Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE 0F REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
NINETEIINTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO.
6(02
Introduced by:
HONORABLE KIIYMER ADAN T. OLASO
Representative, 1 st District, Zamboanga City
HOusE BILL rid.    ,S`402
AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT 0F TIIE ZAMB0ANGA PENINSULA
REGIONAL ETHNO-LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL STUDIES CENTER, AND FOR
OTHHR PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Sections 14,15,16 and 17, Article XIV of the 1987 Constitution declare that the State shall
foster the preservation,  enrichment and dynamic  evolution of a Filipino culture based on the
principle  of unity  in  diversity  in  a  climate  of free  artistic  and  intellectual  expression.  The
ConstitutionlikewisemandatestheStatetoconserve,develop,promoteandpopularizethenation's
historical and cultural heritage and resources, as well as artistic creations. It fiuther provides that
all the country's artistic and historic wealth constitutes the cultural treasure of the nation and shall
be under the protection of the State, which may regulate its disposition.
In the  pursuit  of cultural  preservation as  a  strategy  for maintaining  Filipino  identity,
Republic Act OVA) No.  10066 or "An Act Providing for the Protection and Conservation of the
National  Cultural Heritage,  Strengthening the National  Commission for Culture and the Arts
(NCCA) and its Affiliated Cultural Agencies, and for other purposes" was enacted and had the
objectives of protecting, preserving, conserving and promoting the nation's cultural heritage, its
property and histories, and the ethnicity of local communities;  establishing and strengthening
cultural institutions; and protecting cultural workers and ensuring their professional development
and well-being.
As stated in its Dec/arafj.o7® a/Prz.iccz.p/es, RA 10066 underscored the duty of the State to
"create a balanced atmosphere where the historic past coexists in hannony with modem society."
It emphasized that in addressing the problem of conservation, the approach must be done in an
integrated and holistic manner, cutting across all relevant disciplines and technologies and that the
State shall further administer the heritage resources in a spirit of stewardship for the inspiration
and benefit of the present and future generations." RA 10066 is an umbrella law which provides
the guiding principles for further laws that may be crafted to protect, preserve and conserve our
cultural heritage.
With the rich cultural heritage of the Zamboanga Peninsula, there is an urgent need for its
promotion, conservation and preservation. Take the case of the "Chahacc!#o" dialect which is only
spoken in the City of Zamboanga. This dialect, as a result of rapid urbanization and development,
is  now  diluted  and  it  will  only  be  a  matter  of time  before  this  dialect  faces  the  threat  of
disappearance.


As a background, "chabacano is the general name for a group of Creole languages spoken
in the Philippines." "There are several modalities: the Chabacano of Ermita or Ermitefio which
lost its last known speaker a few years ago. Cavite Chabacano may still have a few thousand active
speakers. There is a Chabacano (or Tematefio)-speaking community in Temate. In 1995 there were
just over 3,000 speakers, so it is today in a precarious situation due to pressure from the Tagalog
language."I
"The Chchacano variant of zanboanga is the one with the most specters -almost half a
million - and until the local government recently decided to act, it was not well regarded among
its speakers either. Chabacano, contrary to what we know, "is not broken Spanish for the mere
undeniable fact that it is a language with its own grammar and rules, and with its own vocabulary,
which includes words from Spanish and several Filipino languages. It is the lack of conjugation of
verbs  which,  in  comparison  with  Spanish,  makes  the  people  think  that  it  is just  a  broken
language."2 For the language to survive, it is absolutely crucial that it goes from being a language
of finiliar use to a language that is present in all institutions, in the news, in the discussions of
important topics (like politics, economy or science), in the educational system, in the dubbing of
movies, or in the translation of great works of literature."3
With this, there is a need to establish a regional ethno-linguistic and cultural studies center
in the Zanboanga Peninsula that shall serve as a research institution that is mainly focused on the
grassroots level of identifying, recognizing, documenting, conserving, preserving and promoting
local history, folklore, language and other aspects of cultural heritage through academic, scientific
and scholastic approaches.
As Senator Loren Legarda underscored, "it is through leaming and appreciating the wealth
ofourlocalhistoryandculturethatwewillbeabletobetterenrichournationalidentityandachieve
more sustainable and inclusive social and economic progress."
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
Lhttps://www.manilatimes.net/2022/11/15/opinion/columns/chabacano-is-not-broken-spanish/1866367
2  Ibid.
3  lbid.


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
NII`mTEHNTH coNGREss
First Regular Session
HousEBILLfub.     64~02
Introduced by:
HONORABLE KHYMHR ADAN T. OLASO
Representative, 1 st District, Zamboanga City
HOUsE B|L|i`No.   6402
AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR TIIE ESTABLISHMENT 0F THE ZAMB0ANGA PENINSULA
REGIONAL ETHNO-LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL STUDIES CENTER, AND FOR
0TIInR puRposES
Pe.itenactedbythesenateandtheHouseofRepresentativesofthephilippinesincongress
assembled..
SECTION  I. Sfeo#  r..#e.  -  This  Act  shall  be  known as  the  "Zanboa#g¢ Pe#z.#s"/cr
Regional Ethao-Linguistic and Cultural Studies Center Act."
SEC. 2. Dec/¢r¢#.o„ a/PoJ!ty. -It 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 declared the policy of the state
to  recognize the wealth of history  and culture  of the  provinces  in the Zanboanga peninsula
including those of the cultural communities that it hosts, which is beneficial in strengthening
govemmentprogramsandpoliciesin(a)disputesettlement,(b)addressingstereotypes,(c)unequal
opportunities and representations, (d) conserving what has been studied and recovered, and (e)
appraising the Zamboanguefio identity and pride.
SP_C. 3.. Es_tablishpent gif the Zanboanga Peninsula Regional Ethno-Linguistic and
C#Jfwr¢J Sfwdfe§ Ce"/er. There is hereby established the Zamboanga Peninsula Regional Ethno-
LinguisticandCulturalStudiesCenterintheWestemMindanaoStateUniversity(WeMSU)which
shall hereinafter be referred to as the "Center".
SE:a.  4.  Region-  and  Cultural  Community-wide  Cooperation.  -  "tel-i.ITsti"+ioual
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, if there are any.
SEC. 5. Strwcfwre ¢J!d SrwLfiJi„g PuJ#t?r„. - 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.


