<P> The Republic of the Philippines first became a committee member from 1991 up to 1997, where 3 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country were enlisted in heritage list . Its first committe membership also brought the first site declaration in the country and the most site declarations in a given time frame . It became a committe member again from 2011 up to 2017, where only 1 site for the country was declared . The state did not participate heavily in the nomination of its own sites in its second term due to the intention of the government to act as a' neutral' committe member . </P> <P> A proposal has been suggested by scholars to make a separate UNESCO inclusion for the entire Intramuros district, which would include San Agustin Church . The same would be made for the other three churches listed in UNESCO, where each town plaza and surrounding heritage buildings would be added . The move would separate the 4 properties of the site and would fruit into 4 distinct UNESCO World Heritage Sites for the Philippines . No government agency has yet to take action on the proposal . If pursued and becomes successful, it will be the first site diversification in UNESCO history . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Type (criteria) </Th> <Th> Site </Th> <Th> Location </Th> <Th> Description </Th> <Th> Image </Th> <Th> Year </Th> <Th> Ref </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Cultural: (ii) (iv) </Th> <Td> Baroque Churches of the Philippines </Td> <Td> Paoay Church in Ilocos Norte </Td> <Td> The Church of San Agustín at Paoay is the most outstanding example in the Philippines of' Earthquake Baroque' . Fourteen buttresses are ranged along the lines of a giant volute supporting a smaller one and surmounted by pyramidal finials . A pair of buttresses at the midpoint of each nave wall have stairways for access to the roof . The lower part of the apse and most of the walls are constructed of coral stone blocks, the upper levels being finished in brick, but this order is reversed on the facade . The massive coral stone bell tower, which was added half a century after the church was completed, stands at some distance from the church, again as a protection against damage during earthquakes . </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 1993 </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Santa Maria Church in Ilocos Sur </Td> <Td> Unlike other town churches in the Philippines, which conform to the Spanish tradition of sitting them on the central plaza, the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion in Santa Maria with its convento are on a hill surrounded by a defensive wall . Also unusual are the sitting of the convento parallel to the facade of the church and that of the separate bell tower (characteristic of Philippine - Hispanic architecture) at the midpoint of the nave wall . This was dictated by the hill on which it is located . The brick church follows the standard Philippine layout, with a monumental facade masking a straight roof - line covering a long rectangular building . It is alleged to be built on a solid raft as a precaution against earthquake damage . The walls are devoid of ornament but have delicately carved side entrances and strong buttresses . </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Miagao Church in Iloilo </Td> <Td> The Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva stands on the highest point of Miagao, its towers serving as lookouts against Muslim raids . It is the finest surviving example of' Fortress Baroque' . The sumptuous facade epitomizes the Filipino transfiguration of western decorative elements, with the figure of Saint Christopher on the pediment dressed in native clothes, carrying the Christ Child on his back, and holding on to a coconut palm for support . The entire riotously decorated facade is flanked by massive tapering bell towers of unequal heights . </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> San Agustin Church in Manila </Td> <Td> The Church of the Immaculate Conception of San Agustín was the first church built on the island of Luzon in 1571, immediately after the Spanish conquest of Manila . A site within the district of Intramuros was assigned to the Augustinian Order, the first to evangelize in the Philippines . In 1587 the impermanent earliest building in wood and palm fronds was replaced by a stone church and monastery in stone, the latter becoming the Augustinian mother house in the Philippines . It was the only structure in Intramuros to survive the liberation of Manila in 1945 . Miag - ao became an independent parish in 1731, when a simple church and convento were built . However, destruction of the town by Muslim pirates in 1741 and 1754 led to the town being rebuilt in a more secure location . The new church, constructed in 1787--97, was built as a fortress, to withstand further incursions . It was, however, damaged severely by fire during the revolution against Spain in 1898 and in the Second World War . Two bell towers were added in 1854, but the northern one cracked in the 1880 earthquake and had to be demolished . In the interior of the church the wall paintings date from the 19th century, but they overlie the original tempera murals . As a result, the church was richly endowed, with a fine retablo, pulpit, lectern and choir - stalls . Of special interest is the series of crypto - collateral chapels lining both sides of the nave . The walls separating them act as buttresses . The stone barrel vault, dome, and arched vestibule are all unique in the Philippines . A monastery complex was formerly linked to the church by a series of cloisters, arcades, courtyards and gardens, but all except one building were destroyed in 1945 . </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Cultural: (ii) (iv) </Th> <Td> Historic Town of Vigan </Td> <Td> Ilocos Sur </Td> <Td> Established in the 16th century, Vigan is the best - preserved example of a planned Spanish colonial town in Asia . Its architecture reflects the coming together of cultural elements from elsewhere in the Philippines, from China and from Europe, resulting in a culture and townscape that have no parallel anywhere in East and South - East Asia . Vigan is an exceptionally intact and well - preserved example of a European trading town in East and South - East Asia . The architecture is truly