NCAA, NEDA disseminates importance of RA 10066 forward

KORONADAL CITY --- Stakeholders are again generating public awareness on the importance of the Republic Act 10066 in preserving national heritage.

In a press statement Thursday, the National Economic Development Development-Authority-12 said the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, as part of its continuing collaboration with different Regional Development Councils and other stakeholders, held last July 7 a video conference on the intricacies of the RA 10066.

The RA 10066, or The National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, is focused on preserving valued old historic buildings that are considered cultural landmarks, the so-called “tangible but movable heritage,” and the traditional and natural properties of cultural significance.

The law also created the Philippine Registry of Cultural Property, or PRECUP, as a facet for ensuring preservation of state cultural properties.

Members of the multi-sector RDC-12 and the Local Culture on Arts Council participated in the online orientation about the RA 10066, according to NEDA-12.

Around a hundred representatives from RDC-12, members of LCACs from the four provinces of Region 12 and secretariat complement teams participated in the webinar conference.

Arli Joshua Atienza, NCCA-RDC desk officer, said the activity was part of the commission’s continuing heritage law advocacy.

The orientation delved on the features, jurisdiction of cultural agencies and on how the PRECUP works and on basic processes on registration of a cultural property to be preserved.

The activity was part of NCCA’s mainstreaming of culture, heritage, and values in the existing programs and projects of government entities in line with Chapter 7 of the Philippine Development Plan, or the “Filipino Culture and Values towards Bayanihan.”

“It is important to preserve our cultural heritage because it keeps our integrity as a people and the best way to protect our cultural properties is to have them registered, thus, we have the PRECUP,” Justin Ortega, also of NCAA, said.

One of the prerequisites for the registration of cultural heritage is the declaration of the cultural properties by proper authorities, the NEDA press statement said.

Emmanuel Mabagos of NCCA-PRECUP said any Filipino can participate in cultural inventories complementing the commission’s enforcement of the national cultural heritage law.

Presented during the July 7 webinar were the region’s entries in the TALAPAMANA, a publicly accessible database of the PRECUP, as well as the MAPAMANA, which is a statistical map showing the cultural properties available in the various LGUs in Region XII.

A workshop participated mostly by LCAC representatives was also initiated to enhance their understanding on processes on profiling of cultural sites and properties found in their respective localities.

Representatives from each province -- Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat -- studied and filled out PRECUP forms as part of the exercise, facilitated by Donna Eduardo and Micah Carando of NCCA.

The submission of the local cultural profiles by local government units to the NCCA is among requisites of the Department of the Interior and Local Government for its evaluation of LGUs that are candidates for the Seal of Good Local Governance, or SGLG, a yearly citation for performing municipal, provincial and city governments.

The NCCA is the national government’s lead coordinating agency on protection, preservation and promotion of cultural heritage and the ethnicity of local communities.

It also takes charge of the declaration and delisting of cultural properties, issuance of permits on exportation of movable cultural heritage and licensing of dealers of cultural properties.

NCAA’s executive director, Al Ryan S. Alejandre and Teresita Socorro Ramos, director of NEDA-12, have separately expressed gratitude to stakeholders who participated in the July 7 online activity. (With a report from Eden Fornan-Ridao, NEDA-12)