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| PHOTO: THE COAST |
The National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Regional Directorate 5, in response to statements made by certain citizens who are writing to the Facebook portal of Regional 5 (Patrimonio Vivo) about a complaint that the INPC has not acted in response to the safeguarding of the cultural heritage of the peninsula regarding the archaeological discovery made in the city of La Libertad a few days ago, it is necessary to make the following clarifications:
On Monday, August 15, 2011 at noon in the canton of La Libertad, on the streets: Avenida diagonal 1era and streets 15, 16 and 17 the Municipality of La Libertad through the Public Works Department was carrying out road repaving work in the area, due to the implementation of an urban regeneration program, as the machinery passed by they found an archaeological find consisting of ceramic fragments and human bones corresponding to the Guancavilca culture,
On the same Monday, August 15, 2011, in the evening, the INPC was alerted by cell phone call from Dr. Noralma Zambrano, Governor of the Province of Santa Elena to Architect Esteban Delgado de la Cuadra, Regional Director 5 of the INPC, who immediately arranged for a commission to travel and make a detailed report of the situation at the site. In turn, the governor stated that together with Attorney Doris Gavilanes; Police Superintendent, they had suspended the regeneration work at the site,
The commission formed by Mr. Antonio Guillen and Mr. Carmen Verdezoto, Risk and Vulnerability Analyst and Attorney at INPC DR5 respectively, traveled to the city of La Libertad on Tuesday, August 16 in the morning and went to the scene of the events, where at the beginning of their inspection they were confronted by a group of merchants in the area who complained to the technicians about the impediment to continue carrying out their commercial and work activities due to the discovery, which is why the technicians had to carry out their work in danger and without guarantees for the same.
It is important to mention that during the inspection carried out on August 16, the following were present: Attorney Doris Gavilanes, Police Superintendent, Engineer Joffre Gutiérrez, Director of Public Works of the Municipality of La Libertad, Technicians from INPC Regional 5, in the presence of residents and merchants of the sector,
On Monday, August 15, the newspaper El Litoral published photos and comments on the subject on its Facebook page, sparking a debate in which citizens contributed to the matter. The INPC immediately responded to Lcdo. Paolo León Gonzabay, Director of the newspaper El Litoral, through the same means, explaining what was being done and that a copy of the report would be sent to him once it was completed, since he was the one who notified the authorities of the discovery. The latter accepted the official request from this department, stating: “Comrades, I will wait patiently, I will publish a note about it, and that document is the official one that explains what happened with this, and like you we will continue to seek to protect our heritage for the present and future generations…”
The INPC Technicians did not authorize the start of work or the continuation of activities, so the Director of Regional 5 of the INPC is formally requesting an administrative sanction for the person responsible,
Additionally, the INPC will call the attention of the Municipality of La Libertad for not timely contracting the environmental impact studies, especially the archaeological component to determine the presence or absence of pre-Hispanic vestiges in the area prior to the start of the works, since the entire peninsula is considered the sector of greatest archaeological wealth in the country and public or private works cannot be carried out without having carried out said studies,
Furthermore, the general public is reminded that the current law on CULTURAL HERITAGE OF ECUADOR is in force and that the Penal Code, in article No. 415 A, states: "Anyone who destroys or damages property belonging to the Cultural Heritage of the Nation will be punished with imprisonment of one to three years without prejudice to compensation due to third parties in good faith and that the judge, if feasible, orders the reconstruction, restoration or restitution of the property, at the expense of the author of the destruction or deterioration."
In this way, the INPC clarifies that the appropriate actions are always being taken regarding the complaints that reach this address about archaeological discoveries or destruction of cultural heritage, not only at the local level, but also at the regional and national level.
Furthermore, as established by the Organic Code of Territorial Organization, Autonomy and Decentralization (COOTAD), municipalities are responsible for the heritage of their locality, and to prevent heritage assets from being violated, the INPC works with the country's municipalities on a training program so that heritage assets are recovered and incorporated into the lives of citizens.
The regional director thanks the permanent and tireless community action of the citizens of the Santa Elena peninsula, who are constantly reporting these types of situations to us, becoming a fundamental pillar of the management of the INPC and who selflessly contribute to the enjoyment, protection and safeguarding of the cultural heritage of the region and the nation.
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