Alvarez vows support for Rice Terraces rehab

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Heherson Alvarez has pledged to push for more government support for the rehabilitation of the Banaue Rice Terraces which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has placed in its "endangered" list of World Heritage sites.

This, as Senators Blas Ople and Edgardo Angara both called on the Arroyo government to fund the rehabilitation of the Rice Terraces.

"I am saddened by this development and I pledge the DENR’s cooperation and resources in ensuring that future generations will still be able to marvel at this ancient engineering wonder, which also stands imposingly as a proud monument to the genius and skill of our forefathers," Alvarez said in a statement.

UNESCO recognized the Banaue Rice Terraces as a World Heritage Site in 1995. Although its deterioration is not immediately visible to the untrained eye, UNESCO estimates its rate of damage at 20 to 30 percent.

The Philippine government, according to UNESCO, has only 10 years to restore the Rice Terraces or else the problem would be irreversible.

The Philippines earlier ratified the World Heritage Conventions of 1985 and, with this commitment, it is bound to provide funding and support for the preservation of the man-made wonder.

However, Lauris Anudon, planning director of the Banaue Rice Terraces Task Force, said the Ramos, Estrada and Arroyo administrations have cumulatively given P224 million or only 16 percent of the project’s requirements.

The three-year development master plan for restoring the terraces is pegged at P1.3 billion.

Alvarez promised to find ways to increase funding for the project amid austerity measures imposed on next year’s national budget.

He encouraged the private sector to take part in saving the Banaue Rice Terraces from further deterioration.

He welcomed the efforts of a group of private donors and experts convened by Ifugao Gov. Teodoro Baguilat in launching a long-term crusade to save the endangered World Heritage Site. — With Aurea Calica