Establishing National Museum System Philippines

State policy and purpose

Section 2 declares it the policy of the State to pursue and support the cultural development of the Filipino people through the preservation, enrichment, and dynamic evolution of Filipino national culture.
Section 2 grounds this policy on the principle of unity in diversity in a climate of free artistic and intellectual expression.

Conversion and character of the Museum

Section 3 converts the present National Museum into a trust of the government to ensure its independence and autonomy.
Section 3 detaches the Museum from the Department of Education, Culture and Sports and from the National Commission of Culture and the Arts.
Section 3 places the Museum, solely for budgetary purposes, under the Office of the President.
Section 3 provides that the Museum is known by the name “National Museum,” has perpetual succession, and has the power and limitations contained in the Act.
Section 3 establishes that the Museum is a permanent institution in the service of the community, accessible to the public, and not intended for profit.
Section 3 requires the Museum to obtain, keep, study, and present material evidence of man and his environment, and to inform the general public for study, education, and entertainment.
Section 3 sets the primary mission as acquiring documents, preserving, exhibiting, and fostering scholarly study and appreciation of works of art, specimens, and cultural and historical artifacts.
Section 3 provides that, pending its reorganization by the Board of Trustees, the Museum comprises the Museum structure, organization, collections, properties, assets, and liabilities.

Permanent site and preservation rules

Section 4 designates the whole Executive House Building (also known as the old Congress Building), the Department of Finance building, and the Department of Tourism building on Agrifina Circle as the Museum’s permanent and exclusive site, known as the National Museum Complex.
Section 4 provides that the Executive House shall now be known as the “National Museum.”
Section 4 deems the site and lands selected for the Museum’s building as appropriated to the Museum.
Section 4 provides that a certified record of the description of the appropriated lands—certified by the Chairman and Secretary of the Board of Trustees—constitutes evidence in all courts of the extent and boundaries of the lands appropriated.
Section 5 requires the National Museum to preserve the Senate Session Hall as a tribute and relic of the Philippine Senate’s legacy and national significance events.

Objectives and core duties/functions

Section 6 requires the Museum to lead in disseminating knowledge of Filipino cultural and historical heritage and in developing a corps of professionals skilled in preservation, enrichment, and dynamic evaluation.
Section 6 requires the Museum to conduct basic and systematic research programs combining integrated laboratory and field work in anthropology and archaeology, geology and paleontology, botany, and zoology, and to maintain reference collections and promote scientific development.
Section 6 requires the Museum to lead in the study and preservation of artistic and cultural heritage, the reconstruction and rebuilding of the past, and the development of national cultural wealth.
Section 7 authorizes the Museum to acquire, collect, preserve, maintain, and exhibit to the public cultural and natural heritage materials and objects of Filipino and foreign origin, including materials relevant to the recent history of the country.
Section 7 requires documentation of all objects held or borrowed by the Museum through registering them in an inventory and cataloguing, and managing collection movement so that the Museum can locate any object at any time, initially on paper and later in computerized records as time and budget allow.
Section 7 requires regulatory functions for registration, excavation, preservation, and exportation of Philippine cultural properties through a legal department and customs department to be established for these purposes.
Section 7 directs the Museum to implement Presidential Decree No. 374 (as further amended) and other related laws on protection and conservation of cultural properties.
Section 7 mandates research and monitoring for salvage archaeology and control of archaeological excavations, diggings, and research into Philippine pre-history and proto-history.
Section 7 requires the Museum to maintain scientific and reference collections and to prepare and publish manuscripts, scientific papers, and technical studies across its disciplines.
Section 7 requires laboratories and facilities for scientific analysis of materials recovered from archaeological and ethnographic sites for preservation.
Section 7 authorizes planning, organizing, and staging exhibitions; maintaining library services, guided tours, lectures, seminars, symposia, or workshops; and providing planetarium shows, lectures, demonstrations, exhibits, and actual celestial observations.
Section 7 requires supervision and management of restoration, preservation, reconstruction, demolition, alteration, relocation, and remodeling of immovable properties and archaeological landmarks and sites.
Section 7 authorizes securing bilateral and international grants and endowments; extending management, technical, and financial assistance to regional, provincial, city, and/or local museums; and developing consortium agreements and linkages with institutions of higher learning and other organizations.

