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DATE: JUN 01 nig

Eighteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HouSE BILLNO.6891

Introduced by
REPRESENTATIVE LOREN B. LEGARDA

AN ACT
STRENGTHENING THE CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION OF
NATIONAL CULTURAL HERITAGE THROUGH ENHANCED CULTURAL
HERITAGE EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND CULTURAL MAPPING,
AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10066 OR THE
NATIONAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ACT OF 2009

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Our culture is our story as a nation. It is the narrative that binds Filipinos
regardless of ethnicity, social class, or educational background into a common
chronicle of tradition, trials, and triumph.

The UNESCO considers cultural mapping as a vital tool and technique in
providing society an overall framework in the preservation of its cultural heritage,
either tangible or intangible. The documentation of these cultural elements
covers a wide range of areas--built heritage such as architecture, tangible
heritage such as traditional dwellings, intangible heritage such as indigenous
skills, and natural heritage. The fundamental goal of cultural mapping is to
educate and help the nation visualize its rich heritage while allowing for reflection
of what it stands to lose as a result of its collective apathy.

To further strengthen heritage conservation in the country, this bill seeks to
amend Republic Act No. 10066 to mandate local government units (LGUs) to
conduct a cultural heritage mapping of their areas for both tangible and intangible
and natural and built heritage.

For the above-cited reasons, the passage of this bill is urgently sought.



Eighteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 6891

Introduced by
REPRESENTATIVE LOREN B. LEGARDA

AN ACT
STRENGTHENING THE CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION OF
NATIONAL CULTURAL HERITAGE THROUGH ENHANCED CULTURAL
HERITAGE EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND CULTURAL MAPPING,
AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10066 OR THE
NATIONAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ACT OF 2009

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Section 3 of R.A. No. 10066 is hereby amended to read as
follows:

“Section 3. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the
following terms shall be defined as follows:

(a) "Adaptive reuse" shall refer to the utilization of buildings, other
built-structures and sites of value for purposes other than that for
which they were intended originally, in order to conserve the site,
their engineering integrity and authenticity of design.

(b) "Anthropological area” shall refer to any place where studies of
specific ethno-linguistic groups are undertaken, the properties of
which are of value to our cultural heritage.

(©) "Antique" shall refer to a cultural property found locally which is
one hundred (100) years in age, more or less, the production of
which has ceased.


(d) "Archaeological area" shall refer to any place, whether above or
underground, underwater or at sea level, containing fossils,
artifacts and other cultural, geological, botanical, zoological
materials which depict and document culturally relevant
paleontological, prehistoric and/or historic events.

(e) "Archives" shall refer to public and private records in any format
which have been selected for permanent preservation because of
their evidential, historical informational value; otherwise known as
archival materials collections or archival holdings; the place
(building/room/storage area) where archival materials are kept
and preserved; and an organization or agency or part thereof
whose main responsibility is to appraise, arrange, describe,
conserve, promote and make archival materials available for
reference and research, also known as archival agency

(f)} “Built heritage/TANGIBLE HERITAGE" shall refer to
architectural and engineering structures such as, but not limited
to, bridges, government buildings, houses of ancestry, traditional
dwellings, quartels, train stations, lighthouses, small ports,
educational, technological and industrial complexes, and their
settings, and landscapes with notable historical and cultural
significance. PROTECTION OF THESE STRUCTURES SHALL
ALSO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE MAINTENANCE OF
THE INTEGRITY OF ITS VISUAL CORRIDOR AND/OR LINE OF
SIGHT.

(g) "Collector" shall refer to any person who or institution that
acquires cultural property for purposes other than sale.

(h) "Commission" shall refer to the National Commission for
Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

(i) "Conservation" shall refer to all the processes and measures of
maintaining the cultural significance of a cultural property
including, but not limited to, preservation, restoration,
reconstruction, protection, adaptation or any combination thereof.

() "Cultural agencies" shall refer to the following national
government agencies with their specific areas of responsibility:
National Museum (cultural property}; the National Library (books);
National Historical Institute (Philippine history); National Archives
(documents); Cultural Center of the Philippines (culture and the
arts); and Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (language).


(k) "Cultural education" shall refer to the teaching and learning of
cultural concepts and processes.

() "Cultural heritage" shall refer to the totality of cultural property
preserved and developed through time and passed on to posterity.

