The sugar heritage trail in Panay and Negros Islands is now on the tentative list of the World Heritage List, following its nomination by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Philippines.
“The Sugar Cultural Landscape of Negros and Panay Islands” was submitted under the cultural category, with seven areas and properties as components, including the historic center of Silay City, Hawaiian-Philippine Company, Victorias Milling Company, Hacienda Santa Rosalia, Balay ni Tana Dicang, and Aniceto Lacson Mansion, all in Negros Occidental, and Calle Real in Iloilo City.
“The Sugar Cultural Landscape of Negros and Panay Islands showcases the legacy of the sugar industry brought by the industrialization of sugar production in the late 18th century, such as mills, factories, plantations, buildings, and mansions that reflect the social and economic dynamics of the late Spanish-colonial and American-colonial eras,” as per a narrative posted in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention website.
The Historic Center of Silay City, with its collection of preserved heritage houses, is part of the Silay National Historical Landmark, as declared by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).
Other parts of the trail are privately owned, consisting of two operating sugar centrals, one as a private home, a museum, and one for reuse by the National Museum of the Philippines.
The Silay Public Information Office posted photos of the Historic Center and the Hawaiian-Philippine Company, an operational sugar central in the City March 11, and lauded their inclusion to the World Heritage tentative list.
“The city’s Historic Center, with a large collection of preserved heritage houses declared by the NHCP as part of Silay National Historical Landmark, showcases the wealth derived from sugar cultivation and production,” the PIO said, adding that Silay is, indeed, a center of economic development and industrialization.
Calle Real, meanwhile, is a heritage zone designated by the Iloilo City government and declared by the NHCP as a district and heritage zone.
“The Sugar Cultural Landscape of Negros and Panay Islands” entry needs substantive documents to prove that it is of “outstanding universal value”, before the Sept. 14, 2024 deliberations.
The Department of Tourism Western Visayas commissioned a study in 2023 to explore the possibility of establishing a Western Visayas Sugar Heritage Trail to better understand the industrial heritage and identify the opportunity for sugar heritage tourism products in the region.
The study initially identified 127 trails, or remnants and landmarks, of the industry; 87 are in Negros Occidental, 25 in Iloilo, seven in Capiz, five in Guimaras, and three in Antique. | CGC, PNA
