National Museum of the Philippines

Umbrella government organization for museums in the Philippines

This article is about the government organization. For the museum complex in Manila, see National Museum Complex (Manila).

National Museum of the Philippines
Pambansang Museo ng Pilipinas

Seal

Logo

Agency overview
Formed| October 29, 1901[1]
Preceding Agency|

* Museo-Biblioteca de Filipinas

Jurisdiction| Philippine arts and cultural development
Headquarters| National Museum of Fine Arts, Padre Burgos Avenue, Rizal Park, Ermita, Manila, Philippines
14°35′12″N 120°58′52″E﻿ / ﻿14.58667°N 120.98111°E﻿ / 14.58667; 120.98111
Motto| Non omnis moriar (Latin)
Annual budget| ₱537.44 million (2021)[2]
Agency executives|

* Jeremy R. Barns, Director-General
* Andoni M. Aboitiz, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees

Parent department| Department of Education
National Commission for Culture and the Arts
Website| www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph

The National Museum of the Philippines (Filipino: Pambansang Museo ng Pilipinas) is an umbrella government organization that oversees a number of national museums in the Philippines including ethnographic, anthropological, archaeological, and visual arts collections. From 1973 until 2021,[3] the National Museum served as the regulatory and enforcement agency of the government of the Philippines in the restoring and safeguarding of significant cultural properties, sites, and reservations throughout the Philippines. The mandate has since been transferred to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.[4]

The National Museum operates the National Museum of Fine Arts, National Museum of Anthropology, and the National Museum of Natural History, all located in the National Museum Complex in Manila. The institution also operates branch museums throughout the country.

The National Museum also established and operates regional museums across the Philippines: National Museum Eastern-Northern Mindanao (Butuan), National Museum Central Visayas (Cebu City), National Museum Western Visayas (Iloilo City), National Museum Western-Southern Mindanao (Zamboanga City), and National Museum Ilocos (Vigan City), to name a few.

## History

[edit]

Casa de la Moneda which hosted the museum-library of the Museo-Biblioteca de Filipinas

### Spanish era

[edit]

The first predecessor to the current National Museum of the Philippines organization was the Museo-Biblioteca de Filipinas which was established by royal decree by the Spanish colonial government in the Philippines on August 12, 1887. Its first museum-library opened at the Casa de la Moneda along Cabildo Street on October 24, 1891. It later moved to a building along Gunao Street in Quiapo before it became defunct sometime around the onset of the American occupation of the Philippines in 1900.[5]

### American era

[edit]

Bureau of Science Building

The American-supervised Philippine Commission established the Insular Museum of Ethnology, Natural History, and Commerce under the Department of Public Instruction on October 29, 1901 through Act No. 284 to replace the museum-library. The Insular Museum was founded to complement the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes which was later renamed as the Bureau of Ethnological Survey. After the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904, the Insular Museum was renamed as the Philippine Museum. The Bureau of Ethnological Survey was abolished as a separate bureau and was reorganized as the Division of Ethnology under the Bureau of Education in 1905. It was subsequently moved to the Bureau of Science in 1906.[6]

In 1916, the organization of the Philippine Museum underwent another overhaul. Through Act No. 2572, the Philippine Library and Museum was created through the merger of the Division of Ethnology and the Fine Arts Division of the Philippine Museum. The Philippine Museum's Natural History Division was retained under the Bureau of Science.[6]

The National Museum of the Philippine Islands would be established on December 7, 1928 through

Act No. 3477. It was placed under the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. It was abolished in 1933 by Act No. 4007. The Division of Fine Arts was placed under the Philippine Library and Museum (now National Library of the Philippines) while the Division of Ethnology was placed under the Bureau of Science. The National Museum Division was created from the merger of the Division of Ethnology and the Natural History Division. The National Museum Division was renamed as the National History Museum Division with the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce named as its parent agency via Commonwealth Act No. 453 in 1939. The Division was later merged to the National Library's Division of Fine Arts to become the National Museum under the Office of the Executive Secretary.[6]

### World War II

[edit]

The Japanese occupation of the Philippines during World War II brought the Natural History Museum Division and the National Library's Fine Arts Division back under a single organization, but the museum lost a large part of its collection during the Liberation of Manila of 1945 when the Old Legislative Building and the Bureau of Science Building was destroyed. The organization which resulted from the divisions' merger was named as the National Museum and was placed under the Office of the Executive Secretary.[5] The Legislative Building was later restored.

