The 300-year-old fence of the Sandiego Ancestral Home before and after it was damaged by a wayward truck on Sept. 13, 2019. |Photos courtesy of Val Sandiego
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The iconic stone fence of the 300-year- Sandiego Ancestral Home in Barangay Parian, Cebu City, which welcomed tourists and locals alike, has been destroyed by a wayward truck on Friday morning, September 13, 2019.
In a phone interview with CDN Digital, Val Sandiego, the current owner of the house, expressed his dismay that the truck of a nearby warehouse managed to destroy an iconic part of his family’s heritage within minutes, or at around 7 a.m. this morning.
Sandiego said they were preparing for the Tourism month this September as they were expecting tourism officials to visit the house, which has stood for three centuries. He said they will not have time to fix the iconic fence and this will put a dumper into the celebration they have been preparing for months.
“It is an unreplacable fence as it is centuries old. We will file a case against the driver,” he said.
Sandiego said the driver attempted to escape from the scene but was immediately apprehended by the police.
The driver is currently detained at the Waterfront Police Station waiting for charges of reckless imprudence resulting to damage to properties to be filed against him.
Sandiego urged the Cebu City government to put up measures to protect heritage sites in the city following the incident.
He hoped that the city would reconsider allowing large trucks to pass near heritage sites such as their ancestral home, as these buildings are fragile.
“This incident is an eye-opener that we need to protect these heritage sites,” said Sandiego.
He also hoped the city government can help take care of these sites through proper legislation and implementation of laws so no such incident will happen to other heritage sites. /elb