Bill seeks to prevent repeat of Iloilo treasure hunting damage

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

Illegal treasure hunting operations that damaged historical sites in San Joaquin and Igbaras could be prevented under a bill filed by Senator Loren Legarda that seeks to end the treasure hunting permit system in the Philippines.

Senate Bill No. 1860 would repeal Presidential Decree No. 1726-A, the Martial Law-era decree that set government guidelines for treasure hunting, and delete the treasure hunting permit provision in Republic Act No. 10066, or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009.

The measure comes years after two high-profile cases of illegal treasure hunting in Iloilo province that caused significant damage to cultural heritage sites.

SAN JOAQUIN INCIDENT

In 2016, treasure hunters dug an 18.29-meter-deep hole under Campo Santo, a 19th-century mortuary chapel at the municipal cemetery in San Joaquin, which had been declared a national cultural treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines.

Police arrested 10 men and filed a criminal complaint against them and a parish priest for violation of the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009.

Angel Bautista, then assistant director of the National Museum, said the digging severely weakened the structure’s foundation.

Ernesto Toribio Jr., head of the National Museum’s treasure-hunting section, said the damage was considerable because Campo Santo was among the few cultural structures that were intact or had not been damaged, undergone major revisions or reconstruction.

IGBARAS CASE

In 2020, the National Museum ordered a group of treasure hunters in Igbaras to stop their illegal activities after discovering they were using a falsified permit.

National Museum Director General Jeremy Barns said the permit the group had been using was issued to another person for activities in Carangalan, Nueva Ecija, not Igbaras.

Igbaras Mayor Jaime Esmeralda sought help from then Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. to stop the excavation, which had been ongoing for more than a year and posed environmental hazards to at least nine houses in the area.

“There is a possibility that the soil (would) erode because the more they excavate, the more the base of the soil softens,” Esmeralda said at the time.

NATIONAL SOLUTION

Legarda said the treasure-hunting permit system has led to the destruction of archaeological sites like those in Iloilo and facilitated the commercial exploitation of the nation’s patrimony.

“When the very law meant to protect our heritage becomes an instrument for its exploitation, we must act decisively to repeal it,” Legarda said.

The bill aims to protect the country’s archaeological sites and cultural heritage from commercial exploitation and to align Philippine legislation with international best practices in heritage conservation.

“Our cultural heritage is not a commodity to be traded or exploited. It is a shared legacy that defines who we are and gives tangible expression to the historical experiences, ideas, and exchanges that have shaped our communities. It demands our collective effort to protect, preserve, and pass on to future generations,” Legarda said.

The bill mandates the National Commission for Culture and the Arts to develop comprehensive rules and regulations to govern all archaeological activities in the country, both on land and underwater.

The measure provides that no excavation or digging shall be permitted without the supervision of a certified archaeologist, ensuring that all activities are conducted scientifically, properly documented, and for public benefit rather than private gain.

Legarda noted that the current system is incompatible with the Philippines’ obligations under the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention and the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which require State Parties to protect heritage sites from commercial exploitation.

“Every artifact, every historical site, every archaeological find tells the story of who we are as a people. When these are destroyed or taken for profit, we lose more than objects; we lose our identity, our history, and our shared heritage,” Legarda said.

“You cannot defend cultural heritage with one hand and sign off on treasure hunting permits with the other. This bill closes that contradiction and asserts that our laws stand firmly on the side of protection, not extraction for profit,” she added.

Legarda chairs the Senate Committee on Culture and the Arts and has championed landmark measures such as the National Cultural Heritage Act (Republic Act No. 10066) and the Cultural Mapping Law (Republic Act No. 11961), which mandates a comprehensive inventory of Filipino heritage.