The municipality of Lambunao in Iloilo is eyeing the declaration of three prominent structures inside the town plaza and oral traditions of its indigenous peoples as cultural heritage.

In an interview on Tuesday, Lambunao tourism officer Jennifer L. Osorio said they are working on the declaration of the bandstand, and two lagoons as cultural heritage.

“Those are heritage structures because they are more than 50 years old,” she said.

With the completion of the town’s new environment-friendly municipal building, the next major project, she said, will be the rehabilitation of the plaza where the structures are located.

The bandstand is situated at the center of the plaza while the lagoons are situated on both sides fronting the municipal building.

One prominent structure that can be seen in one of the lagoons is a mermaid statue inspired by folklore on the appearance of the mythical sea-dwelling creature at the alleged salty part of the Maasin Falls in Barangay Sagcup, around 14 kilometers away from the town’s Poblacion.

Also serving as inspiration was the reported sighting of a mermaid at the Tinagong Dagat (hidden lake) in the mountainous barangay of Cabatangan.

She added that there were stories that those seeking lifetime companions and who frequent the lagoon even throw coins at the mermaid to find their “forever”.

“There were a lot of stories but they have yet to be mapped out by experts. The stories were just word of mouth from elders that need to be verified,” Osorio added.

The tourism officer said they are also planning to document and map out the oral traditions, handicrafts, and livelihood of the town’s Panay Bukidnon Indigenous Peoples (IPs).

Currently, seven barangays in Lambunao are considered 100 percent IP barangays while those in other villages are up for validation by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).

“The province of Iloilo is rich with culture and heritage that should be preserved,” she said, adding there have been offers to the municipality to help in the mapping.

Osorio said young generations mostly embrace modern technologies as they no longer give importance to their past.

However, the national government is now giving importance to the preservation of natural and cultural heritage as mandated under Republic Act 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009.

The law defines cultural heritage as “the totality of cultural property preserved and developed through time and passed on to posterity”. (PNA)