Rep. Joel Chua
THE Quiapo heritage zone bills of Senator Lito Lapid and Senator Loren Legarda, including ancestral houses, locations, and the Manila Golden Mosque and Cultural Center, are welcome refinements, according to Congressman Joel Chua, principal author of HB 8664.
“I welcome this detail. It would refine the Quiapo Heritage Zone bill and bodes well for the Quiapo Heritage Zone measures as they move along in the other chamber of Congress,” Chua said.
“The support of Senators Lapid and Legarda gives the Quiapo Heritage Zone bill a strong foothold in their chamber,” Chua said.
He also said, “While the Senate has yet to approve a consolidated substitute bill at the level of their committee on culture and the arts, hope is strong the committee will merge the provisions of HB 8664 into their substitute bill as this move would help the measure move faster through the legislative pipeline.”
“I am proud of HB 8664. The amendments to my HB 3750 were really improvements. Enhancements are the added paragraphs on including the traditional route of the Feast of the Black Nazarene procession, the Conservation Management Plan, international standards of conservation, special roles of the city government of Manila, conditional exemption on real property tax, consultations with stakeholders, and the mandate to the Department of Tourism to “accord priority development” to the Quiapo Heritage Zone,” Chua explained.
“HB 3750 transformed into the much better HB 8664 because of the inputs of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the City of Manila, the Department of Tourism, principal sponsors Rep. Roman Romulo and Rep. Elizaldy Co, and my other colleagues who moved for specific amendments,” the Manila congressman acknowledged.
