Mandate, duties, and institutional roles
- Section 4 makes the National Museum the primary State institution for managing and developing museums and collections of national scope or significance in arts, cultural heritage, and natural history, for protecting, preserving, studying, and promoting national patrimony for the benefit of current and future generations.
- Section 4 requires the National Museum to serve as a permanent institution in the service of the entire national community, accessible to the public, and not intended for profit.
- The National Museum must operate as an educational, cultural, and scientific institution that documents, acquires, preserves, exhibits, and fosters scholarly study and public appreciation of works of art, specimens, and cultural and historical artifacts representative of or unique to Filipino artistic and cultural heritage and the natural history of the Philippines (Section 4(a)).
- The National Museum must coordinate with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the National Library of the Philippines, and the National Archives of the Philippines regarding important historical documents, collections, memorabilia, and other objects of significant historical value (Section 4(a)).
- The National Museum must establish, manage, and develop the National Museum Complex at Rizal Park, Manila, including central museums, regional museums, and other facilities, and promote principles of universal access, coordinated with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines for historical museums and shrines in various parts of the country (Section 4(b)).
- The National Museum must manage and develop national collections in arts, cultural heritage, and natural history (Section 4(c)).
- The National Museum must carry out permanent research programs integrating laboratory and field work in specified areas, including biodiversity, geological history, human origins, pre-historical and historical archaeology, maritime and underwater cultural heritage, ethnology, art history, immovable and movable cultural properties, intangible cultural properties, and similar or associated fields (Section 4(d)).
- The National Museum must disseminate technical and museological skills, support museum development in the country, extend technical assistance for preservation and restoration of cultural properties of national significance, and perform other public collecting and research museum functions consistent with international principles and best practices (Section 4(e)-(g)).
Trust attachment, autonomy, and governance structure
- Section 5 classifies the National Museum as a trust of the government, attached solely for budgetary coordination and related purposes to the Department of Education to ensure independence and autonomy.
- As a trust of the government, the National Museum must remain a National Government Agency primarily for administrative purposes, including receiving its annual budget from general appropriations to cover its mandated operations and activities (Section 5(a)).
- The National Museum must be positioned administratively higher in level than a Bureau or Bureau-level agency but beneath a Department or Department-level agency, primarily for staffing pattern and compensation scales (Section 5(b)).
- The National Museum must enjoy privileges and special rules characteristic of both a Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporation and a State University or College wherever possible to promote the objectives of the Act, with special rules formulated and promulgated by the National Museum, the Department of Budget and Management, the Commission on Audit, and other concerned agencies (Section 5(c)).
- The National Museum is governed by a Board of Trustees vested with specified powers and functions, including mobilizing private and public support, serving as appointing authority for the Head of Agency, providing oversight through the Head of Agency, approving strategic policies and directions, administering endowment and funds, considering appeals on administrative decisions of the Head of Agency, and performing other functions provided in the Act and other issuances (Section 12).
- The Board is composed of 15 members: 8 private sector representatives and 7 government officials as ex officio members (Section 13).
- Private sector members must include at least one distinguished Filipino artist, architect or cultural worker, one distinguished Filipino anthropologist or historian, and one distinguished Filipino scientist in the field of natural history (Section 13(a)).
- Government ex officio members include: the Chairperson of the Senate culture committee, Chairperson of the House culture committee, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, the Secretary of Tourism, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and the Director-General of the National Museum (Section 13(b)).
- Private sector Board members are appointed by the President for a term of 4 years and are eligible for reappointment for succeeding 4-year terms based on merit and performance (Section 14).
- The President designates the Board Chairperson from among private sector members; absence of designation allows the Board to elect an Acting Chairperson until presidential designation (Section 14).
- Private sector members remain in holdover capacity after term expiration if reappointment or replacement has not been made by the President, except when the member is unwilling to serve further or the President declares the position vacant; holdover members continue to exercise full authority vested in the position (Section 14).
- Private sector Board members may not designate any proxy to act on their behalf on matters concerning the Museum (Section 14).
- ex officio members may designate a representative only for attending Board meetings, with rank requirements specified for departmental secretaries and the Chairperson of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and for the Director-General of the National Museum (Section 14).
- The Board meets at any agreed location within the Philippines, with quorum constituted by the presence of a majority of all its incumbent members (Section 15).
