1st Balitaan sa BGPOP: UST tackles Santa Ana Heritage and Suntrust Dispute

Alexander Cardenas, Jose Ycasiano, Ayanna Zoleta

May 26, 2023

The University of Santo Tomas held Balitaan sa BGPOP 2023, tackling the threats and challenges faced by the Santa Ana Heritage Zone against Suntrust Ascentia. The event was attended by journalism students from the university, headed by members of the Santa Ana Heritage Tourism Association (SAHTA) and residents of the community.

The talk, held on May 26, Friday, at the UST Blessed Buenaventura Garcia Paredes O.P. Building, focused on the litigation of the three 36-story buildings of Suntrust Properties, Inc. that began construction in the heritage buffer zone of Santa Ana, Manila.

It started with SAHTA President Sylvia Lichauco-de Leon who provided an overview of the heritage sites in the community—the Santa Ana Church, Lichauco House, Pao Ong Hu Taoist Temple, and the La Ignaciana Church.

“Not only are they in the buffer zone, but they also forged to get their way,” Licauco-de Leon said as she also elaborated on the case. Already mentioning how Suntrust pushed through with the construction through dishonest means.

Licauco-de Leon also presented the alleged fabricated documents during the conference.

Residents of Santa Ana also shared their sentiments and experiences as Suntrust carried on with the construction of the residential building.

One such alleged fabricated document contained seven signatures by officials that appears to have permitted the construction of the condominium, but all seven signatories have disputed the authenticity of their signatures and have thus filed an affidavit against the document.

Martina Martelino, a resident of Santa Ana, described the shaking from the construction as “like a magnitude 5 earthquake.”

“Until they’re done, they will not stop. This is how we suffer… This is the concern of the general public here in our community,” said Martelino.

Another resident of the city, Eileen Fontilla, also raised her concerns about the construction especially as the local priest was vocal on the issue saying “the Kumbento is very old.”

Additionally, youth residents of Santa Ana, Pearly Pichay and Emmerson Evangelio, also shared their insights on the quake-like construction of the Suntrust Project.

“Parang they’re giving credits to the heritage of Santa Ana just to get buyers. They’re not even respecting the heritage and then nilalagay niyo [Suntrust] siya sa advertising,” said Pichay.

Pichay also pointed out that one of Suntrust’s taglines is “A home for every Filipino”, however, the company is unable to do so as they are “unconsciously” ruining the homes of Filipinos in Santa Ana.

“It’s just so sad na makikita mo yung lugar mo starting to modernize… Santa Ana is a very peaceful na lugar,” said Evangelio as he reminisced on the city.

The struggles of the members of the community were stopped after five months as the court ordered the construction to stop in April.

Lichauco-de Leon noted that Suntrust Properties Inc., became quiet after the court ordered them to stop, and she said how the company “never really thought that they were going to fight it.”

“We do not have a temporary restraining order, but right now, nothing can move. That’s as good as a temporary restraining order,” said Lichauco-de Leon explaining how Suntrust was ordered to halt operations.

The conference culminated as members of the community shared the importance of acting on the case and providing coverage on the topic.

“This is very important. This is our home. This is where we grew up,” said Charina de Luna, a resident of Santa Ana.

Lichauco–de Leon also added her hopes that the audience will be excellent journalists and pursue to “expose stories like this.”

Historical and Cultural Significance

Santa Ana’s significance as a cultural site is undeniable, with all the historical sights protected by the RA 10006 under the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009.

The conference was to inform the audience about the significance of the protection of these historically significant buildings.

The current issue of the proposed massive Suntrust condominium is preceded by the deconstruction of culturally significant issues into modern constructions.

One such issue before was the deconstruction of the La Ignaciana Church, which was turned into Manila Rivergreen Residences.

Environmental issues

On December 6, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) dealt a double blow to Suntrust– iissuing both a show cause order and a suspension order for their project implementation. This stern action was taken in response to Suntrust's failure to possess an Environmental Compliance Certificate.

DENR stated that the site is an “environmentally critical area”-- where issues of flora and fauna, heritage and people must be defended.

As of June 6, NEO requested to have an interview with a DENR representative at an earlier date, but is yet to respond for further inquiries on the issue.