National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) is pleased to announce that the Malacañang Palace will finally reveal the awardees of the first ever Philippine Heritage Awards that will be held in Rizal Hall, Malacañang Palace at 4:30 in the afternoon.

The Philippine Heritage Awards which is pursuant to Section 37 of Republic Act No. 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, is a recognition program for special achievements and important contributions and services in the field of heritage preservation and conservation efforts. Monetary prizes, awards, and citations will also be given, upon the recommendation of the NCCA for the winners.

The criteria for a project to be eligible are:  it must have been completed within the last two years prior to the deadline of the applications; and must be within the Philippine territory.

The Philippine Heritage Awards consists of six categories for different forms of Filipino heritage:

Adaptive Reuse is the category for project-utilized buildings, other built-structures, and sites for purposes other than which were intended originally.

The Rizal Park Hotel, a historic five-star hotel, and casino opened on 26 July 2017, got into the Adaptive Reuse category. The previous Army and Navy Club Building was designed by William E. Parsons, owned and exclusively used by the Americans to hold social gatherings in the early 1900s. National Historical Commission of the Philippines declared it as a National Historical Landmark in 1991 and was used to house the city architect’s office. 

Conservation – Built Heritage is the category for projects that relate to conservation of our built heritage including bridges, government buildings, houses of ancestry, traditional dwellings, quartels, train stations, lighthouses, small ports, educational, technological and industrial complexes, and their settings, and landscapes with notable historical and cultural significance.

Conservation – Movable Cultural Properties is the category for the restoration and conservation of movable cultural properties.

Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage is the category for projects that safeguard oral traditions, usages, customs, languages, and other expressions; performing arts; social practices, religious rites, rituals, culinary traditions, and festive events; knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe, worship; and traditional craftsmanship.

Magalang, Pampanga was awarded under the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage Category for its first-class municipality and for being part of the First Congressional District of the province alongside Angeles and Mabalacat. It is also considered as one of the oldest towns of Pampanga, thus, it has various traditions that has been practiced for generations.

Heritage Education and Interpretation is the category for publications, performances, cultural practices and traditions, events, exhibitions, displays, site interpretations, tours, seminars/workshops/trainings, and multimedia such as smartphone apps, websites and social media which emphasize and promote education, interpretation, and community engagement towards the protection and conservation of tangible and intangible cultural properties.

The Municipality of San Nicolas in Ilocos Norte got into the Heritage Education and Interpretation Category for its various efforts on heritage preservation. The municipality is the location of one of the oldest buildings in the province. It was also named after Saint Nicholas de Tolentino and was established by the Augustinian missionaries in 1575.

Heritage Programs Support is the category to recognize the extraordinary commitment and active involvement of an organization, local government unit, or corporation in supporting heritage programs.

And the City of Angeles in Pampanga got the award under this category. The city is the first class highly urbanized city in the province commonly known as the city where the Clark Air Base, the US’s military facility was previously located. After the dissolution of the Clark Air Base and the aftermath of Mount Pinatubo eruption, the Clark Special Economic Zone was established in 1993, and today the city relishes the hub for business, industry, aviation, and tourism in the Philippines as well as the gaming center of Central Luzon.

A panel of experts was convened to deliberate and vote on the applications and they were grouped according to the six categories.   The shortlist made by the experts was submitted to the second level of deliberations composed of the panel of jurors, which reviewed and voted across categories and the results were presented to the NCCA Board of Commissioners for further deliberation and voting.   The final list of awardees was then submitted to the President.

The recipients of the Philippine Heritage Award will receive a trophy, “Pamana” a brass on wood by Michael Cacnio inspired by the anahaw leaves – used as sheltering or roofing and abaniko, an indispensable summer implement.   It is also used as an ornamental plant for landscaping and adornment, as well as wrapping food.   Indeed, making something extraordinary out of the ordinary is something we Filipinos are familiar with.   Anahaw symbolizes our resilience, ingenuity, and resourcefulness.

The Republic Act 10066 is an act providing for the Protection and Conservation of the National Cultural Heritage, Strengthening the NCCA, and its Affiliated Cultural Agencies, and for Other Purposes — signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on March 26, 2010.

For queries on this press release, you may reach the Public Affairs and Information Section headed by Mr. Rene S. Napeñas through numbers 527-5529 / 527-2192 loc 628-630 or email ncca.paio@gmail.com