(M) “CULTURAL HERITAGE MAPPING” SHALL REFER TO THE
APPROACH USED TO IDENTIFY, RECORD, AND USE
CULTURAL RESOURCES AND ACTIVITIES FOR BUILDING
COMMUNITIES. IT IS A SET OF ACTIVITIES AND PROCESSES
FOR EXPLORING, DISCOVERING, DOCUMENTING,
EXAMINING, ANALYZING, INTERPRETING, PRESENTING AND
SHARING INFORMATION RELATED TO PEOPLE,
COMMUNITIES, SOCIETIES, PLACES AND THE MATERIAL
PRODUCTS AND PRACTICES ASSOCIATED WITH THE PEOPLE
AND PLACES.

[(m)] (N) “Cultural heritage worker" shall refer to an individual
undertaking cultural heritage work.

[(n)] (©) "Cultural institution" shall refer to entities engaged
primarily in cultural work.

[(0)] (P) "Cultural property” shall refer to all products of human
creativity by which a people and a nation reveal their identity,
including churches, mosques and other places of religious
worship, schools and natural history specimens and sites, whether
public or privately-owned, movable or immovable, and tangible or
intangible.

[(p)] (Q) “Dealers” shall refer to natural or juridical persons who
acquire cultural property for the purpose of engaging in the
acquisition and disposition of the same.

[(@] (R) "Heritage zone” shall refer to historical, anthropological,
archaeological, artistic geographical areas and settings that are
culturally significant to the country, as declared hy the National
Museum and/or the National Historical Institute.

[(@] (8) "History’ shall refer to a written record of past events
relating to Philippine history.

[(9)] (T) "Historical landmarks" shall refer to sites or structures that
are associated with events or achievements significant to Philippine
history as declared by the National Historical Institute.


[(t)] (U) "Historical monuments” shall refer to structures that honor
illustrious persons or commemorate events of historical value as
declared by the National Historical Institute.

[(w] (V) "Historical shrines" shall refer to historical sites or
structures hallowed and revered for their history or association as
declared by the National Historical Institute.

[(W)] (W) "Historical street name” shall refer to a street name which
has been in existence for at least fifty (50) years and over time has
been considered historic.

[(w)] (X) "Important cultural property" shall refer to a cultural
property having exceptional cultural, artistic and historical
significance to the Philippines, as shall be determined by .the
National Museum and/or National Historical Institute.

[cs] (¥) “Intangible cultural heritage" shall refer to the practices,
representations, expressions, knowledge and skills, as well as the
instruments, objects and artifacts associated therewith, that
communities, groups and individuals recognize as part of their
cultural heritage, such as: (1) oral traditions, languages and
expressions; (2) performing arts; (3) social practices, rituals and
festive events; (4) knowledge and practices concerning nature and
the universe; and (5) traditional craftsmanship.

[ty] (2) “Intangible cultural property" shall refer to the peoples’
learned processes along with the knowledge, skills and creativity
that inform and are developed by them, the products they create
and the resources, spaces and other aspects of social and natural
context necessary for their sustainability.

{(2)] (AA) “Library” shall refer to an institution where the collection
of books, manuscripts, computerized information and other
materials are organized to provide physical, bibliographic and/or
intellectual access to the public, with a librarian that is trained to
provide services and programs related to the information needs of
its clientele.

[(aa)] (BB) "Museum" shall refer to a permanent institution that
researches, acquires, conserves, communicates and exhibits the
material evidence of humans and their environment for purposes
of education or leisure.

[(bb)] (CC) "National cultural treasure" shall refer to a unique
cultural property found locally, possessing outstanding historical,


cultural, artistic and/or scientific value which is highly significant
and important to the country and nation, and officially declared as
such by pertinent cultural agency.

[(cc)] (DD) "Nationally significant" shall refer to historical, aesthetic,
scientific, technical, social and/or spiritual values that unify the
nation by a deep sense of pride in their various yet common
identities, cultural heritage and national patrimony.

(EE) “NATURAL HERITAGE” SHALL REFER TO THE FLORA
AND FAUNA, THE NATURAL BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL
COMPONENTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND OTHER RELATED
ECOSYSTEMS AND BIODIVERSITY, WHETHER TERRESTRIAL,
WETLAND OR MARINE.

[(da)] (FF) "Natural property of cultural significance" shall refer to
areas possessing outstanding ecosystem with flora and fauna of
national scientific importance under the National Integrated
Protected Areas System.

