UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Philippines

Baroque Churches of the Philippines
Date of Inscription: 1993
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Tubbataha Reef Marine Park
Date of Inscription: 1993
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Rice Terraces of the Philippne Cordilleras
Date of Inscription: 1995
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Historic Town of Vigan
Date of Inscription: 1999
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Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park
Date of Inscription: 1999
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Baroque Churches of the Philippines
Baroque Churches is the official designation on the four Spanish Colonial Churches in the Philippines. In 1993 four of the baroque churches in the Philippines were inscribed in the list of World Heritage of UNESCO, the San Agustin Church in Manila; The Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur; San Agustin Church in Paoay, Ilocos Norte; and Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Church in Miag-ao Iloilo.

The structure of the churches have been a significant event in the history of the Philippines, not just in expanding Christianity in the country as well as in serving as a political strength of the Spanish colonial rule. These churches serve not just a mere religious structure but also a fortress against the revolts and rebellions.

San Agustin Church. The San Agustin Church is located at the fortified city of Intramuros in Manila. Built in 1570, it is the first religious structure built in the island of Luzon, thus serves as a significant shrine to the Spanish colonization.

Built by Juan Macarias in 1586 and was completed in 1606 it was derived from the Augustinian churches in Mexico with consideration to the quality of local stone and weather conditions in the country.

In 1863 the church was destroyed by an earthquake and was renovated by Luciano Oliver in 1864. The facade follows the style of High Renaissance, a touch of Baroque by the richly carved wooden doors that depict floras and religious images. It is also the only colonial church that was able to maintain its original vaulting despite the destructive forces during World War II.

Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion. In 1982 this magnificent church was designated as historical landmark and was followed as one of the four baroque churches inscribed in the World Heritage list of UNESCO in 1993. Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion is on the edge of the hill overlooking the town of Sta. Maria in the province of Ilocos Sur. The church was built in 1765 by the Augustinians and served as a fortress during the Philippine Revolution in 1896.

The church has two huge pillars flank on the church facade. The exposed brickworks give the church a reddish exterior. Nearby the church is an octagonal tower consisting of stacked octagonal horizontal cross sections of decreasing diameter.

San Agustin Church in Paoay. In the town of Paoay, Ilocos Norte lays the Shrine of St. Augustine. This church is considered to be as one of the most unusual edifices in the country with its huge walls bordering the sides and back facade.

The San Agustin Church is considered be an earthquake-resistant church. The buttresses extended out considerably from the exterior walls which form a three dimensional visual effect and serves as a giant sentinels suspended to protect the church form adversaries. The walls of the church were mixture of coral stones and bricks. The facade is divided vertically by square columns that broaden from the ground and all the way to the top of the pediment. It is goes together with a bell tower located at its ride side.

A few metres away the church is the coral-stone bell, built farther ways to prevent damage to the church in case of natural disaster. It also serves as a observation post for katipuneros during the Philippine Revolution.

The exotic church was built by an Augustinian priest, Fr. Antonio Estavillo in 1694 and completed in 1710. The huge and powerful buttresses demonstrate its unique quality.

Sto. Tomas de la Villanueva. Located in the town of Miagao in the Province of Iloilo is one of the four baroque churches that the Philippine is truly proud of. Structured in 1787 under the supervision of the parish priest Fr. Francisco Gonzales and the town governorcillo Domingo Libo-on, to serve as a fortress against Moro raiders and was completed in 1797.

The adjoining towers, huge and unequal height gives the church a fortress structure. The facade are designed like retablo, within the portal is a niche containing St. Thomas. Its niche is connected to the first story through columns supporting a platform. Within the centre of the bas-relief facade is a large coconut tree that reaches the apex. The blending of the decorative styles of Classical, Baroque and Rococo is one of the characteristics of this architectural and religious gem of the country.

Tubbataha Reef
Tubbataha Reef is situated in the center of Sulu Sea. This National Marine Park is 181 km from the southeast of Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Tubbataha came from combined Samal words which means long reef exposed at low tide.

Tubbataha Reef is a ground of coral island surrounded by a lagoon. It has two atolls: the North reef that has a length of 16 km; and the South Reef which is 5 km long and 3 km wide. The two atolls are separated by deep channel with a width of 8 km.

The Tubbataha boasts of wide varieties of coral assemblage. There are 49 coral genera which covers 70 to 80% of the reef slopes and edges. The marine park is one of the oldest Philippine ecosystems since the reef formation began around 15 million years ago within the eruption of the chain of volcanoes along the Cagayan Ridges.

