9/8/22, 2:41 AM E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly

leaders of the nation, it is the policy of the Government to hold and keep the national
shrines as sacred and hallowed place.[116] P.O. No. 105[117] strictly prohibits and
punishes by imprisonment and/or fine the desecration of national shrines by disturbing
their peace and serenity through digging, excavating, defacing, causing unnecessary
noise, and committing unbecoming acts within their premises. R.A. No. 10066 also
makes it punishable to intentionally modify, alter, or destroy the original features of, or
undertake construction or real estate development in any national shrine, monument,
landmark and other historic edifices and structures, declared, classified, and marked by
the NHCP as such, without the prior written permission from the National Commission
for Culture and the Arts (NCAA).[118]

As one of the cultural agencies attached to the NCAA,[119] the NHCP manages,
maintains and administers national shrines, monuments, historical sites, edifices and
landmarks of significant historico-cultural value.[120] In particular, the NHCP Board has
the power to approve the declaration of historic structures and sites, such as national
shrines, monuments, landmarks and heritage houses and to determine the manner of
their identification, maintenance, restoration, conservation, preservation and
protection.[121]

Excluded, however, from the jurisdiction of the NHCP are the military memorials and
battle monuments declared as national shrines, which have been under the
administration, maintenance and development of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office
(PVAO) of the DND. Among the military shrines are: Mt. Samat National Shrine in Pilar,
Bataan;[122] Kiangan War Memorial Shrine in Linda, Kiangan, Ifugao;[123] Capas
National Shrine in Capas, Tarlac;[124] Ricarte National Shrine in Malasin, Batac, Ilocos
Norte;[125] Balantang Memorial Cemetery National Shrine in Jaro, Iloilo;[126] Balete
Pass National Shrine in Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya;[127] USAFIP, NL Military Shrine and
Park in Bessang Pass, Cervantes, Ilocos Sur;[128] and the LNMB in Taguig City, Metro
Manila.[129]

B. The Libingan Ng Mga Bayani

At the end of World War II, the entire nation was left mourning for the death of
thousands of Filipinos. Several places served as grounds for the war dead, such as the
Republic Memorial Cemetery, the Bataan Memorial Cemetery, and other places
throughout the country. The Republic Memorial Cemetery, in particular, was established
in May 1947 as a fitting tribute and final resting place of Filipino military personnel who
died in World War II.

On October 23, 1954, President Ramon D. Magsaysay, Sr. issued E.O. No. 77, which
ordered "the remains of the war dead interred at the Bataan Memorial Cemetery,
Bataan Province, and at other places in the Philippines, be transferred to, and
reinterred at, the Republic Memorial Cemetery at Fort Wm Mckinley, Rizal Province" so
as to minimize the expenses for the maintenance and upkeep, and to make the remains
accessible to the widows, parents, children, relatives, and friends.

https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/62526 19/275