THE
National Museum of the Philippines assumed on April 11, 2018, the full
operation of its Western Visayas Regional Museum after undergoing
rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the former Iloilo Prison, which was built
in 1911 and later rechristened the Iloilo Rehabilitation Center (IRC).
National
Museum Director Jeremy Barns, with Assistant Director Ana Labrador and other
National Museum officials, flew in from Manila to receive the converted IRC
from the Provincial Government of Iloilo headed by Governor Arthur Defensor Sr.
and members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) in a ceremony held during the
opening of the 117thSemana
sang Iloilo celebration. Also present during the unveiling of the IRC Historical
Marker were Provincial Engineer Gracianito Lucero, and project contractor,
Engr. Joselito Lim.
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National
Museum Director Jeremy Barns and Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Sr. unveil the
marker of the Iloilo Rehabilitation Center (otherwise known as Provincial Jail
of Iloilo), which has been converted into the NM Western Visayas Regional Museum,
Apr. 11, 2018. Also in photo are Iloilo City Representative Jerry Treñas, NM Assistant Regional Director Ana Labrador, NM Architect Nelson
Aquino and members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Iloilo.(WVRM PIO)
“We are
privileged that this occasion coincided with the 117th anniversary
of this great province,” according to Barns. He lauded the local government of Iloilo
for coming together to make this milestone in the history of Iloilo happen. “We
are all aware of the richness of the heritage - culturally, naturally, that
Ilonggos take great pride in. We in the National Museum have always wanted to
be part of and support that in behalf of the cultural sector of the national
government,” explains Barns.
He shared
that the museum will have five galleries that will be venues of various
exhibitions. “You will all have a wonderful museum that you can all be proud
of, that will house some of the famous artifacts from this region – the gold
funerary mask of Oton, the excavated fossils of ancient elephants from
Cabatuan, ethnological artifacts such as textiles, basketry, and other forms of
weaving, as well as natural history, including flora and fauna, and landmark
buildings like churches. We will do our best to gather here in one place for
the enjoyment of the local people, and the visitors from around the country and
the world,” Barns added.
The
entrance to the museum will be free of charge that can be enjoyed by the youth
of the province, visitors, educators, students, scholars, and people who are
interested in history and architecture, those who want to enjoy the beauty of
the river and of what this compound will become in the next years, those who
want to be in touch with their roots, he elaborated.
The Western
Visayas Regional Museum and Satellite Office, which is under the National
Museum Regional Administration and Operations Division headed by Dionisio
Pangilinan, will oversee the operations of the regional museum. In the same
ceremony, the new employees of the regional office extension take their oath of
office.
In the same
occasion, Barns declared the IRC, which he said is one of the finest jails in
the country, as an Important Cultural Property. The National Museum takes pride
that its regional museum is the 107-year-old “Prison of Iloilo”. Built in 1911,
the heritage structure was deteriorating after it was abandoned in 2006 when
the jail was transferred to Brgy. Nanga, Pototan town. The restoration of the
jail followed the restoration of nearby Casa Real or the old Iloilo capitol
building.
These
initiatives are part of the bigger project of the provincial government, the
P400-million Iloilo Capitol Complex Redevelopment Project, which would make the
historic Casa Real, the modern Iloilo Provincial Capitol Building, the Museo
Iloilo, the Red Cross Building, and the Iloilo Provincial Jail pieced together
in one tourism and historical landmark and leisure destination in the City of
Love.
“With the Western Visayas Regional
Museum located right in the heart of Iloilo City, we look forward to the
public’s appreciation of our own heritage, and its significance to our
identity, and in the shaping of the future of our communities,” Barns said. (Maricyn
A. De los Santos/WVRM PIO)
ABOUT The NATIONAL MUSEUM
The National Museum, a Trust of the
Government, is an educational, scientific, and cultural institution that
acquires, documents, preserves, exhibits, and fosters scholarly study and
public appreciation of works of art, specimens, and cultural and historical
artifacts representative of the unique cultural heritage of the Filipino people
and the natural history of the Philippines.
The National Museum implements and
serves as a regulatory and enforcement agency of the Government with respect to
a series of cultural laws, and is responsible for various culturally
significant properties, sites and reservations throughout the country. It is
the lead agency in the official commemoration of Museums and Galleries Month
every October of the year.
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