CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- In the middle of last year in Toronto, I received an email from a staff member of Anemon Productions, a Greek company of five filmmakers and producers. Located in Athens, Anemon “produces documentaries and television programmes for Greece and the international market and offers production and post-production facilities as well as film archive research expertise.”
The email requested our organization, the Heritage Conservation Advocates (HCA), to submit an article and photos illustrating the state ofarchaeological looting in the Philippines. Our contribution would beincluded in “HISTORY LOST, a multi-media traveling exhibition about theillicit trade of antiquities in Greece, Cyprus and the world.” The exhibitis now in the Benaki Museum in Athens.
After discussion with other members of the HCA, I sent a 500-word article with photos to Anemon. The following is an expanded version:
“Archaeological looting in the Philippines is quite common: Three hundred years of Spanish rule and 40 years of American occupation have created a population largely apathetic to its roots. Widespread poverty and stories about alleged treasures buried by Japanese soldiers during the Second World War have prodded many people to take anything of perceived value from caves and other sites.
“This condition has made archaeological work in the Philippines frustrating. Archaeology to most people is a vague occupation, and archaeologists are sometimes suspected as treasure hunters. Their presence in an area may cause looting instead of protection of fossils and relics. When archaeologists leave a site after hours of painstakingly slow scraping, they might find in the morning that their carefully made plot has turned into an ugly, gaping hole.
“In Cagayan de Oro and vicinities are looted archaeological sites. Years ago, treasure hunters blasted the Tagbalitang Caves with dynamites. Several potteries and other artifacts were destroyed, but a Xavier University (XU) group saved a few relics. Later, the place was bulldozed for some kind of land ‘development’.
“In 1991, a National Museum archaeologist made a survey of Kros Rockshelter, an XU property. Already the site showed indications of disturbance. Still he found human bones, pots, and shards. But when an XU team examined the site in 2001, they found a tunnel apparently made by treasure hunters. The previous visit of the archaeologist could have made some people suspicious. “In 1999, the mayor of Cagayan de Oro initiated a plan to make a road-and-bridge project that would cut the Open Site of Huluga, the venue of a prehistoric community. The plan would also require the destruction of ancient burial caves. Despite or probably because of persistent protests by the HCA, the mayor gave order to bulldoze the Open Site. The caves were spared but remain unprotected.
“Dr. Erlinda Burton, an archaeologist and current curator of Museo de Oro of XU, discovered a midden in Huluga in 2003. It contained small animal bones and fossilized snails. She requested the landowner to protect the area. But the landowner – who served as guide to the National Museum archaeologist and is an employee of the city tourism office – surrounded the site with a fence, and dug a deep hole there instead. He was not stopped by members of a Christian chapel beside the site, or by the village and city politicians.
“Recently, the mayor of Manila desecrated the archaeological Arroceros Park, despite protests by heritage conservationists.
“Incidents like these indicate that in many parts of the Philippines, archaeological and historical sites are seen merely as raw material for possible financial gain. They are not considered sacred, and not worthy for study and promotion. The situation is made more difficult by a centralized National Museum which does not have deputies in the provinces. It is also made confusing by the current President whose idea of cultural preservation is to declare her personal residence in Iligan City a national heritage.” [Tambasakan is Elson T. Elizaga's column for MindaViews, the opinion section of MindaNews. Elizaga is the webmaster of heritage.elizaga. net, the website of The Heritage Conservation Advocates (HCA). The HCA has an online forum that accepts non-HCA members. Send email to elson@elizaga. net.] |