There are over one thousand species dwelling in the reef, many of those are already endangered. Past researches conducted in the area had recorded 396 species of corals, 479 species of fish, species of sharks, sea turtles, and marine mammals.

The marine ecosystem is so big that it has networks of smaller ecosystem. From biggest fish such as whale shark down to the smallest organism such as marine plankton, that depends on each other for its survival. The reef serves as a breeding ground for the sea turtles and endangered bird species. Other species seen in the area are stringrays, spinylobsters, leopard sharks, giant jacks, barracudas, parrot fish, hammerhead sharks, guitar sharks, snappers, lion fish, tortoise, clownfish, grey reef sharks and manta rays.

The remoteness of the reef and the 12 hours voyage has been a great shield against exploitation. Fishermen visit the area seasonally for temporary shelter. The park has been considered as the best dive site in the Philippines for its great underwater visibility and the underwater caves swarming with marine life and the coral walls with extensive colonies of fish.

Aside from being a marine sanctuary, the reef also serves as a temporary refuge of migrating birds. Some of the birds that nest here are thousands of masked red-foot boobies, terns and frigate birds.

In order to protect the park President Gloria Macapacal Arroyo extended the boundaries of the park by 200%, it is now 968.24 sq km in size and guarded by armed rangers 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Tourist and dive operates are oriented to the regulations within the area to minimize the negative impact of diving activities.

Banaue Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordillera
Terrace in agriculture is a leveled section of a hilly cultivated area and this method of farming is practiced throughout the whole regions of Pacific Asia. In the Philippines there is a human landscape of rice cultivation in terraces. The Banaue terraces in Cordillera Region is an ancient rambling man made structure from 2000 to 3000 years ago with a 70% slanting slopes. Situated within the provinces of Apayao, Benguet, Mt. Province and ifuagao, this unique structure was recognized by UNESCO and inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1995.

The terraces are approximately 1500 m above sea level and cover 10,360 sq km of the mountain side. The terraces was built to maximize farming space in mountainous Cordillera region and to prevent erosion. The walls of the terraces are compacted earth and stones about 6 to 7 m high carved by hand out of whole mountainsides.

Historic Town of Vigan
The City of Vigan is the capital of the province of Ilocos Sur. Located on the western coast of the Luzon and facing South China Sea. It was established in 15th century as a Southeast Asian commercial trading seaport.

In 1572, a group of Spanish voyager headed by Captain Juan de Salcedo arrived in Vigan. The successful voyage in the North led Don Juan Salcedo to establish Villa Fernandina de Vigan in honour of King Philip II’s son, Prince Ferdinand. As a reward to his exceptional service the King Philip II of Spain awarded the province of Ilocos as his Encomienda.

This 11 km town in Ilocos was inscribed in the World Heritage List of UNESCO in 1999 on the following basis: the unique blend of Asian building design and construction with European colonial architecture and planning; and the exceptional intact and preservation of the colonial town in Asia.

In order to preserve this historic town of Vigan the local government evokes all the processes of caring and maintaining the cultural significance of the town.

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River. Located at the Saint Paul Mountain Range on the northern coast of Palawan Province is a park that features a stunningly beautiful landscape of limestone karsts within the underground river. Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is also known as St. Paul’s Subterranean River National Park. A short hike from the town of Sabang would lead the tourist to the entrance of the Park.

The park was created in 1971 under the protection of Department of Environment and Natural Resources but was transferred to the governance of Puerto Princesa Palawan in 1992. In 1999 the UNESCO recognized the park and inscribed on the list of World Heritage.

The park has a core zone of 5,753 ha and has an elevation of 1,028 m above sea level. It consist of various landforms, the most striking is the limestone formation of the karts mountain. The physical feature of the area varies from flat plains to the sloping hinterlands. Its main attraction is the magnificent subterranean river that has a length of 8.2 km and flows directly into South China Sea. The underground river is enveloped by major formation of stalactites and stalagmites with a number of chambers that reaches 60 m high and as wide as 120 m.

The rich vegetation of the park includes the mangroves, mossy forests and seagrass beds and coral reefs in the marine portion. The two-thirds of the reserve vegetation are naturally dominated by big hard wood species. The area also represents a noticeable degree of biodiversity. At the entrance of the cave is a clear lagoon surrounded by ancient trees growing right the water’s edge.

In order to protect and conserve this natural wonder, the local government of Puerto Princesa extended the restrictions of the area and reinforces strict guidelines for the preservation of the said site.