Project Title & Location
SANTA BARBARA HERITAGE ZONE
Province of Iloilo, Philippines

Client
Local Government of sta. Barbara and the national Centennial Commission
Sta. Barbara, Iloilo and Ortigas, Pasig

Municipal Government of Sta Barbara, Iloilo

Project Completion
1997

Associated Firms
Pedro Ortigas, Architect
Socorro Atega, Landscape Architect

Services Provided
- Master Planning
- Heritage and Conservation Planning
- Architectural and Engineering Services

The town of Sta. Barbara, Iloilo is located in the southern part of the Island of Panay. It is 15.6 kilometers from the coastal city of Iloilo. It has a land area of 7750 hectares, mostly devoted to rice cultivation followed by corn, vegetables and coconut. Bamboo furniture-making is the town's most prominent craft. Its place in history was established on 17 November 1898 when the Visayan revolutionary leaders first raised the Philippine Flag in public. These echo the revolution against Spanish rule. The plot to revolt was hatched in the farmhouse of Sabas Solinap. General Martin Teofilo Delgado was designated Commanding General of the Revolutionary Forces called the Ejercito Labrador. All these happened in places close to the town's plaza where today still stands the Roman Catholic Church and Convent which the Revolutionary Forces used as their General Headquarters and Military Hospital.

In recognition of the historic events that occurred in the area, the Sangguniang Bayan of Sta. Barbara passed Ordinance 1, 1996 on 29 May 1996 declaring the Poblacion and portions of the adjacent barangays as the town's most revered heritage zone.

A framework plan identifies the strategies that project the townscape and the amenities of the old Ilonggo lifestyle at the time of the revolution. Complementing the framework plan is a set of development guidelines that assures cohesiveness of new construction, rehabilitation and relocation of existing structures within the zone. The guidelines also serve as the basis for evaluating proposed developments within the zone.