Sen. Pia: NHCP can issue cease order vs. Torre de Manila

Senator Pia S. Cayetano today threw her support behind the parallel inquiry being conducted by the House of Representatives on the construction of the controversial Torre de Manila high-rise condominium across Rizal Park in Manila.

"I am pleased that the House of Representatives has started its own hearings on the matter of Torre de Manila, which stands to alter and destroy the iconic sightline of Rizal Monument," said the senator, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Education, Art and Culture.

"It is encouraging to know that members in both chambers of Congress are supporting efforts to safeguard our historical sites which form an integral part of our national identity," added the senator, referring to the public hearing conducted by the House Committee on Metro Manila Development earlier this week.

"The call of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development for the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) to issue a cease-and-desist order against the developers of Torre de Manila (DMCI Homes, Inc.) is very timely," she added.

"Issues involving heritage conservation continue to come up. New cases of endangered sites are being brought to our attention almost weekly," she noted.

"Just last week, media reported about the issue of 33 ancestral homes threatened with demolition in Palo, Leyte due to a road widening project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). After learning of that, I wrote the DPWH to urge them to coordinate with our cultural agencies to find ways to preserve these century-old structures," she related.

"The support coming from both chambers should encourage and send a clear signal to our cultural agencies to assert their authority in preserving our heritage sites as the law mandates them," she concluded.

The latest construction update on DMCI's website (as of October 14, 2014) indicates that Torre de Manila is already 27.32 % completed. The site does not say, however, how many floors have already been constructed of the planned 49-story high-rise condominium tower.

NOTE: Link to DMCI construction update: http://www.dmcihomes.com/torre-de-manila?construction-updates