UNACOM hints Chocolate Hills

Nomination as world heritage

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, June 30, (PIA) –The drought for the United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site declaration may soon break, as the UNESCO National Commission (UNACOM) appears positive that the Chocolate Hills would soon get its own World Heritage Site (WHS) declaration.

UNESCO, which believes in heritage as the present generation’s legacy from the past, that which people live with today, and what would be passed on to future generations.

Heritage, be they natural or cultural, according to the UNESCO, are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration and so they seek to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.

It may be recalled that it was Filipino architect Augusto Villalon, who represented the Philippines to the UNSECO committee drafted the dossiers of the five heritage inscriptions which were granted between 1993 to 1999 to the Underground River of Palawan, the Cordillera Rice Terraces and the Tubbataha Reefs as natural heritage sites and the City of Vigan, the baroque churches of the Philippines as cultural heritage.

In 2014, the UNESCO also granted the world heritage inscription to Mount Hamiguitan Ranges as the country’s latest WHS.

With already having six sites in the WHS list, UNACOM Secretary General Dr. Ivan Anthony Henares bared that the Philippine Commission has pushed anew for the inscription of the Chocolate Hills and the country’s fourth site in the list of natural heritage.

Speaking via video message during the handover of UNESCO inscription for Bohol Island as global geopark, Dr. Henares revealed that they hope the UNESCO can act on the Chocolate Hills, so it can be taken off the geoparks concerns and unburden the entire Bohol of its preservation and conservation.

According to the UNSECO, once a country which signs the World Heritage Convention, has sites inscribed on the World Heritage List, the resulting prestige often helps raise awareness among citizens and governments for heritage preservation.

Greater awareness leads to a general rise in the level of the protection and conservation given to heritage properties.

Moreover, it said, a country may also receive financial assistance and expert advice from the World Heritage Committee to support activities for the preservation of its sites.

Already in the tentative list of the country’s candidates for WHS inscription, the Chocolate Hills is one of the three Bohol sites that have been added in the 19 that are in the tentative for future nomination.

With the Chocolate Hills are Loboc Church, which is proposed as an extension of the first inscription of baroquie churches in the country, along with Boljoon Church of Cebu, Guiuan Church of Eastern Samar, Tumauini Church of Isabela and Lazi Church of Siquijor.

Loboc Church is a cultural heritage site and is declared a National Cultural Treasure.

Moreover, the petrographs of Anda Peninsula especially the Lamanoc Point has also been listed as among the petroglyphs and petrographs of the Philippines, as another potential cultural heritage site.

Anda Peninsula’s petrographs are with Angono Petroglyphs of Rizal, Alab Petroglyphs of Mountain Province, Penablanca Petrographs of Cagayan Province and the Singnapan Caves Petrographs of southern Palawan. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

MORE TOURISTS. With the Chocolate Hills getting into the World Heritage Sites list, it could bring in more tourists, experts, scientists and geologists who would be helping Boholanos understand the value of the site and help in its conservation. (PIAbohol)