NCCA, UST Research Foundation Forge Continuous Partnership in Cultural Heritage Conservation

 In a mutual expression of an unyielding commitment to conserve the country’s cultural heritage, officials of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the UST Research and Endowment Foundation, Inc. (UST-REFI) will sign a Memorandum of Understanding for a continuous partnership on May 4 at the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, OP Building.

To represent the two institutions are NCCA commissioner Fr. Harold Rentoria, OSA and UST-REFI director Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, OP.

According to Father Rentoria, the partnership is an acknowledgment of the high quality of Thomasian research and conservation expertise, which have always been of help in the protection of many cultural heritage sites and artifacts.

“Notable projects of Thomasian scholars include cultural mapping, and the preservation and documentation of archival materials and important works of art, among others,” he said. 

The University has been known for its expertise in the preservation of cultural heritage through the UST Archives, the Vivencio del Rosario Heritage Library, the Center for the Conservation of Cultural Properties and the Environment in the Tropics, the UST Museum, the Cultural Heritage Program of the UST Graduate School, and the roster of esteemed faculty members who are also artists and cultural workers.

The ceremonial signing of the memorandum is one of the highlights of the kickoff event of “Taoid,” the flagship program of the NCCA Subcomission for Cultural Heritage for the National Heritage Month, which will start at 10am. Performing in this event are the UST Singers.

To be featured as well in the day-long event are the UST J. Elizalde Navarro (JEN) Exhibit and the Roundtable Discussion on the Standards of Cultural Heritage Conservation, which are co-organized by the Varsitarian.

With photos by Paul Allyson Quiambao and Angelo Bacani, the exhibit will depict the cultural identity of Filipinos in relation to the Sto. Niño de Cebu. The religious image, brought to the archipelago in 1521, is the oldest Catholic relic in the Philippines. This year marks the 450th anniversary of the discovery of the image in Cebu by the Augustinian circumnavigator Fray Andres de Urdaneta.

Exhibit curator is John Delan Robillos, vice-chair of the NCCA Committee on Art Galleries.

In the afternoon, Butch Nolasco’s documentary on Spanish-era churches will be the introduction to the round-table discussion, which will focus on the appropriate actions to protect heritage treasures. Also expected from the discussion are some updates on the rehabilitation, reconstruction, or conservation of the historic churches damaged or destroyed by the October 15, 2013 earthquake and the November 2, 2013 typhoon Yolanda. 

The discussants are Carmen Bettina Bulaong of Escuela Taller de Filipinas Foundation, Inc.; Liliane Manahan of the Heritage Conservation Society of the Philippines; Fr. Milan Ted Torralba of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’s Permanent Committee for the Cultural Heritage of the Church; Tina Paterno of the San Sebastian Basilica Conservation and Development Foundation, Inc.; Dominic Galicia or ICOMOS; and Lucille Karen Isberto and Ruel Ramirez of the NCCA Committee on Monuments and Sites.

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