MAGALANG, Pampanga – Tourists are beginning to visit the heliographic towers here constructed by the Spanish soldiers in 1863.
This, according to Sta. Cruz, Magalang Village Chief Junnel Malonzo who spoke during the public declaration of the two heliographic towers
on August 21.
Malonzo said visitors take their photos at the tower in Sta. Cruz which straddling the middle of a road.
Mayor Maria Lourdes Paras Lacson, Vice Mayor Norman Lacson and representatives from the National Museum led by Raquel Flores and Carmencita Mariano graced the declaration of the heliographic towers in Barangays Sta. Cruz and San Isidro as important cultural property.
“If we don’t see a greater heliographic towers in other parts of the country, we will declare the towers of Magalang as National Cultural Treasure,” said Mariano.
The other heliographic tower is inside the Carayana Lay Monastic Community in San Isidro.
Mayor Lacson expressed gratitude to the National Museum for recognizing the importance and beauty of the town’s heritage. She added that in a span of one year the National Museum bestowed four declarations in Magalang.
The first woman mayor of the town disclosed they will be submitting documents on the different colonial houses along the heritage district of Magalang for future declaration.
“Our heritage is a legacy from our past. It is something we live with today and hopefully, something that we can pass on to future generations.
In every country, cultural heritage is both a record of life and history and also an irreplaceable source of creativity and inspiration. Our cultural heritage determines who we are, giving us both identity and the values that will guide our lives in a changing world,” she said.
Ryan Miranda, tourism officer of Magalang, credited Professor Lino Dizon and local historians for their ethno historical and archaeological survery on the towers.
Miranda said General Ricardo Monet, a commandant of the war of the Spanish regime, built the heliographic towers In Magalang and nearby Mabalacat and Concepcion in Tarlac. They were constructed to serve as stations of communications.
“The towers have small mirrors on top made to turn upon both a horizontal and vertical axis, mounted upon a tripod so arranged as to make the flashes appear and disappear in rapid succession,” Miranda said.
“They are used by the Spanish Army and by it messages may be transmitted much faster than with Flags or torches and it can be used at a longer ranger. These towers are so valuable,” he added.