[lee] (GG) "NCCA Portal Cultural Databank" refers to the specific
domain in the Commission's intranet for cultural information that
is accessed only internally with control and confidentiality. It
includes the registry of national cultural property

{(f)] (HH) "Prehistory" shall refer to the period of human history
before the introduction of the forms of writing.

[(gg)] (M1) "Registry" shall refer to the Philippine Registry of Cultural
Property which is the registry of all cultural property of the country
deemed of significant importance to our cultural heritage.

[(hh)] (JJ) "Restoration" shall refer to the action taken or the
technical intervention to correct deterioration and alterations.

] (KK) “Tangible cultural property” shall refer to a cultural
property with historical, archival, anthropological, archaeological,
artistic and architectural value, and with exceptional or traditional
production, whether of Philippine origin or not, including antiques
and natural history specimens with significant value.”



SECTION 2. A new Section 14 on Republic Act 10066 is hereby inserted
to read as follows:

ARTICLE V
CULTURAL MAPPING

SECTION 14. CULTURAL MAPPING BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT
UNITS. - LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS ARE HEREBY MANDATED TO.
CONDUCT A COMPREHENSIVE CULTURAL HERITAGE MAPPING OF
THEIR AREAS, INCLUDING TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE HERITAGE
AND NATURAL AND BUILT HERITAGE STRUCTURES. THE LOCAL
GOVERNMENT UNITS SHALL MOBILIZE AND PARTNER WITH
CONCERNED AGENCIES TO ENSURE PROMPT AND EFFECTIVE
IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS ACT. ALL FINDINGS AND OUTPUTS
SHALL BE SUBMITTED AND REGISTERED IN THE PHILIPPINE
REGISTRY OF CULTURAL PROPERTY.

APART FROM CULTURAL AGENCIES, LOCAL GOVERNMENT
UNITS ARE ALSO ENJOINED TO WORK WITH THE FOLLOWING
AGENCIES FOR THE CONDUCT OF CULTURAL MAPPING:

(i) COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION (CHED) FOR
INSTITUTING CULTURAL AWARENESS IN STATE
UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES;

(ii) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (DA) FOR THE
INVENTORY OF NATURAL FIBER IN THE COUNTRY;

(iii) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (DEPED) FOR
INSTITUTING CULTURAL AWARENESS IN BASIC
EDUCATION;

(iv) DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL
RESOURCES (DENR) FOR THE INVENTORY OF
NATURAL PARKS, BIODIVERSITY AND ENDEMICITY;

(v) DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS
(DPWH) FOR ITS PROGRAMS ON HERITAGE ZONES
AND SITES AND PLACES OF SIGNIFICANCE;

(vi) DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (DOST)
FOR ITS INVENTORY ON NATURAL SOURCES OF
DYES AND OTHER PERTINENT RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT FOR THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY
SECTOR IN THE COUNTRY;

(vii) DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM (DOT) FOR THEIR EXISTING
TOURISM PLANS FOR DECLARED NATIONAL AND
WORLD HERITAGE SITES.

‘The succeeding sections shall be renumbered accordingly.


SECTION 4. Section 39 of R.A. No. 10066 is hereby amended to read as
follows:

“Section 39. Cultural Heritage Education Programs. - Within one
(1) year from the effectivity of this Act, the Department of Education, the
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the
Commission on Higher Education, in consultation with the Commission,
shall set forth in its teaching programs nationwide the following cultural
heritage education programs with emphasis at the provincial, city and
municipal levels:

(a) Protection, conservation and preservation of cultural heritage
properties;

(b) Instructional materials in print, film and broadcast media on
the cultural and historical significance of cultural properties;
[and]

{c) INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS, SKILLS AND
PRACTICES (IKSSP) THROUGH THE APPROPRIATE
“SCHOOLS OF LIVING TRADITIONS (SLTS)” MODELS; AND

(d) Visitation, public accessibility and information dissemination
on designated local cultural properties.”

SECTION. 5. Separability Clause. - Any portion or provision of this Act
that may be declared unconstitutional shall not have the effect of
nullifying other portions or provisions hereof as long as such remaining
provisions can still subsist and be given effect.

SECTION 6. Repealing Clause. - All laws, executive orders, presidential
decrees, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with any
provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified
accordingly.

SECTION 7. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15)
days after its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general
circulation.

Approved,