### Contemporary era

[edit]

Historic Marker of the Philippine National Museum

The museum's role in cultural growth was recognized as contributing to government's desire for national development.[7] In 1966, President Ferdinand Marcos signed Republic Act No. 4846 or the Cultural Properties and Protection Act.[citation needed] On September 12, 1991, President Cory Aquino signed Proclamation No. 798, declaring October as “Museum and Galleries Month”, where the celebration will be led by the National Museum, wherein it aims to arouse the national consciousness and pride in the Philippines' rich culture and national identity, expressed in all media of art and culture, historical and religious artifacts.[8] In 2013, President Noynoy Aquino launched the construction of the National Museum of Natural History, which opened in 2018. Aquino also backed the construction and development of several regional museums, including the museums in Batanes, Vigan, Marinduque, Bohol and Iloilo, among others, while supporting the heritage preservation projects of the National Museum, including the restoration of churches damaged by natural calamities, including churches in Cebu, Bohol, and Eastern Samar.[9] From 2013-2015, entrance became free in museums administered by the National Museum in cooperation with the Aquino government.[10] The free entrance policy became permanent in 2016.[11] In 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte changed the agency's name from "National Museum" to "National Museum of the Philippines" through Republic Act No. 11333.[12]

In 2025, the museum extended its opening hours to include all seven days of the week, having been previously closed on Mondays.[13]

## Museums

[edit]

### Central museums

[edit]

Main article: National Museum Complex (Manila)

National Museum of Fine Arts

The National Museum Complex consist of the central museums of the National Museum of the Philippines in the National Capital Region. These are the National Museum of Fine Arts, the National Museum of Anthropology, and the National Museum of Natural History. The National Planetarium was also part of this complex.

Museum  | Opened

|

National Museum of Fine Arts |  | 2000
National Museum of Anthropology |  | 1998
National Museum of Natural History |  | 2018

### Satellite museums

[edit]

Butuan National Museum The Central Visayas National Museum in Cebu City. The Western Visayas National Museum in Iloilo City. Zamboanga National Museum

The National Museum has also established numerous satellite museums outside Metro Manila. Currently, there are no regional museums in 10 of 18 regions in the country, namely Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Soccsksargen, and the Bangsamoro. Regional museums are mandated by law. Small area or site museums are established in some of the country's regions.

#### Regional museums

[edit]

Museum  | Location  | Opened

|
|

NMP - Butuan
(NM Caraga Regional Museum) | Butuan City, Agusan del Norte | 1978
NMP - Cebu
(NM Central Visayas Regional Museum) | Cebu City, Cebu | 2023
NMP - Cordillera
(NM Cordillera Regional Museum) | Kiangan, Ifugao | 1984
NMP - Davao
(NM Davao Regional Museum) | Davao City, Davao | 2024
NMP - Ilocos
(NM Ilocos Regional Museum Complex) | Vigan City and Magsingal, Ilocos Sur | 2015
NMP - Iloilo
(NM Western Visayas Regional Museum) | Iloilo City, Iloilo | 2019
NMP - Zamboanga
(NP Zamboanga Regional Museum) | Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur | 1986

#### Area museums

[edit]

National Museum Sulu Museum  | Location  | Opened

|
|

NMP - Batanes | Uyugan, Batanes | 2012
NMP - Bicol | Daraga, Albay | 1992
NMP - Bohol | Tagbilaran City, Bohol | 2018
NMP - Cagayan | Peñablanca, Cagayan | 1980
NMP - Dumaguete | Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental | 2022
NMP - Marinduque-Romblon | Boac, Marinduque | 1995
NMP - Sulu | Jolo, Sulu | 1982

