Decision 45 COM 7B.171

Baroque Churches of the Philippines (Philippines) (C 677bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.149 adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
3. Welcomes the various communication activities with stakeholders and general public undertaken by the State Party;
4. Notes with concern that the construction of Binondo-Intramuros Bridge (BIB) project was completed without change to its design and location nor consideration cancelling the project despite the Committee’s previous requests, and regrets that the State Party did not submit requested documentation for this project, including updated Archaeological Impact Assessment (AIA), Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA), and Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for review, as requested by the Committee, prior to construction works proceeding;
5. Notes that the updated HIA concluded that no immediate and direct physical impact has been observed on San Agustin Church including during the construction period, but also notes with concern the significant potential indirect and long-term impacts arising from growth in traffic volume identified through the HIA process, and therefore requests the State Party to implement mitigation measures and to submit a report on these measures and monitoring results, to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies, in order to assess the effectiveness of mitigation against adverse impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
6. Regrets that the BIB has impacted the overall extended setting of the property in the buffer zone and extended setting of the property, and therefore also requests the State Party to consider further mitigation measures and submit a plan for implementing these measures to the World Heritage Centre for review by Advisory Bodies;
7. Further requests the State Party to provide further information regarding the proposed, larger heritage development plan for the Intendencia and to clarify the current status of the potential reconstruction of the Baluarte de Santo Domingo, and reminds the State Party to inform the World Heritage Centre of any project that may impact the OUV of the property, and to submit project documentation including an HIA, for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, before making any decision that would be difficult to reverse, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
8. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2024, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 47th session.