Board of Trustees and leadership

Section 8 places the business of the Museum in the city of Manila under a Board of Trustees.
Section 8 provides that the Board consists of: (a) the Chairmen of the Committees on Education of the Senate and House of Representatives; (b) the Chairperson of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts; and (c) seven (7) private sector representatives.
Section 8 requires among the seven (7) private sector representatives to include one (1) distinguished Filipino Artist, one (1) distinguished Filipino Scientist, and one (1) distinguished Filipino historian.
Section 8 designates the Director of the National Museum as an ex officio member of the Board.
Section 8 provides that the Chairman of the Board is appointed by the President of the Philippines and that the President is the Museum’s Honorary Chairman and patron.
Section 9 provides that the private sector representatives are appointed by the President from a short list nominated by recognized NGOs in the Museum and cultural sectors, as well as by prestigious business groups.
Section 9 provides appointment terms for private sector representatives: three (3) for four-year terms, three (3) for two-year terms, and one (1) for a one-year term.
Section 9 provides that all private sector representatives are eligible for one reappointment; vacancies due to death, disability, resignation, or similar causes are filled for the duration of the unexpired term only.
Section 10 requires the Board to meet in Manila, elect five (5) members as an executive committee, fix regular meeting times, and allows special meetings upon application of any three (3) trustees to the Director with notice by letter to each member.
Section 10 provides that the Board may function notwithstanding vacancies, and that a quorum at meetings is six (6) trustees.
Section 10 states that trustees’ service is gratuitous, but each trustee is paid necessary travel and actual expenses attending meetings, audited by the executive committee and recorded by the Director.
Section 10 authorizes the Board to adopt an official seal and make bylaws, rules, and regulations for administering the Museum, including rules for acquisition, exhibition, and loan of works of art, administration of trust funds, and Board organization and procedures.
Section 11 requires the Board to appoint the Director and two (2) Assistant Directors, and mandates that the Director implements Board policies and Board-approved programs.
Section 11 provides that the Director and Assistant Directors are responsible for expanded archaeological sites and the Regional Museum Division.

Appointment, delegation, and personnel matters

Section 12 allows the Board to designate an Assistant Director to act as Director in cases of vacancy, illness, absence, or other causes, so the acting Director may perform all Director duties until the vacancy is filled or the inability ceases.
Section 13 provides that the Director and Assistant Directors receive salaries as allowed by the Board and may be removed by the Board whenever, in its judgment, the Museum’s interests require removal.
Section 14 requires training and development programs to upgrade Museum personnel capabilities.
Section 14 authorizes scholars to train abroad on official time, and allows personnel involved in technical aspects of museology and graduate programs in defined disciplines to pursue graduate programs on official time subject to the needs of the service and approval of the Director.
Section 15 requires an exhibition unit organized to specialize in planning, design, and execution of quality exhibitions, and permits engaging specialized persons when necessary.
Section 15 requires a central registry unit to integrate documentation of all collections into a computerized system over time.
Section 16 requires upgrading Museum branches with ten (10) or more personnel and/or high property accountability or cultural value to regional museums upon recommendation of the Director.
Section 16 provides that the Director, through the Assistant Director, has full supervision over regional museums and their personnel.
Section 16 requires regional museums to serve as information and cultural centers offering comprehensive local archaeological finds and other local cultural treasures.
Section 17 requires immediate registration upon entry of all specimens, artifacts, and objects of art; recordkeeping of objects in collections or on loan; maintaining an inventory updated to reflect movement; and using curatorial expertise to add full catalogue entries, initially on paper and later through computerized systems as time and budget allow.
Section 18 requires laboratories and adequate facilities for conservation, preservation, and storage of collections.
Section 20 allows the Board, through its secretary or authorized representatives, to designate Museum employees as special policemen without additional compensation for policing the Museum buildings and grounds.

Public safety, deputization, and incentives

Section 20 authorizes deputizing the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines for: (a) protection of newly discovered sites from illegal exploitation; (b) reporting discovery of archaeological sites; and (c) preservation of important archaeological sites in danger of destruction.
Section 20 makes it obligatory for local police and civil authorities—especially city and municipal mayors and barangay chairmen—to report to the Museum the discovery of archaeological sites.
Section 20 tasks local police and civil authorities with preventing illegal exploitation by unauthorized persons until the Museum establishes control over the discovered sites.
Section 21 authorizes the Museum to provide incentives for reporting newly discovered archaeological, cultural, and historical sites and to devise an equitable rewards system for verified reports of significance.

