BACOLOD City – Young people in Negros Occidental are urged to preserve and protect their local heritage.
In line with National Heritage Month this May, a three-day Youth Forum on Heritage was held at The Magikland in Silay City.
About 60 participants, aged 17 to 23, attended from the province’s 3rd District, including the cities of Silay, Talisay, and Victorias, and the municipalities of EB Magalona and Murcia, as well as the provincial capital, Bacolod.
The participants attended lectures, fieldwork, and workshop that aimed to heighten awareness and understanding and strengthen efforts toward the preservation and protection of local cultural heritage.
Third District Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez, whose office initiated the forum, together with the Filipino Heritage Festival, Inc. (FHFI) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), underscored the need to cultivate the value of cultural appreciation and preservation, as well as the vital role of every citizen in protecting and promoting cultural heritage.
“In the hands of the youth lies the power to breathe new life into our cultural legacy, to infuse it with their unique perspectives, and to pass it on to future generations, richer and more vibrant than ever before,” Benitez said.
Benitez said the youth forum project of FHFI and NCCA is “a great endeavor towards fostering intergenerational connections and preserving cultural legacies.”
The solon also cited the 3rd district’s tangible heritage such as the Ishiwata Bath House in Murcia, The Ruins in Talisay, the heritage houses of Silay, the Battle of Gintabuan Monument in EB Magalona, and the St. Joseph the Worker Chapel in Victorias, coupled with the district’s intangible heritage in poetic, culinary, visual, musical, and performing arts.
“Our heritage is a testament to our collective identity and a source of pride for our people. Cultural heritage is the soul of our nation and the manifestation of our national and communal identity. Its continued conservation and promotion is therefore of paramount importance,” he added.
Republic Act 10066, or the “National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009” requires all local government units (LGUs) to maintain an inventory of significant cultural properties to be recorded in the Philippine Registry of Cultural Property.
This year’s National Heritage Month carries the theme “Heritage: Change and Continuity.” (PNA)/PN
