House bill seeks ban on treasure hunters

MANILA, Philippines - Treasure hunters in the country will soon be regulated and the destruction of national artifacts will be penalized once the House of Representatives has ratified the Senate bill that provides jail terms for such offenders.

House Bill 6733, otherwise known as the “National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009,” bans treasure hunting in the country, except in cases when treasure hunters get permission from the National Historical Institute (NHI).

“It is high time to enact a law that would criminalize the act of vandalism of national treasures and the unabated treasure hunting in many parts of the country,” said Negros Oriental Rep. George Arnaiz, chairman of the House committee on local government.

Anyone who destroys artifacts, paintings, monuments, national shrines, anthropological or archaeological sites and other edifices and structures faces 10 years imprisonment and a fine of P200,000 if found guilty of committing such an offense.

Arnaiz said the bill prohibits acts such as destroying, demolishing, mutilating or damaging any world heritage site, national cultural treasures, important cultural properties and archaeological and anthropological sites.

It also prohibits the modification of original features of any national shrine, monument, landmark and other historical edifices and structures and the importation, sale, distribution and exportation of cultural property.

The exportation of cultural property without proper registration and license issued by the cultural agency concerned shall also be prohibited.

House Deputy Majority Leader Juan Edgardo Angara, who represents the lone district of Aurora and is one of the bill’s co-authors, said the deterioration of the country’s cultural treasures is a result of modernization and commercialization.

“Present day conservation efforts of the government have been inadequate to avert the continuous deterioration of the country’s heritage. This measure aims to take serious actions in preserving the country’s cultural treasures,” Angara stressed.

Another author, Zamboanga City Rep. Maria Isabelle Climaco, said the bill also strengthens the role of national cultural entities with respect to assessment and categorization of cultural property and reinforces institutional linkages of national cultural agencies.

Under the bill, the NHI, National Archives, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino and other national government agencies shall consult, coordinate and work closely with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in the implementation of the respective programs.

“The exportation of cultural property shall only be allowed on a temporary basis and if it is necessary for scientific scrutiny or exhibit,” Climaco said.

The bill provides further that the Department of Education, in coordination with the Commission’s Philippine Cultural Education Program, shall formulate the cultural heritage education programs both for local and overseas Filipinos with emphasis on the protection, conservation and preservation of cultural heritage.

The bill shall also provide tax exemption on donations, may provide financial assistance through grants and establish an annual conservation recognition program to encourage preservation of the national heritage.