Legarda pushes for preservation of cultural legacies

PHILIPPINES, May 6 - Press Release
May 6, 2025

Legarda pushes for preservation of cultural legacies

This National Heritage Month, Senate Committee on Culture and Arts Chairperson Senator Loren Legarda called on the country to espouse each Filipino's shared responsibility to help preserve cultural legacies.

"It is a perfect time to pay homage to the rich legacy of the Filipino people, for our forebearers have given us countless traditions in various forms that we could be proud of," Legarda said.

"The month of May reminds us that our past is something that is not to be ignored, and it provides us with blueprints for us to be able to tread a better path towards the future."

By virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 439, signed by then President Gloria Arroyo in 2003, May was designated to celebrate the nation's cultural and historical heritage.

The proclamation stressed the need to create consciousness, respect, and love for the legacies of Filipino cultural history and to raise material support for the protection of tangible and intangible heritage.

A need to strengthen the Filipinos' awareness of cultural heritage sites and landscapes was also cited.

"We are thankful that there are a lot of things that we could be proud of as Filipinos, among them is our cultural heritage," she remarked.

"Not only do we have historic sites, but also literature, music, and food, which completes the satisfaction of our five senses."

Legarda championed the passage of the Cultural Mapping Act, which mandates all local government units to conduct a cultural heritage mapping of respective areas.

It also provided for the establishment of a Philippine Registry of Cultural Properties (PRECUP), which will be responsible in the safekeeping and management of a comprehensive database of all cultural properties in the country.

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Legarda, isinulong ang pagpreserba sa cultural legacy ng bansa

Ngayong National Heritage Month, nanawagan si Senate Committee on Culture and Arts Chairperson Senator Loren Legarda na gampanan ng bawat Pilipino ang kanilang responsibilidad sa pagpreserba ng cultural legacy ng bansa.

"Ito ang tamang oras na magbigay-pugay sa mayamang legasiya ng lahing Pilipino, at marami tayong maipagmamalaking naiambag ng ating mga ninuno," pahayag ni Legarda.

"Ang buwan na ito ay nagsisilbing paalala na hindi natin dapat kalimutan ang nakaraan dahil ito ay gabay sa kinabukasan."

Nilagdaan ni Pangulong Gloria Arroyo noong 2003 ang Presidential Proclamation No. 439 upang ipagdiwang ang cultural at historical heritage ng bansa.

Isinaad ng proklamasyon ang pagkakaroon ng kamalayan ng bawat isa sa legasiya ng Filipino cultural history, pati na ang pagkakalap ng pondo upang protektahan ang tangible at intangible heritage.

Dapat ding magkaroon ng kamalayan ang bawat Pilipino sa iba't ibang cultural heritage sites.

"Tayo ay nagpapasalamat dahil marami tayong dapat ipagmalaki bilang Pilipino, at kabilang na ang cultural heritage," ayon kay Legarda.

"Hindi lang makasaysayang lugar ang ating ipinagmamalaki, kundi ang literatura, musika, at maging ang pagkain, na nagpapasaya sa atin."

Isinulong ni Legarda ang pagkakapasa ng Cultural Mapping Act, na nagtatakda sa lahat ng local government unit na magsagawa ng cultural heritage mapping ng kanilang lugar.

Naitatag din ang Philippine Registry of Cultural Properties (PRECUP), na magiging responsible sa pagaalaga ng listahan ng lahat ng cultural property sa bansa.