Bacolod passes cultural heritage mapping ordinance

BACOLOD CITY — The Bacolod City Sangguniang Panlungsod approved on third and final reading Jan. 21, 2026, an ordinance mandating a comprehensive cultural heritage mapping program to document and protect the city’s tangible and intangible heritage.

Authored by Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr., the measure is officially titled “The Cultural Heritage Mapping Ordinance of Bacolod City.”

The ordinance directs the Bacolod City Tourism Office to lead the mapping of historical artifacts, sites, rituals, traditions, and other properties of cultural significance within the city.

Gamboa said the program is intended not only to support tourism but to promote heritage preservation, cultural identity, respect for ethnicity, and development planning.

He said the initiative aims to create a comprehensive cultural profile of Bacolod City to guide documentation, conservation, urban planning, education, and community development.

The ordinance establishes the Bacolod City Conservation and Management Plan Council to improve coordination among stakeholders and reduce delays in heritage project implementation.

The council will be chaired by the city mayor, with the City Tourism Office department head serving as co-chairperson.

Council members will include representatives from the Sangguniang Panlungsod committees on history and culture and arts, the Liga ng mga Barangay, the academe, civil society organizations, and national agencies such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Education.

Funding provisions include an allocation of PHP 500,000 from the city’s general fund for the implementation of the cultural mapping project.

An additional annual appropriation of PHP 300,000 will be provided through the City Planning, Development, and Sustainability Office to support the operations of the council, including meetings, consultations, training workshops, and benchmarking activities.

The City Tourism Office is also tasked to submit annual budget proposals to sustain the program.

“This ordinance is a long-term investment in Bacolod’s cultural future, a development that does not erase memory,” Gamboa said.

“This is about preserving Bacolod’s soul and in doing so, we define and protect our identity, something which the present generation needs to learn from and pass on as a legacy to future generations,” he added.