HERITAGE

TUBBATAHA REEF MARINE PARK (Palawan)

This UNESCO Heritage-declared national marine park boasts of a unique 33,200-hectare underwater splendor teems with abundant flora and fauna of the sea. It is composed of two distinct atoll reef systems, the North Reef and the South Reef, separated by a four-mile channel.

IFUGAO RICE TERRACES (Baguio)

The Ifugao Rice Terraces was inscribed in the UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE LIST in 1995. There are five major rice terraces listed which are similar yet distinct from one another:

BANAUE
The artistic center of the Ifugao carvers and the Ikat weavers.

BATAD
Home to the spectacular tiered, amphitheater-shaped terraces.

MAYOYAO
The organic Ifugao rice, Tinawon, in red and white variety, is harvested here in abundance.

HAPAO
Its stone-walled rice terraces date back to 650 AD and are located in Hungduan.

KIANGAN
Home to two famous rice terraces sites, Nagacadan and Julungan, known for their size and visual impact.

THE IFUGAO EPIC "HUDHUD" (Ifugao)

The HUDHUD Epic is the only Southeast Asian Cultural Piece selected in the UNESCO list.

The HUDHUD, once chanted, will go on for two to three days. The epic is chanted by Ifugao women usually at harvest time, funeral wakes, and weddings.

VIGAN HERITAGE VILLAGE (Ilocos Sur)

The historic town of Vigan was inscribed in the World Heritage List in November 1999 because of its outstanding development in architecture, urban planning, and landscape design. It also serves as a testimony to a cultural tradition which has disappeared.

ST. PAUL SUBTERRANEAN NATIONAL PARK (Palawan)

A picturesque stretch of river running for an unknown length. Carved by time itself, unaided by the hand of man, there reposes a complete and finished griffin. Between stately stone pillars rises a series of steps leading from the water to the temple within.

ETHNOGRAPHIC SITE MUSEUM

The site museum in Barangay Cabayugan is right in the heart of the Puerto Princessa Subterranean River National Park . It presents two distinct ethnic groups, the Batak   and Tagbanua . These two groups show different cultural perspectives that play a major social context in Palawan seen in the conservation and preservation of their living heritage.

BATAK
The smallest of the Palawan ethnoliguistic groups, is becoming extinct. Of the Negrito affinity, they are shy but hospitable people. Their language is Austronesian in origin. The Bataks hunt and gather food in the forest. They trade forest products in exchange for clothing, food and knives with their Christian, Cuyunon, and Tagbanua neighbors.

TAGBANUA
These village dwellers are of southern Mongoloid type and Austronesian language group. The Tagbanua's staple crop is rice, and is produced with dry shifting cultivation technology. Fishing and hunting are additional sources of food. Forest products are valuable trade items.

PHILIPPINE BAROQUE CHURCHES (Manila, Bulacan, Ilocos Norte, Miag-ao)

The Philippines' Baroque churches are cited on the World Heritage List because of their unusual interpretation of a major artistic style. Baroque architecture, which was the dominant western style from around the mid-16th century until the death of France 's Louis XIV shortly after 1700, reflects a life dominated by the desire to impress through exuberance and extravagance.

STO. TOMAS DE VILLANUEVA CHURCH (Miag-ao, Iloilo)

In Central Philippines, on the island of Panay , is the Vicarate of Miag-ao in Iloilo Province . Its Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva is an Augustinian mission station built as a squat, massive fortress to protect townsfolk from Muslim invasion. Made of distinct local yellow-orange sandstone, the fortress-church took ten years to build with work beginning in 1797.

NUESTRA SEÑORA DE LA ASUNCION (Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur)

This citadel complex was the hub for evangelizing pagan people living in adjacent highlands. The best way to appreciate the architectural mood is to ascend the church's grand stairway of 85 wide steps starting at the town proper. Another stairway descends to a circular cemetery overwhelmed by exuberant foliage and an air of romanticism.

SAN AGUSTIN CHURCH (Paoay, Ilocos Norte)

Built from 1694 to between 1702 and 1710, it is the premier example of Philippine Earthquake Baroque, an architectural solution to the area's challenging and natural setting. Both sides of the nave are lined with the most voluminous stone buttresses seen around the islands. They are decorated with huge scrolls and topped by decorative pinnacles.

SAN AGUSTIN CHURCH (Intramuros, Manila)

Built from 1586 to 1606 inside Intramuros - the Walled City where the city of Manila began - San Agustin Church is the oldest extant Christian sanctuary in the Far East, and the Philippines' oldest stone edifice. It marks the start of using permanent materials in contrast to indigenous, lightweight architectural media.