Chinese-funded bridge in Intramuros may be moved to prevent intrusion into UNESCO Heritage Site – Palace

November 22, 2018

Malacanang said on Thursday the location of the ongoing Chinese-funded bridge project in Intramuros, Manila may be moved to avoid intrusion into United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Heritage Site.

In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the project would still push through, but not n the current location, which reportedly is within the buffer zone required by UNESCO for San Agustin Church, a World Heritage Site.

"Not necessarily ‘not push through’, because you may remove the locations to maybe a hundred meters away. I don’t think that will be a problem," Panelo said.

Asked if the Palace would not allow the intrusion of the area, "Oh definitely, because that is a World Heritage. It’s part of our history," he added.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported UNESCO has warned San Agustin Church and three other Baroque churches in the country could be delisted from the World Heritage List due to the construction of the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge across the Pasig River in Manila.

The three churches are the San Agustin in Paoay, Ilocos Norte; Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur; and Santo Tomas de Villanueva in Miag-ao, Iloilo.

They were collectively declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. The delisting of one could also result to the delisting of the others. Celerina Monte/DMS