黑料社

MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Historical landmarks may have withstand storms and wars but piles of dirt can cover their surfaces through time that these monuments need to undergo cleaning.

And so the dirt covering Fort Santiago in Intramuros was stripped off through restorative cleaning in a bid to preserve the cultural heritage site.

搁贰础顿:听Newly opened dungeon to give public 鈥榗omplete Fort Santiago experience鈥�

鈥淭his is just the start and this is just the beginning of ensuring that the walls and fortifications in Intramuros are well preserved, especially that we are actually part as the tentative list as a UNESCO [United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization] world heritage site,鈥� Intramuros Administration (IA) Director Atty. Joan Padilla told reporters at the unveiling of the cleaning effort at Fort Santiago on Thursday.

鈥淭his is the start of our commitment that we will preserve all the built heritage here in Intramuros,鈥� Padilla added.

Padilla shared that the fortification in Fort Santiago had gone through manual cleaning before and for the first time, it underwent a restorative, thorough cleaning.

The cleaning effort was a collaborative project between the IA, an attached agency of the Department of Tourism and K盲rcher, a German cleaning technology brand.

K盲rcher Philippines General Manager Darwin Banez said that cleaning Fort Santiago is the company鈥檚 9th corporate social responsibility initiative in the country.

The German company had also cleaned other Philippine historical landmarks such as the Rizal Monument, People Power Monument, San Agustin Church, Plaza Miranda, Bonifacio Shrine, San Sebastian Minor Basilica, Silang Church, and St. Andrews Cathedral.

鈥淭his initiative aligns with the growing awareness among Filipinos on the importance of heritage conservation,鈥� Banez said in his speech.

Cleaning process

K盲rcher Germany retired consultant Gerdhe Heidrich said that the cleaning process of the fort was undertaken from February 10 to February 14. Heidrich observed that 鈥減ollution, gas, dirt, wetness鈥� came down from the fort as they began the cleaning.

鈥淲e see that the stone is suffering鈥� Because of this layer of dirt, the stone cannot breathe, and stones are like organisms, like us. When we are dirty, what are we doing? We take a shower,鈥� Heidrich said in an ambush interview.

Heidrich also said that they made tests around the fortification on the kind of nozzle and temperature they will use to ensure that no parts will be destroyed.

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K盲rcher Philippines Marketing Manager Ramon Ramirez explained that they used low pressure steam to 鈥済ently鈥� clean the area. He added that the pressure of the steam ranges from 0.5 to 1 bar, with a temperature of 95 degrees Celsius.

鈥淭his is very important to emphasize because for monuments like this, hindi mo siya pwedeng i-pressure wash kaya we鈥檙e doing this to make sure that it鈥檚 safe,鈥� Ramirez said in the same ambush interview.

Ramirez also mentioned that the IA acquired cleaning machines from them. He added that they trained staff of IA to properly utilize the machines.