SHC. 7. Coxposl./I.on ¢md Fw#cfl.our a/£fec Gem/er. -The Center shall be composed of,
but not limited to, five (5) major service areas with their respective froctious, namely:
a.   Research  Service  Area - conduct  local  anthropologic,  ethno-liguistic  and  cultural
researches  and  studies  in  the  Zamboanga  Peninsula  particularly  those  of cultural
communities therein to document local history, culture and society and contribute in
the local policy-making;
b.   Publication Service Area - acts as the leading publisher of local history, culture and
society  knowledge  in  the  localities  and  cultural  communities  in  the  Zamboanga
peninsula, in print and on-line. It shall support the production of educational materials
on  local  history,  culture  and  society,  the  promotion  of vemacular  literature  and
language, and other studies concerning the localities and cult`nd communities in the
peninsula.
c.    Awareness Campaign Service Area - creates and promotes participatory programs,
projectsandactivitiestocontinueandencouragediscourseonlocalhistory,cultureand
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 the collection building of local historical and
cultural resources and the conservation thereof, though:
i.           Collection of printed materials focusing on publications from local cultural
communities of the Zamboanga Peninsula;
1 I.          Gathering 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 linguistics studies are available,
here and abroad;
iv.        Obtaining  memoirs  and  other  whting  about  significant  personages   and
institutions in the Zamboanga Peninsula and its cultural communities;
V.
V1.
Acquisition  of materials  significant  to  the  enrichment  of the  Zamboanga
Peninsula local history, culture and society scholarship; and
Procurementthrouchdonatious,exchangesorpurchasesofimportanthistorical
documents, manuscripts, j oumals, books, etc.
e.   Oral  Traditions  Preservation  Area  -  tasked  with  the  collection,  documentation,
preservation  and  propagation  of the  oral  traditions  and  local  dialects  within  the
Zanboanga Peninsula
Section 8. Stnc S#ppo# /a ffec Ce#/gr. - Western Mindanao State University (WeMSU)
shall be the host of the Center. It shall
a.   Designate  premises  conducive  and  equipped  to  contain  collection  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 seminal Filipiniana core
collection;


c.   Harmonize the university research program with the goals and objectives of the center;
d.   Encourage  localized  studies  among  the  faculty  and  the  students  to  benefit  the
immediate community where the school is located;
e.   Involve academic, experts and scholars outside WeMSU to contribute in the research
and publication activities of the Center; and
f.    Develop policies and programs appraising the quality and scholarship of historical and
cultural research and publication for the Center.
S.ceapn?.Papronageof.Publicatipysprodueedbythecenter-Thedireneedforabody
ofknowledgeabouttheculturalcommunitiesoftheZamboangaPeninsulashallbeaugmentedby
encouraging the Center to produce regular publications, either by its resident scholars and non-
residents.  It shall provide at least two copies of each publication produced for deposit at the
Historical  Data Bank of the National  Historical  Commission of the  Philippines  OrHCP),  the
National  Library  of the  Philippines  O]LP),  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 shall do the same for all public and private schools of the
immediate schools division and the Department of Interior and Local Government and NLP for
the public libraries.
Section 10. £oc¢/ Jzis]istorz.cd[/ Commz.#ees Ivetwor* ¢ZrcJvy. - This existing unit within
theNHCPshalldevelopacomprehensivelocalandintemationallinkageprogramthatwillcormect
the Center not only with relevant government agencies, non-goverrment 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 goverrments of the Zanboanga Peninsula and already existing local studies
centers.
Section 11. jReprese#f¢from a/£fee CeH/t7r. -The Center must be represented in the Local
School Boards and the Local Culture and Arts Councils of the local goverrment units in the
Zamboanga  Peninsula,  the  National  Economic  and  Development  Authority  OrEDA)  of the
Zanboanga Peninsula Region and other goverrment bodies concerning local history, culture and
heritage.
Section12.F##dl.#g.-TheinitialfundingrequirementsfortheimplementationofthisAct
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.
Section13.jRepca/}.#gCfouse.-Alllaws,rulesandregulatiousorpartthereofinconsistent
with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Section 14. Squarodr.Jrty CJ¢use. -If any part, section or provision of this Act shall be held invalid
or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions not affected thereby shall remain in full force and
effect.
Section  15. Efi/Tt}crfurty  CJ¢usc.  -This  Act  shall take  effect fifteen (15)  days  after its
publication in the Ojorcz.a/ Gaee#e or in two (2) newspapers of national circulation.
Approved,