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| Facade of the century-old Commission on Audit (COA) Building in Iloilo City. |
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| For. Mario DR. Ramos examines and identifies the wood used for a stair step using flashlight and a hand lens. |
DOST-FPRDI determined the identity of wooden materials found in the old Commission on Audit (COA) Building in Iloilo City last 17-23 April 2017 in a collaborative project with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP). The project aims to identify the tree species used in the structural wooden structures and movable woodcrafts in the Old COA building which is undergoing restoration.
“In order to come up with a feasible and logical restoration plan, NHCP needs to know the type of materials that make up the wooden structures. One hundred thirty items consisting of 14 species were identified by the DOST-FPRDI Team with relatively high accuracy using the traditional, practical and standard methods in wood structure identification,” says Team Leader Dr. Ramiro P. Escobin.
The project is part of the efforts of NHCP to revive the historic building which used to be a symbol of progressive commerce in Iloilo and now part of a national heritage zone. (Maybell Mariella A. Amador and Mylene D. Rizare, July 19, 2017)#
