UNIT VII.

FILIPINO CULTURAL HERITAGE

Overview

This unit gives you a better understanding of our cultural heritage. In addition, world
heritage sites listed by UNESCO are presented in this unit. This will help you to distinguish
tangible heritage to intangible heritage.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this chapter, I am able to:

1. define cultural heritage;
2. distinguish between tangible and intangible cultural heritage; 3.
3. outline the importance of cultural heritage; and
4. list examples of cultural heritage.

Lesson Proper

The Filipino Cultural Heritage

• Cultural Heritage, according to Republic Act 10066, or the National Cultural

Heritage Act Of 2009, referred to "the totality of cultural property preserved and
developed through time and passed on to posterity."
• The World Heritage Commission explains that "heritage is our legacy from the past,
what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations."
• Cultural heritage protects our sense of who we really are.
• It gives us an undeniable association to the past – to certain social values,
convictions, traditions and conventions that permit us to recognize ourselves with
others and develop our sense of solidarity, having a place and national pride.

Two types of Cultural Heritage

1. Tangible Heritage
• Environment (natural landscapes and coastal and inland water sources)
• Flora and fauna
• Man-made structures
 (Images credit to: Frontlearners)

2. Intangible Heritage
• Culture (traditions, customs, values, trades, and skills).

(Images credit to: Frontlearners)

 • According to Republic Act 10066 Article 1, Policies and Principles, Sec. 2 of the
National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 declares that the State shall foster the
preservation, enrichment, and dynamic evolution of a Filipino culture based
on the principle and unity in diversity in a climate of free artistic and intellectual
expression.
• According to the Heritage Conservation Society, "conservation" entails "all the
processes and measures of maintaining the cultural significance of a cultural
property, including, but not limited to, preservation, reconstruction, protection,
adaptation, or any combination thereof."

The World Heritage List includes six Philippine Properties:

1. Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Palawan

(Photo credits to: tourism.gov.ph)

• Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park lies near the Saint Paul Mountain
Range, 81 kilometers from the heart of Puerto Princesa City, but is still within the
boundaries of the city.
• The Park is a wide known natural wonder.
• Its geological features are extraordinary, and the Subterranean River is said to be
among the longest in the world measuring up to 8.2 kilometers.

2. Banaue Rice Terraces — Ifugao Province, Cordillera

(Photo credits to: tourism.gov.ph)

 • High within the farther ranges of the Philippine Cordillera Mountain range,
researchers accept, slants have been terraced and planted with rice as distant
back as 2,000 a long time.
• Mountains terraced into paddies that were still existing in changing states of
conservation are spread over most of the 20,000 square-kilometer arrive that's
within the Northern Luzon areas of Kalinga-Apayao, Abra, Benguet and Ifugao.
• The far-fetched location is found at elevations shifting from 700 to 1,500 meters
over the ocean level, where porches are cut into mountain inclines with forms that
rise steeply.

3. Historic City of Vigan, Ilocos Sur

(Photo credits to: tourism.gov.ph)

• During the height of the Spanish colonial era in the 18th and 19th centuries, Vigan
or Ciudad Fernandina de Vigan was the third most important city after Manila and
Cebu.
• It was the main point of Spanish colonial power in the northern Luzon. The range
of structures along the plazas and streets narrates the story of the town.
• The town is a testament to the Spanish colonialization, a place that exerts a strong
cultural influence on the modern Philippine nation.

4. Baroque Churches of The Philippines

(Photo credits to: tourism.gov.ph)

 • Four Baroque churches in the country that were built during the Spanish period
and all of them were inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.
• These baroque churches are all named as national treasures for their historical and
cultural significance.
• The four Baroque churches included in this list are Paoay Church in Ilocos Norte,
• Santa Maria Church in Ilocos Sur, San Agustin Church in Manila and Miagao
Church in
• Iloilo.

5. Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park

(Photo credits to: tourism.gov.ph)

• The Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park lies at the heart of the Sulu Sea, which is located
near Palawan.
• This natural park is a protected part of the Philippines -all 97,030 hectares of it.
These islands belong to the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park are uninhabited.
• It also a home for nesting site for marine turtles and various species of birds.
Meanwhile, it is best known for its pristine coral reef system.

6. Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary

(Photo credits to: tourism.gov.ph)

• Located in the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor, the Mount Hamiguitan
Range Wildlife Sanctuary was enlisted into the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in
2014 (the latest among the sites on this list) for its natural importance.
• It is home to a diverse range of flora and fauna species.
• There are also several endangered and endemic species found within the
sanctuary