following are important historical places and structures that has been
neglected through the years.

The Rizal Shrine is the focal point of Luneta Park, the country's most important
national park, which was renamed after Jose Rizal, whose public death on its grounds
started the Philippine Revolution in 1898. The remains of the national hero are kept in
the Shrine. However, the built of Torre de Manila will be directly behind the shrine, was
visible to anyone facing, looking at, or photographing Rizal's final resting place and was
said to be offensive to our national hero, our national identity. This has become a
problem and clear view of fight between cultural heritage and the priority of
development. However, the council's decision was hailed as "historic" in Manila's
history, but it was stressed that it should not be interpreted as an attack on developers,
but rather as a protective measure serving the interests of the city's citizens.
The Walled City, popularly known as Intramuros, has stood for centuries. The city
was established in the late 16th century as the seat of authority in Manila. The walls
were created to protect the city from possible foreign attacks because the governor
assigned to the Philippines also lived and worked there. When Spain relinquished the
Philippines to the United States in 1898, American forces took control of Intramuros and
ruled it as if it were Spain. Almost the entire city was reduced to rubble when the
Americans destroyed Intramuros in 1945 because it had become the Imperial Japanese
Army's retreat during World War II. Intramuros, however, is more than its fascinating
history and interesting tourist attractions. Communities of informal settlers live beside
the colonial houses, sometimes stacking their homes one on top of the other. The
majority of these families have lived in the city for decades, having moved there after
World War II. Intramuros was devastated at the time, and heritage structures were the
government's least priority, so these communities moved in and claimed ownership of
decaying buildings and abandoned lands. There are around 5 large barangays
(traditional Filipino term for village) inside Intramuros nowadays.

VII. Reflection / Insights

Cultural heritage is essential to preserving our identity. It provides us with an
unmistakable link to the past – to certain social values, beliefs, customs, and traditions –
allowing us to identify with others and strengthen our sense of belonging, pride, and
national pride.
As civilizations progress, any similarity to the past is viewed as a barrier to
progress, resulting in constructed heritages becoming a common casualty of
modernization.  Heritage destruction does not appear to be the sole viable alternative.
The best conservation management of world heritage properties has demonstrated how
cultural heritage can aid development.  

VIII. References
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