Philippines Cultural Heritage

• Cultural heritage includes customs, practices, places, objects, artistic expressions, and values passed down through generations.
• It is expressed either as Intangible or Tangible Cultural Heritage (ICOMOS, 2002).
• Cultural heritage produces tangible representations of value systems, beliefs, traditions, and lifestyles, forming traces from antiquity to the present.
• The Philippines consists of around 7,641 islands in the Pacific Ocean near the equator.
• The country is divided into three main areas: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
• Tangible heritage refers to physical artifacts produced, maintained, and transmitted intergenerationally in a society.
• Intangible heritage refers to traditions and living expressions transmitted from one generation to the next.
• UNESCO is concerned with the protection of World Cultural and National Heritage.
• In the Philippines, tangible heritage includes cultural property with historical, archival, anthropological, archaeological, artistic, and architectural value.
• Tangible heritage includes natural heritage (environment, natural landscape, landforms, and water sources) and man-made built heritage (cultural landscape, monuments, and buildings).

Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras

• Located in North Central Luzon, Philippines.
• Inscribed in UNESCO in 1995 as a cultural site.
• It is a cultural landscape traced back 2,000 years.
• The terraces show harmony between humankind and the environment.

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park

• Located southeast of Puerto Princesa City in Palawan.
• Inscribed in UNESCO in 1993 and 2009.
• Classified as a Natural site.
• It has over 350 coral and almost 500 fish species, and protects breeding seabirds.
• It covers 130,028 hectares, including the North and South Reefs.

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park

• Located in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
• Inscribed in UNESCO in 1999 as a Natural site.
• It features impressive cave systems, limestone karst landscapes, natural beauty, old-growth forests, and wildlife.

History of Vigan

• Located in Ilocos Sur.
• Inscribed in UNESCO in 1999 as a Cultural site.
• Established in the 16th century as a planned Spanish colonial town.
• Vigan was the third most important city during Spanish colonial era and a center of Spanish colonial power in northern Luzon.

Paoay Church (Church of San Agustin) - Paoay Ilocos Norte

• Located in Paoay, Ilocos Norte.
• Inscribed in UNESCO in 1993 as a Cultural site.
• The church is known for coral-block buttresses and stone finials.
• Construction began in 1604 and was completed in 1710.

Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva -Miag-ao, Iloilo

• Located in Miag-ao, Iloilo.
• Inscribed in UNESCO in 1993 as a Cultural site.
• It is a "fortress baroque" style made of yellow-orange sandstone.
• The was completed in 1797.
• The church withstood typhoons and earthquakes, and was burned during the revolution against Spain in 1898 and during the Philippine-American War.

Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary

• Located in Davao Oriental.
• Inscribed in UNESCO in 2014.
• It home to 1,380 threatened and endemic species of animals and plants.
• Sightings of rare animals are common, like the Philippine eagle, flying fox, tarsier, and civet.

Intangible Heritage

• Includes culture, tradition (oral and written), customs, values, and trade and skills.

Darangen Epic

• An ancient epic song that holds knowledge about the Maranao people from Lake Lanao in Mindanao.
• It is made up of 17 cycles and 72,000 lines, based on Maranao history.
• The epic explores themes of life, death, love, politics, and social values.
• It predates the Islamization of the Philippines and connects to early Sanskrit traditions.

Hudhud Chants of the Ifugao

• Narrative chants traditionally performed by the Ifugao community.
• It is practiced during rice sowing season, at harvest time, and at funeral wakes and rituals.
• Thought to have originated before the seventh century, the Hudhud comprises more than 200 chants, each divided into 40 episodes.

Buklog

• A complex thanksgiving ritual system of the Subanen, an indigenous group in the southern Philippines.
• The village chief organizes the rituals to show thanks to the spirits.

Aklan Piña Handloom Weaving

• Piña is a fabric made from pineapple leaves, hand-harvested and woven on handlooms.
• Knowledge of piña weaving is shared within families.
• It fosters innovation, maintaining tradition, and supporting sustainable development and economic empowerment.

Tugging Rituals and Games

• Performed by communities to ensure good harvests and prosperity.
• They foster social bonds, provide entertainment, and signify the start of a farming season.
• These games reflect agricultural traditions and represent natural forces with mythological themes.

Sinulog

• The word "Sinulog" originates from the Cebuano term "sulog," meaning "like the movement of water currents".
• Celebrated every third Sunday of January in Cebu City.

Bayanihan

• A Filipino custom derived from the word bayan (nation, town, or community).
• It originated from volunteers in a community helping a family move by carrying the house itself.
• Bayanihan has been adopted as a term referring to the sense of communal unity and cooperation to resolve social issues.

Cultural heritage includes customs, practices, places, objects, artistic expressions, and values passed down through generations. The Philippines consists of around 7,641 islands divided into three main areas: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Tangible heritage refers to physical artifacts, while intangible heritage refers to traditions and living expressions.