Quezon Memorial Shrine named a National Cultural Treasure

The National Museum of the Philippines declared the Quezon Memorial Shrine as one of the country’s National Cultural Treasures, the Quezon City government said Monday.

The memorial was formally named as a nation’s cultural treasure through Museum Declaration No. 29-2020.

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte thanked the National Museum led by Director-General Jeremy Barns for the highest government distinction that could be given on a cultural property.

“Malaking karangalan ang natatanging pagkilala na ito na sumasalamin din sa makulay na kasaysayan at kultura ng Lungsod Quezon,” Belmonte said.

(It is a great honor to have this distinct recognition which also reflects the colorful history and culture of Quezon City.)

Republic Act 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 defines a National Cultural Treasure as “a unique cultural property found locally, possessing outstanding historical, cultural, artistic and/or scientific value which is highly significant and important to the country and nation.”

The Quezon Memorial, designed by Federico Ilustre of the Bureau of Public Works which is the present Department of Public Works and Highways, is an equilateral triangular shrine dedicated to former President Manuel Luis Quezon.

It houses a museum and serves as the mausoleum of Quezon and his wife Aurora. It also features his personal and political belongings, books, articles, documents, and photos from his youth until his death, and has interactive booths that offer information about the Quezon family.

Meanwhile, the shrine has three 66-meter pylons which represent the age of Quezon when he died and the three major islands of the Philippines.

Italian artist Francesco Riccardo Monti’s sculptures–the Art Deco statues of three angels holding sampaguita funerary wreaths–were also placed above the pylon.

The Quezon Memorial is now the second National Cultural Treasure in Quezon City, next to the Santo Domingo Church.—AOL, GMA News