Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No._2630

Introduced by Representative KATRINA CHUA - TAI

EXPLANATORY NOTE

‘The Zamboanga Peninsula is home to a rich mosaic of cultures, languages, traditions, and
histories that have significantly shaped the identity and heritage of the Filipino nation. Among its
most distinctive cultural expressions is the “Chabacano” dialect, spoken primarily in Zamboanga
City. However, this unique language is slowly being diluted due to rapid modernization and the
declining intergenerational transmission within local communities.

Chabacano is more than just a means of communication—it is a linguistic art form with its
own structure, vocabulary, and grammar, blending Spanish with elements of various Filipino
languages. For Chabacano to endure, it must be actively used and promoted in key sectors of
society such as governance, education, media, science, economics, and public discourse. Such
integration will enable the Zamboanga Peninsula to develop in its own culturally grounded
manner, while remaining in step with national progress.

At the same time, many of the country’s ethno-linguistic communities continue to be
underrepresented in academic research, public policy, education, and cultural programming. To
address this gap, this bill proposes the establishment of the Zamboanga Peninsula Regional Ethno-
Linguistic and Cultural Studies Center at Western Mindanao State University (WeMSU)
dedicated institution tasked with the documentation, preservation, and promotion of the region’s
diverse cultural heritage and linguistic traditions.

‘The Center will serve as a hub for conducting local historical, anthropological, and ethno-
linguistic research; publishing culturally grounded materials, implementing awareness campaigns;
collecting and preserving important historical resources; and safeguarding oral traditions. These
efforts aim not only to conserve the cultural legacy of the Zamboanga Peninsula but also to make
it accessible for education, policymaking, and identity-building.

In addition, the Center will encourage collaboration among institutions of higher learning
in the region and work closely with national agencies such as the National Historical Commission
of the Philippines, the National Library of the Philippines, the Department of Education, and the
Department of Foreign Affairs, among others. Through this, the Center will help shape a more
inclusive and culturally informed society—rooted in the recognition and appreciation of our
diverse local identities.

In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

ATRINA CHUA - TAL
Ist District of Zamboanga City


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL no._2630_

Introduced by Representative KATRINA CHUA - TAI

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ZAMBOANGA PENINSULA
REGIONAL ETHNO-LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL STUDIES CENTER, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the "Zamboanga Peninsula Regional
Ethno-Linguistic and Cultural Studies Center Act."

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — \t is the policy of the State to pursue and support the
cultural development of the Filipino people, through the preservation, enrichment, and dynamic
evolution of Filipino national culture, based on the principle of unity in diversity in a climate of
free artistic and intellectual expression. Toward this end, it is also the policy of the state to
recognize the wealth of history and culture of the provinces in the Zamboanga Peninsula including
those of the cultural communities that it hosts, which is beneficial in strengthening government
programs and policies in (a)dispute settlement, (b) addressing stereotypes, (c) unequal
opportunities and representations, (d) conserving what has been studied and recovered, and (e)
appraising the Zamboangueiio identity and pride.

SEC. 3. Establishment of the Zamboanga Peninsula Regional Ethno-Linguistic and
Cultural Studies Center. — There is hereby established the Zamboanga Peninsula Regional Ethno-
Linguistic and Cultural Studies Center in the Western Mindanao State University (WeMSU),
which shall hereinafter be referred to as the "Center".

>. 4. Region and Cultural Community-wide Cooperation, — _\nter-institutional
cooperation within and among provinces and institutions of higher learning in the Zamboanga
Peninsula is highly encouraged to prevent redundancy, duplication, and overlapping of functions
of existing local studies centers.

SEC. 5. Structure and Staffing Pattern. ~The administration of the Center shall have
plantilla positions for a Director, a librarian or archivist, history researchers, anthropologists, and
if necessary, a museum curator, museum researchers and conservators. It shall have the liberty to
determine its organization and create new divisions or units as it may deem necessary and appoint
officers and employees.

