Anna Maria "Bambi'" Lammoglia Harper (January 10, 1941 – August 4, 2023) was a Filipino cultural writer and socialite. She was a founding member of the Concerned Citizens for the National Museum (now the Museum Foundation of the Philippines) as well as the Heritage Conservation Society. She wrote as also a columnist for the ''

Philippine Daily Inquirer The ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' (''PDI''), or simply the ''Inquirer'', is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines. Founded in 1985, it is often regarded as the Philippines' newspaper of record. The newspaper is the most awarded bro ...

'' with her byline "Sense and Sensibility", which focused on Philippine cultural history. In 2008, she became 7th Administrator of the historic

Intramuros Intramuros (Latin for "inside the walls") is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Present-day I ...

district of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Controversy

In early September 2008, it was reported that administrative charges could be leveled against Harper for having allowed the cutting down of 29 trees, including nine

mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...

and

flame trees "Flame Trees" is a song by Australian pub rock band Cold Chisel from their 1984 album ''Twentieth Century''. One of their best known songs, it was written by drummer Steve Prestwich and keyboardist Don Walker. On its release it reached No.&nb ...

at the

Plaza de Roma Plaza de Roma, also known as Plaza Roma, is one of three major public squares in Intramuros, Manila. It is bounded by Andres Soriano Avenue (formerly Calle Aduana) to the north, Cabildo Street to the east, Santo Tomas Street to the south, and Gen ...

fronting

Manila Cathedral The Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception ( fil, Basilika Menor at Kalakhang Katedral ng Kalinis-linisang Paglilihi; es, Basílica Menor y Catedral Metropolitana de la Inmaculada Concepción), also known as the ...

. The

Department of Environment and Natural Resources The Department of Environment and Natural Resources ( fil, Kagawaran ng Kapaligiran at Likas na Yaman, DENR or KKLY) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for governing and supervising the exploration, developmen ...

reported that Harper, as head of the

Intramuros Administration The Intramuros Administration (IA) is an agency of the Department of Tourism of the Philippines that is mandated to orderly restore, administer, and develop the historic walled area of Intramuros that is situated within the modern City of Manil ...

, sought a permit in May 2008 to remove trees at the park so that the area could be landscaped and developed and to "replace he treeswith historically appropriate trees which would not block the facade of Manila Cathedral." Harper responded that she had not ordered the trees cut, but rather asked a contractor to move the trees to another part of the park. She said that a subordinate had mistakenly given approval for the trees to be cut.

Writing

In 2012, she published ''Agueda: A Ballad of Stone and Wind''.

Death

Harper died on August 4, 2023, at the age of 82.

References

Sources

* * 1941 births Year of birth uncertain 2023 deaths Filipino women writers Philippine Daily Inquirer people {{Philippines-historian-stub