01/08/2026
Does Every Heritage Building Have to Be “Old”?
A recent post shared by Albay Provincial Board Member Atty. Melissa Abadeza highlights a committee hearing on Municipal Ordinance No. 11-15-2026 of the Municipality of Tiwi - a proposal to officially designate the site as the “Old Escuela Building.” Reading the notice made me ask myself: What is the fascination of the local government unit with the word “old”?
First, the former Tiwi Ceramics Pilot Plant became known as the “Old Ceramics Building.” I don’t know when the LGU actually started referring to it that way - was it during the term of Mayor Leo Templado or on Mayor Ami Villanueva’s watch? Back in the day, people simply and commonly called it “sa ceramic” (explicitly referring to the building itself where the pilot plant ceased operations, if memory serves, in the mid-to-late 1980s). However, I don’t believe there was ever an official name attached to the structure back then. Now, there appears to be a move by the LGU to officially rename the same structure in Barangay Tigbi the “Old Escuela Building,” as discussed in the provincial committee hearing at the Albay Provincial Capitol.
Let me be clear: this is not a criticism of the ordinance, the LGU, or the public officials who authored and supported it. Rather, it is a constructive observation intended to contribute to the discussion and, hopefully, offer another perspective on how we identify and promote one of Tiwi’s most important heritage structures.
The word “old” simply describes age. It does not explain why a building matters. Heritage is not defined by age alone, but by the stories, memories, and cultural significance associated with a place.
This building is a perfect example.
Built in the late nineteenth century, it originally served as a Catholic parochial school (Escuela Católica Parroquial de Tiwi). Back in the 1980s, when I was in high school, local old-timers I interviewed still remembered and referred to it as the parochial school. When the American colonial government took over, the Thomasite educator Horace E. Cutler took charge of the institution, improving its operations and renaming it simply the Tiwi School.
Decades later, the building entered another significant chapter in its history when it housed the Tiwi Ceramics Pilot Plant - an initiative that aimed to advance Tiwi’s pottery and ceramics industry, one of the municipality’s most enduring cultural identities.
At present, there are plans to establish a Coron or Ceramics Museum in the building. If that project pushes through, naming it the “Old Escuela Building” would seem even less appropriate, as it highlights only one chapter of the building’s history while overlooking others that are equally important. Conversely, calling it the “Old Ceramics Building” (as the LGU has done) is also historically incomplete because the structure was not originally built as a ceramics facility.
The building represents all of these legacies. It stands as a symbol of Tiwi’s evolving educational and civic heritage, as well as its rich pottery and ceramics tradition. Its name should reflect that layered history rather than reduce it to a single period or simply label it as “old.”
Perhaps it is time to consider a name that better honors the site’s true significance and aligns with its future vision. Possibilities include Tiwi Heritage Center, Tiwi Heritage and Coron Museum, or Tiwi Heritage and Ceramics Center - names that recognize both its historical importance and its upcoming role in preserving Tiwi’s cultural legacy.
After all, heritage conservation is about more than preserving bricks and mortar; it is about preserving identity. The names we give our historic landmarks become part of the historical record. They appear on maps, in books, in tourism materials, and in the collective memory of future generations.
Tiwi deserves names that tell its story, not labels that merely describe its age.
Municipality of Tiwi Mayor Jojo Climaco Office of the Vice Mayor - Tiwi LGU Tiwi - Tourism Office
Provincial Tourism, Culture and Arts Office - Albay 15th SPA - Sangguniang Panlalawigan ng Albay Cong. Krisel Lagman