#### Site museums

[edit]

Museum  | Location  | Opened

|
|

NMP - Kabayan
(NM Kabayan Burial Caves Site Museum) | Kabayan, Benguet | 1982
NMP - Rizal
(NM Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs Site Museum) | Angono and Binangonan, Rizal | 1973
NMP - Tabon Caves Complex | Quezon, Palawan | 1972

## Former facilities

[edit]

### Museums

[edit]

The National Museum had a satellite museum in Bolinao, Pangasinan. It was an archeological museum featuring historic objects retrieved from the different parts of the province. It first opened in 1970.[14]

### National Planetarium

[edit]

Main article: National Planetarium (Manila)

National Planetarium

The Planetarium was planned in the 1970s by former National Museum Director Godofredo Alcasid Sr. with the assistance of Mr. Maximo P. Sacro Jr. of the Philippine Weather bureau and one of the founders of the Philippine Astronomical Society.

The building started on construction on 1974 and completed nine months after. It was formally inaugurated on October 8, 1975. The Presidential Decree No. 804-A, issued on September 30, 1975, affirmed the Planetarium's status. The Planetarium is located between the Japanese Garden and the Chinese Garden at the Rizal Park.[15] The site was decommissioned and closed in 2021 due to development works by the National Parks Development Committee.[16]

## Future facilities

[edit]

In 2024, the National Museum assumed possession of the ancestral house of Aniceto Lacson, the first and only president of the Negros Republic, located in Talisay, Negros Occidental, after it was donated by Lacson's heirs. The museum is allotting P20 million to restore the house as part of plans to convert it into a museum.[17]

## Seminars and lectures

[edit]

The National Museum offers numerous lectures, workshops, and seminars annually. However, most of these events happen at the museums within Metro Manila. More than 80% of provinces in the country have yet to possess a museum under the authority of the National Museum. A partial reason for this lacking is the non-existence of a Department of Culture. In late 2016, a bill establishing the Department of Culture and the Arts and another bill strengthening the National Museum, including its regional museums, were filed in the Senate. Both bills were formally introduced in early 2017, but neither prospered in the legislation process due to lack of support from lawmakers.[18]

## Restitution claims

[edit]

In 2023, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC agreed to return the remains of 64 Filipinos that it acquired without consent during the American occupation for anthropological research, including to support racist beliefs about white supremacy, and stored at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, to the National Museum following discussions with the latter and the Philippine Embassy.[19]

