01 February 2007
By Ephraim Aguilar
Legazpi City
PEOPLE ARE USUALLY NONCHAlant about preserving their heritage, but for Dr. Erlinda Gonzales-Belleza, 63, taking care of Legazpi City’s relics and book collection is a basic thing to do.
Belleza’s love for culture could have been inherited from her grandfather, Don Mariano Goyena del Prado, a Spaniard who was then a capitan de municipal (equivalent to city mayor) of Legazpi and historian known as the “Grand Old Man of Bicol Culture.”
Del Prado wrote the Bicol history book “Ibalon” in Spanish, now one of the rare books in the National Library.
He was also responsible for the identification of local and historical spots, and the public observance of important historical dates.
But beyond tending the Legazpi City Museum and Library every day, Belleza also carries out a mission to enlighten people about the value of preserving their waning heritage, which, she would say, is the primary key to the city’s progress.
Bothered
Belleza, a museum curator since 2000 and was instrumental in its establishment in 1993, said she was bothered by the people’s lack of awareness of the significance of the city’s artifacts and records, and of keeping intact their culture that made them unique.
In the midst of infrastructure facilities that have sprung up in Legazpi to beef up tourist arrivals and improve the local economy, Belleza maintained that any form of tourism was essentially “cultural.”
She said the Bicolanos should shy away from the “4-S” of popular tourism—sun, sea, sand and sex—and should first focus on keeping what made their place unique in terms of its history and culture.
“Our visitors should experience who we really are and what we eat and drink. Instead of bringing them to restaurants offering foreign delicacies, why not let them eat our own pinangat or drink our own tinutong na bagas (rice coffee)? Our primary motivation should not be to please them but to earnestly impart to them our real own,” Belleza said.
Not many establishments in the city promote the unique Bicol culture. Instead, they are but imitations with traces of outside influence, she noted.
Relics ruined
Belleza could only lament that some people were misguided by wrong development mindsets.
“I’ve long been accused of being ‘antidevelopment’ for fighting the destruction of old historical landmarks in the city, which is still a threat to other remaining historical sites,” she said.
When the Peñaranda Park at the center of City Hall, the Capitol and St. Gregory the Great Parish in Old Albay District was renovated by the provincial government in 2001, three of the city’s historical landmarks vanished.
First was the Liberty Bell, a gift given by the Americans to the Albayanos on April 1, 1945. Inscribed in it were the words of the Americans to the people of Albay: “Individually or collectively, if oppression ever knocks at your door, feel free to ring this bell.”
Belleza said the Liberty Bell, which was a replica of the American Liberty Bell at the Independence Hall in Philadelphia, was not just the symbol of Albay’s liberation from the Japanese but that of the whole Bicol.
Albay was the starting point of the region’s liberation through the Albay Gulf in Barangay Rawis on April 1, 1945.
The bell was replaced with a fake. The real one is now in the protective custody of the museum.
Monuments
Another case is the Peñaranda Monument, an obelisk erected in 1854 in honor of Albay Gov. Jose Ma. Peñaranda, who served on 1834-40. Through Peñaranda’s encouragement of agriculture and industry, Albay was transformed into one of the most progressive provinces.
After his term, the government structures of bamboo and thatch were replaced with sturdy rubble and lime. New roads were laid out and rubble bridges built.
Belleza said Peñaranda was also responsible for the opening of public highways and postal routes in northern and southern Luzon.
The concrete marker, placed on Dec. 15, 1948 and containing the names of the early city officials, was also destroyed.
On Jan. 11, 2002, Belleza wrote a letter to the National Historical Institute, asking for comment, recommendation and intervention on the redevelopment of the park.
“Despite warnings of the National Historical Institute to our local officials after I wrote the letter, they did not listen and still did what they wanted,” Belleza said.
Lastly, the Headless Monument, which was originally built near the port, was transferred to the Post Office compound because it was being desecrated by slumdwellers, who would tie ropes on it to hang their laundry.
The monument was built by Don Buenaventura de Erquiaga, the philanthropist founder of Legazpi College, in memory of the Bicolanos who suffered atrocities during the Japanese occupation.
Belleza said that according to urban tales, the Headless Monument was a man who carried sacks of copra unloaded from the ships at the port. He was beheaded by the Japanese soldiers when he was found to be “stealing.”
Kapuntukan Hill
Now, Belleza is still closely watching the developments that could lead to the destruction of historical and cultural sites. One of them is the ongoing reconstruction of the boulevard area that might destroy the rustic structure of the Kapuntukan Hill rising above the central business district.
The structure, strategically located at the coast of Albay Gulf, had served as lookout post against invaders.
“I have nothing against building new facilities and structures. They can build anything they want for as long as the original historical and cultural elements of the place remain untouched and preserved,” Belleza said.
She said she felt glad that, finally, the city included in its 2007 priority plans the putting up of a separate building to house the new Bicol Museum. She hoped it would be given funding and realized.
At present, the museum and library occupies a 339-square-meter hall at the back of City Hall. Last year, 9,192 people visited the museum and 1,383 went to the library.
The existence of a good museum and a library implies that the place is progressive, Belleza said.
She also saw the need to rewrite and reorganize Bicol history, this time, from the point of view of a Bicolano.
She called on people to give facts and donate antiques and memorabilia about Bicol’s heroes to the museum.
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