Things to know about efforts to declare Quiapo a heritage zone

To many, the hustle, bustle, chaos, and color of Quiapo is the quintessence of Manila, the Philippine capital.

You may know it as the crazy market district, home to historic Quinta Market and a plethora of stalls selling everything from cheap wedding decor, to medicinal herbs, to anting-anting (amulet or charm). It encompasses the route of the famous Black Nazarene procession, but also has a thriving Muslim community surrounding the Golden Mosque, the largest Philippine mosque outside of Mindanao.

F.R. Hidalgo Street, known to photography enthusiasts for its many camera shops, was once called the most beautiful street in Manila because of the stately arcades of homes that lined it.

Given all of Quiapo’s unique attributes, many have pushed for protection and conservation of the area. In recent months, progress has been made, with the House of Representatives passing House Bill No. 8664, a bill that seeks to declare Quiapo a heritage zone. It is authored by the representative of the district that covers Quiapo, Joel Chua.

In the Senate, a similar bill, No. 2324, authored by Senator Loren Legarda, is still being discussed at the committee level. But on April 30, Legarda called for a hearing with Chua, heard from heritage advocates, conservation experts, and Quiapo property owners, and agreed to create a technical working group to work on the bills.

Legarda and Chua spoke about their bills and the obstacles that line the path to their passage into law during a Be The Good episode last May 10.

Some major thorny points are the need to balance conservation of historic structures with economic development, and the geographic extent of the heritage zone declaration.

Here’s what you need to know.

The two bills still differ in geographic coverage. The House Bill covers “the immediate environs of Quiapo Church, Plaza Miranda, San Sebastian Church, Plaza del Carmen, Quezon Bridge, the Life Theatre or Old Villongco Building, and other built heritage with notable historical and cultural significance.”

The Senate bill, in its filed version, declares the broader “Quiapo district” as a heritage zone, but also lists down specific historic structures needing protection.

The bill