- Board members serve without compensation; private sector members are entitled to an appropriate honorarium for attendance at meetings, and all members may receive allowances and reimbursement of expenses for travel and participation in official activities within the Philippines and overseas, certified by the Director-General and approved by the Board Chairperson (Section 15).
- The Board establishes an Executive Committee composed of 5 members (Board Chairperson, Director-General, and 3 Board members); the Board prescribes Executive Committee functions, and actions taken by it require ratification by referendum or the next Board meeting, whichever is sooner, by quorum of Board members within 30 days after Executive Committee action (Section 15).
- The Board may constitute other committees, retain paid or pro bono consultants, establish advisory boards, and determine honoraria and travel-related allowances and reimbursements, subject to certification and approval by the Director-General and Board Chairperson (Section 15).
- The President of the Philippines is the Patron and Honorary Chairperson of the National Museum and the Board (Section 15).
- The Board may adopt an Official Seal judicially noticed and make bylaws, rules, and regulations necessary for administration of Board functions under the Act and other laws, rules, and regulations (Section 15).
Board-appointed leadership and staffing
- The National Museum is headed by a Director-General serving as Head of Agency with the rank and emoluments of an Undersecretary (Section 16).
- The Director-General is assisted by two (2) Deputy Directors-General: one for Museums and one for Administration, each with the rank and emoluments of an Assistant Secretary (Section 16).
- Central and regional museums and satellite offices are managed and supervised by the Director-General and Deputy Directors-General with assistance of seven (7) Directors: Fine Arts, Anthropology, Natural History, Northern Luzon National Museums, Central-Southern Luzon and MIMAROPA National Museums, Visayas National Museums, and Mindanao National Museums (Section 16).
- Each Director may be assisted by an Assistant Director with the appropriate managerial rank (Section 16).
- Changes in designations and ranks, including creation of additional plantilla positions up to Director and Assistant Director levels, are authorized by the Board subject to approval of the Department of Budget and Management (Section 16).
- The Act requires Directors and Assistant Directors to be Filipino citizens with proven track records in competent administration, appropriate knowledge of museum or relevant institutional operations, and demonstrable personal or professional commitment to the National Museum’s mission; they must pass qualification standards established by the Board in coordination with the Civil Service Commission (Section 16).
- Unless otherwise provided by the Board, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts continues delegated administrative supervision over the Director-General for leave, travel, performance evaluation, and related matters; the Director-General supervises the rest of the National Museum or may delegate such to a pertinent Deputy Director-General or Director (Section 16).
- The Director-General, Deputy Directors-General, Directors, and Assistant Directors are appointed by the Board for a term of 4 years and may be reappointed for succeeding 4-year terms based on merit and performance (Section 17).
- The Board may appoint or designate persons in acting capacity to the specified positions in cases of vacancy, illness, absence, or other cause, and may change such designations based on the interests of the National Museum (Section 17).
- Incumbent Director and two (2) Assistant Directors, if any, are automatically upgraded to Director-General and Deputy Directors-General positions provided herein and are granted a 1-year term upon effectivity of the Act before their performance is subject to review by the Board for purposes of reappointment (Section 17).
- Organizational structure and staffing pattern must be amended to integrate provisions of the Act, but no employee is affected by such amendments in accordance with Republic Act No. 6656, the “Government Reorganization Law” (Section 17).
Permanent site, preservation duties, and planning
- The entire former Executive House (also known as the former Congress or Legislative Building), the former Department of Finance Building, and the former Department of Tourism (originally Agriculture and Commerce Building) on the present Agrifina Circle in Rizal Park in Manila are the permanent and exclusive site of the National Museum and form the core of the National Museum Complex in the national capital (Section 6).
- The National Museum Complex includes the existing building of the National Planetarium in Rizal Park, operated by the National Museum since 1975, together with its lot as presently delineated (Section 6).
- The aforementioned buildings and their associated lands are deemed appropriated to the National Museum; a certified record by the Director-General of the description of the site and lands is evidence in all courts regarding extent and boundaries of appropriated lands (Section 6).
- The National Museum must preserve the former Session Halls of the House of Representatives and the Senate in the former Legislative Building as a tribute and as historical sites, without prejudice to their appropriate use in museum operations (Section 7).
