BREAKING HERITAGE LAW

IT is sad to know that the sitting governor broke heritage law by ordering the internal repairs of what she calls her new Capitol office without the mandatory heritage permit from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).

She allocated P2.6 million for the erroneous project and her favored contractor, 1020 Allied Services, started tearing walls without the necessary NHCP heritage permit, a clear violation of Republic Act 10066 or the National Heritage Act of 2009.

Let's remember that the Cebu Capitol is a declared national historical landmark and any restoration, conservation and modification of the building should have the NHCP heritage permit.

It appears that the sitting governor didn't mind the law and such fundamental legal and ethical breach was compounded by the failure of the Provincial Board to do its check and balance responsibility.

It failed to ask the very important and non-negotiable question: Where is the NHCP permit?

The abdication of the Board's oversight responsibility has transformed itself from being a watchdog into a rubber stamp, sharing liability for allowing an unlawful project to proceed.

The Capitol is more than a building -- it is a soul that embodies the rich history and identity of the Cebuanos.

What the sitting governor and the board members did has placed this soul in jeopardy, exposing a glaring failure in governance.

In Cebuano, "angay silang maulaw sa ilang dakong salaod."