Duterte signs law strengthening National Museum as keeper of Filipino heritage

President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a law strengthening the role of the National Museum of the Philippines as keeper of Filipino heritage.

Duterte signed Republic Act 11333 on April 26, a copy of which was released by Malacañang on Tuesday.

Under the law, the National Museum is designated as the main institution of the state for the management and development of museums and collections of national scope or significance in the areas of arts, cultural heritage, and natural history.

To ensure its independence and autonomy, the National Museum shall be considered as a trust of the government, attached solely for budgetary coordination and related purposes to the Department of Education (DepEd).

The law allows the National Museum to retain and use all of its income derived from all sources of its operations nationwide and overseas.

The existing Revolving Fund of the National Museum is also abolished, and its balance will be transferred to the National Museum Income Fund.

Donations from visitors, which the museum is authorized to accept, will be considered gratuities and placed in a dedicated National Museum Donations Fund.

The National Planetarium and the structures that used to house the Congress, the Department of Finance and the Department of Tourism shall be the permanent site of the museum.

The law also provides for the development of the National Museum Complex within and adjacent to Rizal Park and other identified areas with reference to the Burnham Plan for Manila of 1905. —LDF, GMA News