NCCA issues cease and desist order vs. Baguio City Hall improvement project

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts has issued a cease and desist order to the Baguio City government to stop the Improvement of the Baguio City Hall Grounds project.

According to the order, dated June 3, 2015 and signed by NCCA Chairman Felipe de Leon, Baguio City Hall is a presumed Important Cultural Property (PICP) and is therefore protected from modification or demolition persuant to Section 5 of the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 or RA 10066.

The commission further stressed that under the law, permission is required from the NCCA before an individual or institution can "[modify, alter or destroy] the original features of, or [undertake] construction of real estate development in any national shrine, monument, landmark, and other historic edifices and structures declared, classified, and marked by the NHCP [National Historical Commission of the Philippines], inclusive of their designated security or buffer zones extending five meters from the visible perimeter of the monument or site..."

The order says that failure to comply constitutes a criminal offense under RA 10066, or the Heritage Law.

Earlier, in a letter to the Baguio Heritage Foundation dated May 08, 2015, Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan said that, "The Fencing and the Improvements of the City Hall grounds are obviously outside the said five-meter security or buffer zone. Therefore, with all due respect, its on-going implementation is not a violation of RA 10066."

According to Domogan, the project includes fencing of the city hall compound and improvement of the flag pole area with a stage and mini museum underneath. — BM, GMA News