reflective of its roots in both materials and design, in its fusion of Asian building design and construction with European colonial architecture and planning . The town is located in the delta of the Abra River, off the coastal plain of the China Sea, close to the north - east tip of the island of Luzon . The present - day municipality divided into nine urban districts and thirty rural villages . Almost half the total area is still in use for agriculture . The Historic Core Zone is defined on two sides by the Govantes and Mestizo rivers . </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 1999 </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Natural: (x) </Th> <Td> Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary </Td> <Td> Davao Oriental </Td> <Td> Forming a north - south running mountain ridge along the Pujada Peninsula in the southeastern part of the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor, the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary has an elevation range of 75--1,637 m above sea level, and provides critical habitat for a range of plant and animal species . The property showcases terrestrial and aquatic habitats and the species that they host at a series of different elevations are responding to highly dissimilar soil and climate conditions . The Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary provides a sanctuary to a host of globally threatened and endemic flora and fauna species, eight of which are found nowhere else except Mount Hamiguitan . These include critically endangered trees, plants and the iconic Philippine Eagle and Philippine Cockatoo . </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 2014 </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Natural: (vii) (x) </Th> <Td> Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park </Td> <Td> Palawan </Td> <Td> The site of the Puerto - Princesa Subterranean River National Park is located in the Saint Paul Mountain Range . It is north - west of Puerto Princesa, the capital of Palawan Province . The topography varies from flat plains to rolling hinterlands and hills to mountain peaks . Over 90% of the park comprises sharp, karst limestone ridges around Mount Saint Paul, which is itself part of a series of rounded, limestone peaks aligned on a north - south axis, along the western coast of Palawan . The focus of the area is a spectacular karst landscape which features both surface karst features (pinnacles, shafts, dolines and limestone cliffs), as well as an extensive underground river system . The subterranean river is 8.2 kilometres (5.1 mi) long, one of the most unusual of its type in the world and includes many speleotherms, several large chambers exist, up to 120 metres (390 ft) wide and 60 metres (200 ft) high . A distinguishing feature of the river is the fact that it emerges directly into the sea, and that the lower portion of the river is brackish and subject to tidal influences . The underground river (the Cabayugan River) arises approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south - west of Mount Saint Paul at an altitude of 100 metres (330 ft), and flows underground for almost its entire length to an outflow into Saint Paul's Bay . All rivers and associated tributaries are within the park, which is important in relation to catchments impacts on the water quality of the Cabayugan River . It has been declared as one of the New7Wonders of Nature . </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 1999 </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Cultural: (iii) (iv) (v) </Th> <Td> Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras: Batad Rice Terraces, Bangaan Rice Terraces (both in Banaue), Mayoyao Rice Terraces (in Mayoyao), Hungduan Rice Terraces (in Hungduan) and Nagacadan Rice Terraces (in Kiangan) </Td> <Td> Ifugao </Td> <Td> For 2,000 years, the high rice fields of the Ifugao have followed the contours of the mountains . The fruit of knowledge handed down from one generation to the next, and the expression of sacred traditions and a delicate social balance, they have helped to create a landscape of great beauty that expresses the harmony between humankind and the environment . The rice terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras are living cultural landscapes devoted to the production of one of the world's most important staple crops, rice . They preserve traditional techniques and forms dating back many centuries, still viable today . At the same time they illustrate a remarkable degree of harmony between humankind and the natural environment of great aesthetic appeal, as well as demonstrating sustainable farming systems in mountainous terrain, based on a careful use of natural resources . They are the only monuments in the Philippines that show no evidence of having been influenced by colonial cultures . Owing to the difficult terrain, the Cordillera tribes are among the few peoples of the Philippines who have successfully resisted foreign domination and preserved their authentic tribal culture . The history of the terraces is intertwined with that of its people, their culture, and their traditional practices . </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 1995 </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Natural: (vii) (ix) (x) </Th> <Td> Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park </Td> <Td> Sulu Sea </Td> <Td> Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park lies in a unique position in the centre of the Sulu Sea, and includes the Tubbataha and Jessie Beazley Reefs . It protects an area of almost 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres) of high quality marine habitats containing three atolls and a large area of deep sea . The property is home to a great diversity of marine life . Whales, dolphins, sharks, turtles and Napoleon wrasse are among the key species found here . The reef ecosystems support over 350 species of coral and almost 500 species of fish . The reserve also protects one of the few remaining colonies of breeding seabirds in the region . </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 1993 </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> Type (criteria) </Th> <Th> Site </Th> <Th> Location </Th> <Th> Description </Th> <Th> Image </Th> <Th> Year </Th> <Th> Ref </Th> </Tr>

List of world heritage sites in the philippines