- The National Museum Complex is dedicated to the life, work, martyrdom, and memory of Dr. Jose Rizal, and his intellectual and patriotic interests are to be imbued in public operations and activities throughout the Complex in specified fields, including history and literature and also anthropology, fine arts, architecture, and natural sciences (Section 8).
- The National Museum must develop the National Museum Complex within and adjacent to Rizal Park and other identified areas using reference to the Burnham Plan for Manila of 1905, and include facilities and spaces such as exhibition, activity and function halls, office and operational spaces, museological and technical facilities, premises for commercial operations, vehicular parking, integrative infrastructure, parks and green areas, and public spaces both above and below ground (Section 9).
- The National Museum must implement a design for a large public plaza and park fronting the former Legislative Building, integrating it with Intramuros as a National Cultural Treasure and exposing features of walls and former moat in that area (Section 9).
- The National Museum is the primary government entity responsible for preservation of the Gomburza Monument by Solomon Saprid opposite the former Legislative Building and the Sentinel of Freedom (Lapu-Lapu Monument) by Juan Sajid Imao in the present Agrifina Circle, and must ensure continued centrality and appropriate prominence of these monuments in their vicinities are maintained or enhanced in developments of the Complex (Section 9).
- Within 1 year from effectivity, the National Museum must formulate a Master Plan if none yet exists, and the Master Plan must be approved by the Board of Trustees and financed by proceeds from its Endowment Fund and other allowable sources of funds in accordance with existing laws (Section 9).
- After approval, the National Museum’s programmed and systematic implementation of the Master Plan and administration and operation of the Complex require strongest appropriate support by National Government agencies with jurisdiction over concerned properties, structures, and utilities, and by the government of the City of Manila (Section 9).
- No development within the area of the National Museum Complex or that directly affects the same may be permitted without approval of the National Museum (Section 9).
- The National Museum is authorized to enter into appropriate public-private partnerships concerning property development and management to further implement the Master Plan in accordance with pertinent laws, rules, and regulations (Section 9).
Museums network and education-oriented facilities
- The central museums of the National Museum include the existing National Museum of Fine Arts, National Museum of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, and the National Planetarium (Section 10).
- The National Museum must take steps toward establishing central museums dedicated to archaeology, maritime and underwater cultural heritage, architectural arts and built heritage, and political and social history, which may be established within the National Museum Complex or elsewhere within the National Capital Region as appropriate (Section 10).
- The National Museum must take steps toward establishing an institute for professional education, training, and development in museology and allied fields, and a conservation center for movable cultural properties of national significance (Section 10).
- The National Museum must maintain existing regional, area, and site museums and satellite offices, and if none exists, take steps toward establishing a regional museum and satellite office in each administrative region beyond the National Capital Region, plus area and site museums and offices wherever necessary (Section 11).
- The National Museum’s regional network must be coordinated with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and other relevant cultural agencies to prevent institutional duplication (Section 11).
- The sites for new regional, area, and site museums and satellite offices must be selected based on geography, population distribution, administrative efficiency, outstanding national artistic, cultural, and natural heritage significance, and educational, environmental, and tourism considerations (Section 11).
Access, fees, and museum admissions
- The general public must be granted free admission to all public museums and national historical shrines and landmarks, subject to capacity and availability determined by the National Museum or the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (Section 18).
- Appropriate fees may be charged to special activities, programs, or temporary exhibitions upon approval of the pertinent Head of Agency (Section 18).
Income retention, donations, and funds structure
- The National Museum is authorized to retain the entirety of its income from all sources of operations nationwide and overseas and to expend it for any purpose in benefit of the National Museum authorized by the Board, in accordance with the Act and other applicable laws and special provisions of the General Appropriations Act for the fiscal year (Section 19).
- Retained income must be placed in a dedicated National Museum Income Fund and may accumulate for disbursement in future fiscal years if not expended within the fiscal year generated (Section 19).
- The existing Revolving Fund of the National Museum is abolished, and its balance must be transferred to the National Museum Income Fund (Section 19).
- Legally executed deeds of donation must place donated moneys into a dedicated National Museum Donations Fund disbursed according to the deeds’ terms and purposes; if no specific purposes are stipulated, disbursement is otherwise for any purpose in benefit of the National Museum authorized by the Board (Section 19).
- The National Museum may accept anonymous donations of money in Philippine or foreign currency from visitors as voluntary gratuities credited to the Donations Fund, solicited through recommended amounts formulated and approved by the Board, accepted through donation boxes or authorized persons (Section 19).
