"...it is happening to towns like Sariaya and new buildings do not conform with the baseline old architectural harmony. They disrupt the beauty and with the mushrooming growth of new buildings, tangling power lines keep appearing in an inevitable manner."
I learned about the town of Sariaya in Quezon when it has been featured by Korina Sanchez once in her show Rated K and it highlighted the old structures in the town and also dubbed it as the little Vigan of Quezon.
Towns with Vigan-ish appeal always interest me and I am always looking forward of seeing an old non-commercialized village. In Sariaya, there is a war cry and struggle inside because modernization is a threat in bringing back the old charm of the town as I was able to see the town face to face.
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| An ancestral house in Sariaya, Quezon is trying to stand out in spite of the destructive view of these power-lines. |
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| Maps by Wikipedia |
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| Location Highlighted in Red |
I must say I love heritage structures and it is also a part of my advocacies to preserve and protect their presence.
I am somewhat impressed with the town and Korina did not kill my expectations. Along the national highway, rows of old houses are standing with the clamor to survive the threats of modernization and commercialization. Well, they still survive. Some are modified. Some are restored. Some remain to be as it is. But the town of Sariaya being the second most populated municipality of Quezon province with Lucena City being the most populated is growing fast economically.
The presence of modern structures are now grabbing a space in between the heritage houses altering the unison and architectural harmony and the most eye-catchy addition that diverts the old beauty of the town is the presence of the power lines.
Well, this is somehow inevitable for a country like the Philippines because we do not have exceptional urban planning and at times, we don't have proper urban zoning and worse, we don't care at all. This is not a focus of our government because there are still other grave problems that our society needs to solve first like unemployment and poverty.
But as a person who loves our history and heritage, I am deeply affected with what is happening in our towns with heritage treasures to preseve.
Well, this is somehow inevitable for a country like the Philippines because we do not have exceptional urban planning and at times, we don't have proper urban zoning and worse, we don't care at all. This is not a focus of our government because there are still other grave problems that our society needs to solve first like unemployment and poverty.
But as a person who loves our history and heritage, I am deeply affected with what is happening in our towns with heritage treasures to preseve.
I am not blaming someone or anyone for these struggles because as I have said the priorities of our government is focused on a different direction buy hey! Just a wake up call, we can always shape our future but we can never reshape our past. Once gone, it is always gone. It is like an extinct animal that can only be appreciated through documents but will be impossible for an actual encounter.
In Vigan, it has been inscribed as a world heritage city so international organizations with the cooperation of the local government unit have done a massive effort of preserving the structures. But I think without such recognition, the eyes of conservationists won't know about Vigan and will just turn to be a dilapidated remains of an extinct old beauty. My point here is that, it is happening to towns like Sariaya and new buildings do not conform to the baseline old architectural harmony. They disrupt the beauty and with the mushrooming growth of new buildings, tangling power lines keep appearing in an inevitable manner.
I think, it is now time for the town of Sariaya to create proper zoning and diversion road to keep unfriendly vehicles away from the old structures and at the same time, zoning to get rid of the multicolored modern structures that is annoying considering they are established in between the old structures.
This is just an opinion, a suggestion. The final blow of course will fall under the initiative of those who have been entrusted for such jurisdiction. No hurt feelings. I am entitled to my own opinion and no one can take me that away. I travel. I observe, I comment, I suggest and I blog. This is my advocacy and expect me to tell this. I am looking forward for a vibrant conservation effort in the future not just in Sariaya but all over the Philippines because this is our culture, our heritage, our pride, our country, the Philippines.
Tags: Ancestral Houses in Sariaya, Quezon | Old Houses in Sariaya Quezon | Heritage of Sariaya, Quezon |
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