Six Kalinga heritage sites enrolled in PRECUP, now protected against modification, demolition

Tabuk City, Kalinga – Following their submission for uploading to the Philippine Registry of Cultural Property (PRECUP), six out of eight heritage sites in Kalinga were already approved to be placed in the registry system.

The recent development was relayed Thursday, March 14, by Provincial Tourism Officer Lorraine Ngao-i.

PRECUP is a repository of all information pertaining to cultural properties in the Philippines.

In said registry system, cultural properties enrolled are protected by law against modifications or demolitions.

As of February 6, 2024, the Banao Protected Landscapes in Balbalan, the Rizal Archaeological Reservation in Rizal, the Bantayog Wika situated at the Kalinga State University-Bulanao Campus Compound, the Canao Bridge in Calanan, Tabuk City, White Carabao in Bulanao, and the Saint Peter’s Parish Church Bells in Lubuagan were already listed in the PRECUP.

As to the Chong-ak rice and the Lubuagan town, which became the seat of the government during the time of President Emilio Aguinaldo, Ngao-i said supporting documents will be submitted anew for approval.

Ngao-i emphasized that the submission of said cultural assets to the registry is part of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ cultural property preservation program.

She added that the submission of such properties was strengthened by the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) law, which included the "existence of an updated cultural property inventory in the LGU" as one of the criteria under tourism, heritage development, culture, and the arts.

With this, she is hopeful that the inclusion of said sites in the law-protected cultural assets will raise public awareness as well as appreciation of the Kalingas' history and its importance to the Kalinga culture.

Ngao-i also anticipates that the recent development will encourage the protection and preservation of said sites.

What can be considered a cultural property?

Article II of Republic Act No. 10066 defines cultural property as products of human creativity by which a people and a nation reveal their identity.

Cultural property can be public or privately owned, movable or immovable, and tangible or intangible, like churches, mosques, and other places of religious worship, schools, and natural history specimens and sites.