- Handling and accounting of anonymous donations must follow rules and regulations prescribed by the National Museum in agreement with the Commission on Audit within 6 months after effectivity of the Act (Section 19).
- Retained income and anonymous donations, and donations covered by deeds of donation with no specified purpose, must generally be applied to purchase capital assets for the National Museum, including real properties and movable assets such as equipment and collection items, unless otherwise provided by law; disbursement requires Board authorization and compliance with budgeting, accounting, and auditing rules (Section 19).
Endowment fund and investment rules
- The existing Museum Endowment Fund is renamed the National Museum Endowment Fund, sourced from P250,000,000 annual net earnings of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office from its lotto operation and P250,000,000 from the annual net earnings of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Section 20).
- The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation must continue remitting required contributions to the Fund, payable within 5 years after effectivity of the Act, taking into account past remittances (Section 20).
- The National Museum Endowment Fund is administered by the Board, which may appoint professional fund managers to manage and invest the Fund on its behalf (Section 20).
- Rules for administration, management, and investment must be similar to those pertaining to relevant government financial institutions and must be agreed among the National Museum, the Department of Finance, and other concerned government agencies (Section 20).
- Donations and bequests made to the Endowment Fund must be explicitly executed for its purpose, and once credited become part of the Fund’s principal (Section 20).
- Only the interest of the National Museum Endowment Fund may be expended; the Board authorizes transfers of necessary amounts to a corresponding special projects account disbursed through the Head of Agency (Section 20).
Tax, customs, and procurement exemptions
- The National Museum continues to be classified as a National Government Agency and is exempt from payment of taxes, fees, and charges imposed by the National Government and its political subdivisions, agencies, and instrumentalities (Section 21(a)).
- All donations to the National Museum are exempt from donor’s tax and are allowable deductions from gross income for purposes of income tax computation of the donor in accordance with Republic Act No. 8424, the “National Internal Revenue Code of 1997,” as amended (Section 21(b)).
- Importation of scientific, philosophical, historical, and cultural books, supplies, and materials for conservation and preservation work of the National Museum is exempt from customs duties (Section 21(c)).
- Procurement of unique, special, and/or original items by the National Museum for its collections charged to any allowed source of funds, authorized by the Head of Agency and concurred to by the Board, is exempted from applicable laws, rules, and regulations on government procurement (Section 22(a)).
- As a general rule, the National Museum may procure collections items through direct negotiation with owners (or duly designated agents or representatives) in the Philippines and abroad, under specified procedural requirements (Section 22).
- A written and signed quotation addressed to the National Museum by the owner or authorized agent must be issued (Section 22(a)).
- The Head of Agency must issue a certification that the item is of appropriate significance to the National Museum and of importance to Filipino heritage and patrimony; the negotiated price is reasonable and fair; no conflicts of interest exist as defined by prevailing laws, rules, and regulations; and the item has not been illegally acquired or trafficked (Section 22(b)).
- For items above P1,000,000 (or its foreign currency equivalent), the Head of Agency must recommend in writing to the Board the issuance of a resolution for approval in principle; items at or below that amount may be procured upon the sole authority of the Head of Agency provided there is no “splitting” as defined in pertinent procurement laws, rules, and regulations (Section 22(c)).
- For items above P1,000,000 (or equivalent), the Board must issue a resolution approving in principle the purchase and authorizing the signing by the Head of Agency of a Deed of Sale and all other documents (Section 22(d)).
- A Bids and Awards Committee resolution must verify that required documents (where applicable) are produced, certify availability of funds, and authorize issuance of a Notice of Award signed by the Head of Agency (Section 22(e)).
- After Notice of Award, the Head of Agency must execute the Deed of Sale, then the Bids and Awards Committee issues a Notice to Proceed signed by the Head of Agency authorizing processing of payment to the seller in Philippine or foreign currency; payment receipt must be acknowledged by an official receipt or legal equivalent when official receipt is not possible (Section 22(f)).
- Payments for collections items must be made by the National Museum gross of any deductions for tax; the owner (or agent/representative) is responsible for paying direct and indirect taxes owed to Philippine and relevant foreign authorities from the sale under applicable laws and regulations (Section 22(g)).
