PGLU, NCCA Takes Step for La Union Cultural Preservation; Train Local Cultural Mappers
By: Joy Ann L. Gurtiza, GPC-LUPTO | Photos By: Mico Salamanca, LUPTO | Date: May 8 – 12, 2023
In celebration of the Philippine Heritage Month 2023, the Provincial Government of La Union through the La Union Provincial Tourism Office – Culture and the Arts Unit, in collaboration with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), conducted the Training of a Local Team as third Cultural Mapping Phase for all the Local Government Units (LGUs) in the province on May 8 – 12, 2023 at J&V Resort and Hotel Events Hall, Sevilla, City of San Fernando, La Union.
Aiming to create a core set of LGU coordinating mappers on cultural mapping, a total of 56 participants attended the training composed of representatives from the tourism, culture and planning offices, barangay council and various organizations and institutions in the province. Representatives from the Provincial Planning and Development Office and PGLU – Environment and Natural Resources Unit were also present during the five-day training.
On behalf of Gov. Raphaelle Veronica “Rafy” Ortega-David, Provincial Tourism Officer Arthur S. Cortez, Jr. emphasized on the preservation and promotion of tangible and intangible cultural assets of all the LGUs and the province as a whole.
Board Member Cynthia Angelica M. Bacurnay as Chairperson of Committee on Education, Culture and Arts underscored the importance of the training in providing the basic knowledge and skills of making cultural maps as a prerequisite for local planning and investment programming.
Likewise, NCCA Project Coordinator Prince John Catumber delivered the opening remarks with a visual presentation highlighting the efforts of NCCA in conducting trainings on cultural mapping in various provinces in the country.
The main resource speakers and trainers on cultural mapping were Fr. Harold Rentoria, OSA, NCCA Commissioner; Prof. Lorenzo Isla, Cultural Development Consultant and Faculty Member at National University; Mr. Floper Gershwin Manuel, NCCA Representative and Assistant Professor at Central Luzon State University; and Mr. Farland Valera, Faculty Member of Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University – Open University System. NCCA Project Coordinator Monique Pilapil was also present and served as one of the facilitators during the program.
The training covered the following topics: Overview of Cultural Mapping; Philippine and international legal instruments on cultural heritage; Frameworks on Conservation (theories, domains, significance) and Context of Mapping Process; Cultural Mapping Methodologies, Cultural Statistics and Mapping Ethics; Mapping of Movable and Immovable Tangible Heritage, Natural Heritage, Intangible Heritage, Significant Personalities, Cultural Institutions, and LGU programs and projects for culture.
The essential part of the training was the actual fieldwork for the conduct of cultural mapping exercises in the selected areas of First and Second Districts of La Union. After each fieldwork, the participants encoded the gathered data and presented their mapping outputs for critiquing by the resource speakers.
At the end of the training, 60 maps were produced composed of 10 immovable tangible heritage, 10 natural heritage (which includes land formation, body of water, flora and fauna), 20 intangible heritage, and 20 movable tangible heritages.
The training culminated with the awarding of certificates as PTO Cortez, Jr. reiterated the importance of timely submission of cultural data to assess the provincial performance.
With the province’s call for a stronger #LaUnionPROBINSYAnihan, the five-day training on Cultural Mapping is a vital tool in preserving the intangible and tangible cultural assets of the province and essential to understand circumstances that influence one's appreciation of places, paying particular attention to personal and community interpretations of culture.
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