Former Tourism chief hits out at tarps on Rizal Shrine

A former tourism secretary on Thursday hit out at a company that placed tarps at the Rizal Shrine, saying it defaced the historical monument during the company's clean-up event for the national cultural treasure.

In a report by Maki Pulido on 24 Oras on Friday, Gemma Cruz Araneta thanked cleaning equipment manufacturer Kärcher for the cleaning event but criticized them for seemingly using the monument to advertise their company.

"Ang point ko lang, o sige, thank you very much kung gusto niyo gawin 'yan for free, pero bakit naman lalagyan ng napakadaming drop tarps advertising your company," Araneta said. "You're defacing the monument, the shrine, if you're using it for your advertisement."

Kärcher Country Manager Zurich Fernandez clarified that the company set aside the tarps once it finished the opening ceremonies for the cleaning event on Thursday.

Fernandez added that the cleaning of the Rizal Shrine is "(Kärcher's) commitment to return back to the community. Cultural preservation is one of the topics that our corporate headquarters has really been pushing us with."

The Rizal Shrine is protected under Republic Act 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, which states that it is illegal to deface sites designated as national cultural treasures.

National Historical Commission of the Philippines deputy Executive Director Carminda Arevalo declined to give a statement on Araneta's remarks.

The NHCP gave its blessings to Kärcher to clean the Rizal Shrine. —Rie Takumi/JST, GMA News