Funding, endowment, budgeting, and revolving fund

Section 22 requires the Museum to continue submitting and receiving its annual budget from the National Government’s general appropriations.
Section 22 requires the Secretary to submit to Congress annually at the beginning of each regular session a detailed statement of expenditures of the preceding fiscal year under appropriations for “National Museum.”
Section 22 authorizes the Museum to include in its appropriations estimates sums necessary for preservation of its art collection.
Section 23 establishes a Museum Endowment Fund administered directly by the Board for special programs, projects, and activities in accordance with Section 7.
Section 23 appropriates PHP 500,000,000 for the Endowment Fund from: (a) PHP 250,000,000 from the annual net earnings of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office from its lotto earnings; and (b) PHP 250,000,000 from the annual net earnings of PAGCOR.
Section 23 requires that the appropriations be payable in quarterly remittances within three (3) years until PHP 500,000,000 is reached.
Section 23 requires that the Museum’s regular operating budget, including operational costs such as acquisition of collection materials, procurement of equipment and supplies, studies and research, and exhibition of artifacts, be provided in the General Appropriations Act.
Section 23 limits expenditure of the Endowment Fund to only the interest of the Endowment Fund for special projects and programs.
Section 23 provides that donations and bequests to the Endowment Fund from the private sector are exempt from any and all taxes.
Section 23 requires the Board to invest the Endowment Fund and determine annual transfers from earned interest to the Museum’s special projects account.
Section 24 authorizes trustees to dispose of other moneys accruing as interest on the Museum that are not appropriated or not required for purposes under the Act in a manner they deem best to promote the Museum’s purposes.
Section 26 creates a revolving fund from Museum income not exceeding PHP 2,000,000, derived from proceeds of sales of reproductions, cultural items, publications, creation, restoration, conservation, identification, authentication, earnings from planetarium programs, and other auxiliary services.
Section 27 provides that professional Museum personnel with graduate degrees are given the rank and benefits of National Scientists, subject to qualifying standards, consistent with the scientific career merit system of the government.
Section 27 grants Museum scientific personnel one (1) year of sabbatical leave for every five years of productive scientific service.
Section 27 requires the Museum, with Board approval, to prepare and implement a staffing pattern for duties, qualifications, responsibilities, functions, and compensation scheme, for approval by the Department of Budget and Management.
Section 27 exempts salaries of professional and technical staff from salary standardization laws affecting personnel of the civil service.
Section 27 requires an annual detailed report to Congress of the salaries of all officers and employees paid from Museum appropriations.

Tax exemptions and special rules

Section 25 exempts the Museum from paying import taxes and tariff duties on all art/display materials and equipment directly used for the Museum’s non-profit programs, including books, art materials, chemicals for preservation and restoration, exhibit and technical equipment, and films.
Section 25 exempts donations and legacies to the Museum from donor’s, estate, and inheritance taxes.
Section 25 requires the Board of Trustees to recommend to tax authorities the appropriate amount of exemption for donations of objects or donations in kind.
Section 25 requires the Board to refer to qualified external evaluators to determine proper valuation for the donation.
Section 34 directs the Commission on Audit, Department of Budget and Management, and the National Museum to draw up and promulgate special rules within sixty (60) days from the Act’s effectivity to enhance and implement legislative intention to provide the Museum complete and full flexibility and fiscal autonomy in accordance with generally accepted rules and practices applicable to similar institutions.

Admission and operational status

Section 33 authorizes the National Museum to charge admission fees.
Section 33 requires the Museum to be open on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays.

Health services and de-accessioning

Section 31 requires the Museum to be provided with adequate health care services.
Section 32 authorizes the National Museum to provide for a de-accessioning policy for upgrading its collections.

Organizational flexibility and attrition law

Section 28 allows the Board to employ other officers and employees necessary for efficient administration, operation, and maintenance, and permits the Board to delegate the functions in Section 28 to the Director.
Section 29 provides that the National Museum is not subject to the attrition law.
Section 36 authorizes the Museum, with Board approval, to reorganize its structure and staffing pattern to carry out its functions.
Section 36 provides that incumbents in the existing National Museum’s leadership structure are automatically upgraded to analogous positions, and that—except those who opt for an early retirement scheme determined by the Board—personnel receive automatic reappointment.
Section 30 authorizes the National Museum, subject to the Labor Code and other pertinent legislation, to hire foreign consultants and experts.

Legal duties of protection and policing authority

Section 19 requires the application of all laws and ordinances for protection of public property to the protection of the lands, buildings, and other property of the Museum.

Exhibitions, laboratories, and registry implementation

Section 15 requires planning, design, and execution specialization through an exhibition department and supports engaging highly specialized persons.
Section 15 requires integration of collection documentation into a centralized computerized system over time.
Section 16 requires supervision structures to support regional museums as cultural and information centers.
Section 17 requires immediate registration, ongoing inventory updates, and movement tracking for locating objects at any time, with a transition from paper to computerized professional documentation.
Section 18 requires conservation, preservation, and storage laboratories and facilities.

Penalties for violations

Section 35 provides that, in addition to penalties under existing laws, any person—including Museum officers and employees—found guilty of violating any provision of Republic Act No. 8492 shall be imprisoned for a term not exceeding two (2) years or fined not exceeding PHP 10,000, or both, at the discretion of the court.

Reorganization authority and transitional/upgrading effects

Section 36 grants immediate authority, with Board approval, to reorganize structure and staffing patterns.
Section 36 mandates automatic upgrading of incumbents in leadership and automatic reappointment for personnel, with an exception for those who opt for an early retirement scheme determined by the Board.

Repeal, separability, and effectivity

Section 37 repeals or amends Philippine Legislative Act No. 3477, Republic Act No. 4846, Presidential Decree No. 374, Executive Order No. 30, Presidential Proclamation No. 913, and other related laws to the extent they are inconsistent with the Act.
Section 38 contains a separability clause: invalidity or unconstitutionality of any part or provision does not affect parts or provisions not affected.
Section 39 establishes the effectivity rule as fifteen (15) days after publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation, whichever comes first.