Done deal?

When heritage advocates appealed to Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma to spare the Patria de Cebu building in the redevelopment of the area where the old building stands, Archdiocesan spokesman Msgr. Joseph Tan said the plan to demolish the structure is already a “done deal.” He didn’t elaborate on it or the report didn’t say so.

What would hold back the lobby for the Archdiocese and the contractor of the project to go back to the drawing board and come up with a design that would spare the old Patria de Cebu building?

The return to the drawing board itself could be for a short time only considering that Melva Java, one of the heritage advocates and an architect, already proposed a new design that the contractor’s architects could base their own redesign or improve on. If the “done deal” means the contract has been signed, what would prevent the contracting parties from agreeing on the change?

If it is about losing money because of the delay in the implementation of the plan, this is a Catholic Church project and surely the Archdiocese is not thinking in terms of profit and losses on its projects but in terms of the common good of the faithful. Or has the Archdiocese become a profit-oriented entity?

Heritage advocates and the faithful need to be convinced that nothing can be done to save the old Patria de Cebu building. As of the moment, there can be no cogent reason that could be thought of why the implementation of the project couldn’t be momentarily held off for another round of discussions on the proposal.

There is some sense of romanticism in the stance of heritage advocates while one can find nuggets of pragmatism in the plan to demolish the old structure to give way to a modern commercial center. But there is nothing that openness to contrary ideas and a thorough discussion can’t reconcile. Transparency both on the deal and the further discussions on the design should be had, of course.

On this, we go back to the egg analogy. The one who breaks the shell should think hard before doing so because once the shell cracks, it cannot be brought back to its original form. Meaning that the Archdiocese and the contractor should, to use another metaphor, cover all bases before finally demolishing the structure.