SEC. 6. Composition and Functions of the Center. ~ The Center shall be composed of,
but not limited to, five (5) major service areas with their respective functions, namely:


a. Research Service Area - conduct local anthropologic, ethno-linguistic and cultural
research and studies in the Zamboanga Peninsula particularly those of cultural
communities therein to document local history, culture and society and contribute to
local policy-making;

b. Publication Service Area ~ shall serve as the leading publisher of local history, culture
and knowledge on local history, culture, and society in the Zamboanga Peninsula, in
print and online. It shall support the production of educational materials on local
history, culture and society, the promotion of vernacular literature and language, and
other studies concerning localities and cultural communities in the Peninsula;

c. Awareness Campaign Service Area - creates and promotes participatory programs,
projects and activities to continue and encourage discourse on local history, culture
and society, as well as champion or cultivate the laws and policies on cultural heritage
to guide the local government units in the Zamboanga Peninsula;

d. Collection Service Area - tasked with building and conserving a collection of local
historical and cultural resources thereof, through:

i. Collection of printed materials focusing on publications from local cultural
communities of the Zamboanga Peninsula;

ii. Gathering of available microfilm/microfiche publications;

iii, Photoduplication of documents found in government institutions especially the
national cultural heritage agencies and in other institutions where data relevant to
Zamboanga Peninsula ethno-cultural and linguistic studies are available, here and
abroad;

iv. Obtaining memoirs and other writings about significant personages and
institutions in the Zamboanga Peninsula and its cultural communities;

y. Acquisition of materials significant to advancement of local historical, cultural,
and societal scholarship in the Zamboanga Peninsula; and

vi. Procurement through donations, exchanges or purchases of important historical
documents, manuscripts, journals, books, etc.

e. Oral Traditions Preservation Area - tasked with the collection, documentation,
preservation, and promotion of oral traditions and local dialects within the Zamboanga
Peninsula.

SEC. 7. SUC Support to the Center. - The Western Mindanao State University (WeMSU)
shall be the host of the Center. It shall:

a. Designate premises conducive and equipped to contain collections of the Center,
conduct public programs such as lectures, seminars and exhibits, and entertain

researchers and visitors;

b. Build the collection of the Center by acquiring and purchasing a seminal Filipiniana
core collection;

c. Harmonize the university research program with the goals and objectives of the Center;

d. Encourage localized studies among faculty and students to benefit the immediate
community where the school is located;


¢. Involve academics, experts and scholars outside WeMSU to contribute to the research
and publication activities of the Center; and

£ Develop policies and programs appraising the quality and scholarship of historical and
cultural research and publication for the Center.

SEC. 8. Patronage of Publications Produced by the Center. ~The dire need for a body of
knowledge about the cultural communities of the Zamboanga Peninsula shall be augmented by
encouraging the Center to produce regular publications, whether authored by its resident scholars
or external contributors. It shall provide at Ieast two copics of cach publication produced for
deposit at the Historical Data Bank of the National Historical Comm
(NHCP), the National Library of the Philippines (NLP), and the University of the Philippines
Diliman Filipiniana Library. The Department of Foreign Affairs shall purchase copies of the
publications for dissemination to all Sentro Rizal cultural centers in foreign service posts. The
local school board and the Department of Education (DepEd) shall do the same for all public and
private schools within the concerned schools division, and by the Department of the Interior and
Local Government (DILG) and the NLP for public libraries.

SEC. 9. Local Historical Committees Network (LHCN). ~ This existing unit within the
NHCP shall develop a comprehensive local and international linkage program that will connect
the Center not only with relevant government agencies, non-government organizations and other
local and international historical and cultural societies, committees, associations, and councils,
whose objectives are in line with the goals and objectives of the Center, but also with the national
government, the local governments of the Zamboanga Peninsula and already existing local studies
centers.

SEC. 10. Representation of the Center. — The Center must be represented in the Local
School Boards and the Local Culture and Arts Councils of the local government units in the
Zamboanga Peninsula, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) of the
Zamboanga Peninsula Region and other government bodies concerning local history, culture and
heritage.

SEC. 11. Funding. ~ The initial funding requirements for the implementation of this Act
shall be charged against the current appropriations of the Western Mindanao State University
(WeMSU). Thereafter, such sums as it may deem necessary for its continual implementation shall
be included in the institution's yearly budgets under the General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 12. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act shall be held unconstitutional
or invalid, the other provisions not otherwise affected shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 13. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, orders, issuances, and rules and
regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly.

C. 14. Effectivity Clause. ~ This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
jon in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

publica

Approved,