Antonio J. Montalvan II
Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan
War has been a continuing reality for the past 45 years in south central Mindanao in the Philippines. Strife between the military forces of the state and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which seeks to establish a Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, almost reached accord status in 2015. Other than the MILF, the area is also rife with other ragtag-armed groups not necessarily in agreement with the MILF. In the middle of this war-ravaged land, known in the Hispanic era as Cotabato, is the largest wetland in the Philippines, the 288,000 hectare Liguasan Marsh. On one island of this vast everglade is a fort of coral stone built by the Spanish colonial government in the last quarter of the 1800s. Fort Reina Regente was named after Queen Regent Maria Cristina of Spain. The ensuing colonial regime under the Americans used the fort as a military garrison and lookout over riverine traffic on the Rio Grande de Mindanao, but later demolished it for unknown reasons. For many years, the world outside Cotabato never knew its exact location. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) was unaware of where its ruins lie because the area was inaccessible due to war. In 2016, a team of researchers of the Museyo Kutawato found the ruins of this once beautiful fort with the aid of armed insurgents of the MILF. Further research at the Biblioteca Nacional de España has revealed old photographs and illustrations of this once regal fortress. In contrast to Fort Reina Regente, in the nearby town of Pikit, today populated by both Moro and settlers from other parts of the Philippines, is the restored Fort Pikit. Also constructed of coral stones by the Spanish colonial regime, the fort is officially enlisted with a marker by the NHCP as a heritage site. It is accessible to transportation lanes and lies in the middle of the town. However, few tourists visit Fort Pikit because of its location and the image it has engendered to the outside world – rightly or wrongly a war zone where one’s safety cannot be guaranteed. It lies serenely there in its 19th century beauty, a legacy of the colonial history of the Philippines with a European power of the time. These two heritage sites – Fort Reina Regente and Fort Pikit – tell stories of history and of the times past. Yet, they have never gone to the level of becoming leisure destinations that cater to tourism demands, which sometimes wreak havoc on cultural heritage. Before they could even become trampled upon by leisure, war has hindered their accessibility to be known and to teach future generations. This paper is a presentation of how war, rather than leisure, has impacted the survival of cultural heritage. It also presents a paradox – because of the fact that it has prevented the onslaught of leisure, could war be considered a useful predicate to cultural heritage survival over leisure?
(Presented in the conference : 2017 Chulalongkorn Asian Heritage Forum : Culture of Leisure – Balance of Life, 7-8 August 2017, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand)