The Department of Tourism is taking steps to preserve four sites included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Tourism secretary Ace Durano said local communities have been tasked to take care of these sites and visitors urged to help in preserving them.

Five of the country’s sites in the Unesco World Heritage List are, the Baroque Churches of the Philippines, Tubbataha Reef Marine Park, and the Historic Town of Vigan.

The Baroque churches made it to the list because of their European Baroque architectural style designed by Chinese and Filipino craftsmen. There are four baroque churches in Manila, Santa Maria, Paoay, and Miag-ao.

The Tubbataha Reef Marine Park, according to Durano has been greatly helped by its World Heritage status.

Worldwide attention on the reef park encouraged local community to help protect the site.

The heritage site is the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park.

The Subterranean Park features a spectacular limestone karst landscape with its underground river.

"It’s good to note that Subterranean Park is no. 1 on the New 7 Wonders of Nature ranking list. It stands out from the rest because it’s a river that has strong tidal behaviors, due to its direct connection to the sea. It’s also every conservationst’s dream – a river that seamlessly flows into a mountain and forest landscape forming a teeming habitat of biodiversity," said Eduardo Jarque, Jr., undersecretary for Tourism Planning and Promotions.

Another notable site is the Ifugao Rice terraces, a landscape recognized for its unparalleled feats of history, environment, culture, engineering, and agro-ecosystem. The Rice Terraces is a 2,000-year-old enduring art from and scientific design built by hand and simple tools.

"One of the distinctive monuments to the genius of our ancestors, the Rice Terraces has already been declared as an endangered heritage, which all the more spurs our concern and support," said Jarque.

Also up North is the Historic Town of Vigan which 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 Europe, resulting in a culture and townscape that have no parallel anywhere in Asia.