- Certified true copies of all procurement documents must be posted in a designated public place and on the National Museum website for at least 6 months, and transmitted to the Commission on Audit through the resident auditor, the Department of Budget and Management, the Government Procurement Policy Board, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and the Bureau of Customs if imported (Section 22(h)).
Public auction procurement and refusal enforcement
- The National Museum may procure unique, special, and/or original collections items through bidding at public auction, including online public auction, in special cases approved by the Board through a resolution (Section 23).
- For each item, the Board must predetermine an appropriate price ceiling based on fair market valuation, exclusive of commissions, fees, charges, taxes, and other associated expenses (Section 23).
- The National Museum’s interest in an item must be disclosed to the public auction management, which must announce or disclose it to all registered parties (Section 23).
- If authorized by the Board, the National Museum may participate and bid or may, within 7 days, match the highest bid by invoking a right of first refusal through written notice to the public auction management (Section 23).
- An invoice issued to the National Museum by the public auction management, including bid price plus relevant commissions, fees, charges, taxes, and associated expenses, together with the Board resolution and a Head of Agency certification similar to Section 22(b), and the procedures in Section 22(e), (f), (g), and (h), is sufficient for procurement under this auction section (Section 23).
- If public auction management violates the right of first refusal, demonstrably causing failure of the National Museum to acquire the item for the National Government, the management must pay a fine equal to the highest bid for the item payable to the National Treasury through the National Museum, and the National Museum must file charges against the management in the appropriate court seeking application of other legal penalties under existing laws (Section 23).
National Government collections in trust
- Movable cultural properties owned by the National Government that fall within Republic Act No. 10066 and this Act—including specified fine and applied art, archaeological and historical artifacts, relics of built heritage, and ethnographic materials of national significance—must be registered with the National Museum and form part of a general inventory and catalogue produced and published within 3 years after effectivity of the Act, then updated annually thereafter (Section 24).
- National Government collections must be considered held in trust for the Filipino people and cannot be alienated or otherwise disposed of without National Museum approval under the National Museum’s de-accessioning policies under the Act (Section 24).
- The National Museum may request transfer or loan of such National Government collections or related items for protection, preservation, study, or public exhibition, and Head of Agency concerned must give such requests the highest consideration (Section 24).
- All government agencies are enjoined to offer for transfer or loan to the National Museum items of movable cultural property they possess to support these purposes and the National Museum’s mandate (Section 24).
Commercial operations and outsourcing
- The National Museum is authorized to undertake commercial operations, with proceeds credited to the National Museum Income Fund, including rental of dedicated areas for external events under a schedule of fees approved by the Board (Section 25(a)).
- The National Museum may lease dedicated areas for the erection and operation of commercial establishments awarded through public bidding, with preference to nonprofit organizations related to or supportive of its mandate, for a term up to 5 years per contract (Section 25(b)).
- The National Museum may lease dedicated areas for vehicular parking awarded through public bidding to qualified firms, for a term up to 5 years per contract (Section 25(c)).
- The National Museum may produce and/or license official merchandise, including publications and audio-visual media, awarded through public bidding with preference to nonprofit organizations supportive of its mandate, for a term up to 5 years per contract (Section 25(d)).
- The National Museum may outsource through public bidding all general, non-museological property management operations, including security and maintenance for its real properties—particularly the National Museum Complex in Rizal Park—through contracts up to 5 years, using funds provided by annual general appropriations (Section 25).
Training, incentives, and de-accessioning controls
- The National Museum must undertake training and development programs to upgrade capabilities of personnel in its functions (Section 26).
- Personnel may train or study in the Philippines or abroad on official time subject to service needs upon approval of the Director-General (Section 26).
- The Board must establish a system of monetary incentives to reward superior performance and professional development milestones of management, administrative, and technical personnel, subject to approval of the Department of Budget and Management and, where applicable, the Civil Service Commission (Section 26).
- The National Museum may provide for a de-accessioning policy for its collections except where restricted by donation terms or prevailing laws (Section 27).
- De-accessioning of any accessioned item requires Board approval in each and every case (Section 27).
- An internal audit unit must be established within the National Museum organization (Section 28).
- Except as covered by Sections 16 and 17, the Board may propose reorganization or changes to organizational structure or staffing pattern whenever needed based on its judgment, subject to approval of the Department of Budget and Management and the Civil Service Commission (Section 29).