In February 2024, the museum received a donation of four early 19th-century panels depicting various saints from the pulpit of Boljoon Church in Cebu from Union Bank of the Philippines CEO Edwin Bautista. The news of the donation led to demands from the Archdiocese of Cebu as well as officials and residents of the province for the panels to be repatriated, citing the fact that they had gone missing from the church during the 1980s due to either theft or an illegal sale by the parish priest.[20] In response, the museum said that it was open to share the panels with Cebu, adding that the donors procured the panels through legitimate means, “highlighting their commitment to ethical acquisition.”[21] A copy of the deed of donation of the panels obtained by Rappler read that the panels should stay with the museum, which would hold them in perpetuity and put them on display, while acknowledging that the panels came from Boljoon Church.[22] On April 1, the Cebu Provincial Board passed a motion to file charges against the National Museum and others who took custody over the panels.[23] On May 8, the museum's board of trustees ruled in favor of returning the panels to Boljoon Church.[24]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ https://www.facebook.com/nationalmuseumofthephilippines/posts/pfbid02mra9wxvnMgM8yBsEz4uXVWBx7HsW8woZ5rNyL4htakwnGj36ktMrDopNypYLjKo7l [bare URL]
2. ^ https://www.dbm.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/GAA/GAA2021/TechGAA2021/DEPED/E.pdf [bare URL PDF]
3. ^ "AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 4846, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE "CULTURAL PROPERTIES PRESERVATION AND PROTECTION ACT"". The LawPhil Project. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
4. ^ "An Act Strengthening the National Museum of the Philippines, Repealing for the Purpose R.A. No. 8492, Otherwise Known as the "National Museum Act of 1998", and Appropriating Funds Therefor". The LawPhil Project. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
5. ^ a b "History". National Museum of the Philippines. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
6. ^ a b c "History of the National Museum". National Museum of the Philippines. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
7. ^ Ferdinand Marcos, New Filipinism: The Turning Point, State of the Nation Message to the Congress of the Philippines, January 27, 1969 [on-line] accessed from https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1969/01/27/ferdinand-e-marcos-fourth-state-of-the-nation-address-january-27-1969/.
8. ^ https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/multimedia/photo/10/01/23/october-is-phs-museum-and-galleries-month [bare URL]
9. ^ "In tribute video, National Museum recalls cultural, heritage projects supported by PNoy". ABS-CBN News.
10. ^ "Free admission to National Museum on Saturday in honor of Intl Museum Day". GMA News. May 16, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
11. ^ "Entrance to the National Museum now 'permanently' free". Rappler. June 30, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
12. ^ "Duterte signs law giving more powers the National Museum of the PH". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on July 16, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
13. ^ "The National Museum of the Philippines is now open every day". GMA News. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
14. ^ "Bolonao branch". National Museum of the Philippines. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
15. ^ Branches of the National Museum. National Museum of the Philippines
16. ^ "National Planetarium closed for now as building set for decommissioning". Philippine Daily Inquirer. October 11, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
17. ^ "National Museum assumes control of historic 'Malacañang of Negros'". Rappler. November 7, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
18. ^ "LOREN LEGARDA: Sponsorship Speech: Senate Bill No. 1529, Committee Report No. 140". YouTube. November 7, 2017. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
19. ^ "US museum to return Filipino remains collected for research without consent". Benar News. August 15, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
20. ^ "Panels stolen from Cebu church surface in National Museum; Cebuanos want them back". Rappler. February 18, 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
21. ^ "National Museum open to 'sharing' pulpit panels with Cebu". GMA News. February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
22. ^ "Donation docs specify Boljoon panels stay with National Museum". Rappler. March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
23. ^ "Cebu Capitol to file case vs National Museum officials over 'stolen' church panels". Rappler. April 1, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
24. ^ "National Museum board approves return of pulpit panels to Boljoon church". Rappler. May 8, 2024. Retrieved May 9, 2024.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Lenzi, Iola (2004). Museums of Southeast Asia. Singapore: Archipelago Press. p. 200 pages. ISBN 981-4068-96-9.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to National Museum of the Philippines at Wikimedia Commons
* Official website

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National Museum of the Philippines

Sites|

* National Museum Complex
* National Museum of Anthropology
* National Museum of Fine Arts
* National Museum of Natural History
* National Planetarium
* Old Jaro Municipal Hall (Region 6 satellite office)

Collections|

| Fine arts|

* El asesinato del Gobernador Bustamante
* La Bulaqueña
* Spoliarium
* The Parisian Life

|

Anthropology|

* Bolinao skull
* Maitum anthropomorphic pottery
* Manunggul jar
* Philippine jade artifacts
* Philippine shell tools
* San Diego galleon
* Tabon stone tools

Natural history|

* Lolong

People|

* Gemma Cruz-Araneta
* Alfredo E. Evangelista
* Robert Bradford Fox
* F. Landa Jocano
* Eduardo Quisumbing
* Galo Ocampo
* Jesus T. Peralta

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Department of Education, Philippines

Executive Departments of the Philippines

Bureaus|

* Bureau of Alternative Learning Systems
* Bureau of Elementary Education
* Bureau of Secondary Education
* Educational Development Projects
* Health and Nutrition Center
* National Education Testing Center
* National Educators Academy of the Philippines
* Technical-Vocational Education Task Force

Attached agencies|

* Instructional Materials Council
* National Book Development Board
* National Council for Children's Television
* National Museum
* National Science Teaching Instrumentation Center
* Philippine High School for the Arts
* National Academy of Sports

See also: List of education ministries by country and DepEd TV

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States
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Other|

* IdRef
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