YOU must be half-asleep if you can’t see that the country is rich.
Dr. Wilfredo Ronquillo, chief of the Archaeology Division of the National Museum, expressed during a recent forum that, while he respected the choices of Filipinos seeking greener pastures abroad, he believed that there was more than ample reason to stay in the country.
Among the things one could take pride in was our cultural heritage.
Along with Dr. Eusebio Dizon, head of the Underwater Archaeology Section of the National Museum, Ronquillo spoke on “Cebu Life from the Ground: Archaeology and Cultural Property,” a forum sponsored by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. at the Eduardo Aboitiz Development Studies Center last April 24.
Communal call
Both Dizon and Ronquillo sounded out the call for local communities to look around and appreciate their way of life, natural endowments, history and the tangible and intangible facets of collective identity.
“A community that appreciates what it has will help protect this heritage,” noted Ronquillo.
The passage of Republic Act 4846 and the pending Angara bill requiring discoverers of artifacts in excavations and underwater explorations to inform the National Museum of their finds show that there is no dearth of laws for cultural preservation, he added.
The glaring weakness lies, though, in the enforcement.
The distance of Manila from the provinces and the lack of space in the National Museum to store and exhibit all the archaeological finds in the country reveal a gap that communities can fill.
Community museums can best showcase local history and cultural legacy, Ronquillo said.
Pivotal actor
“Community museums can play a pivotal role in arousing the interest and enthusiasm of the local population for the community’s important indigenous natural and cultural heritage,” Ronquillo wrote in a paper presented at the first anniversary of the Palawan Museum on March 4, 1992.
“Community Museums in the Philippines: Their Potential in Enhancing the Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Country” was published in the Philippine Quarterly of Culture & Society (PQCS 20 (1992): 317-323).
Such “small neighborhood museums” can be established, financed and maintained by the local government, a private corporation or a joint venture between the parties.
A museum’s primary function is to collect natural and cultural heritage objects that are worth careful study and care for what they reveal about society. Since collections define and distinguish a museum, locals can show their support by donating gifts to form part of a museum’s collections.
Ronquillo also wrote that collections can be built up through purchases from private sources, exchanges with or loans from other museums, and from self-initiated fieldwork and expeditions. He emphasized that a collection’s value is enhanced, as well as protected, through proper recording.
Beyond survival
In his PQCS paper, Ronquillo observed that community museums have to deal with important considerations, aside from the crucial issue of raising funds for acquiring a collection, undertaking field collection and scientific study, and safeguarding artifacts from natural decay and deterioration.
The ethics of acquisition must be observed. Prior to making a purchase, the provenance of artifacts has to be ascertained to ensure that no laws are broken, as well as to discourage the illicit trade in art and archaeological objects.
Coordination with the authorities, such as the National Museum Analytical and Conservation Laboratory, can help a community museum that may not be able to engage a professional conservator.
The community museum should integrate the participation of the local community in its projects, programs and activities, encouraged Ronquillo.
A temporary or changing exhibit can involve local residents in contributing artifacts that are integral to their community’s development. These can be unique plants, early photographs, rare household objects, outputs of local industries and crafts, and future plans and projects, to name a few.
Volunteerism and school tie-ups can enhance the survival of community museums, urges Ronquillo in his PQCS paper. Local experts may be tapped to give basic museum training and guidance. School programs, such as field trips and lectures, can nurture heritage awareness, appreciation and vigilance.
Beyond merely collecting, a community museum’s real legacy is in educating people to the beauty existing within and among them.
