#BNCon2025: NMP Iloilo as a Living Storybook of Heritage

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By Phillippe Angelo T. Hinosa

On August 22, 2025, delegates from Sug-alaw: Book Nook Conference 2025 spent an enriching day at the National Museum of the Philippines Iloilo, delving into the region’s natural and cultural heritage. This year’s theme, Sug-alaw—Hiligaynon for ‘encounters’—highlighted the power of shared experiences to build connections through storytelling and reading.

The Book Nook is a project of the National Book Development Board (NBDB) that promotes reading and supports local publishing. This year’s Book Nook Conference was hosted in Iloilo City, following previous editions held in Davao in 2023 and Manila in 2024. NMP Iloilo opened its Book Nook in 2023.

The day kicked off with a storytelling session under NMP Iloilo’s Magbása Kitá reading program, led by its Museum Guide Phillippe Angelo T. Hinosa. Delegates were introduced to Ang Nilalang sa Bakawan (Critters of the Mangroves), written and illustrated by biologist and author Dr. Gizelle A. Batomalaque. The story of the mangrove ecosystem tied into the museum’s mandate of preserving and promoting the region’s biodiversity.

Rona May E. Eufracio, Information Officer II of NMP Iloilo, later presented the Pambansang Museo sa Barangay public program, which brings museum collections and books to remote communities, ensuring that culture-based education is accessible to all, especially where it’s needed most. This initiative also emphasizes the importance of reading as a tool for learning.

The delegates then enjoyed a guided tour of the museum’s permanent exhibitions on geology and paleontology, natural history, archaeology, ethnology, and fine arts, as well as a long-term exhibition on upcycled artworks of Iloilo’s heritage churches. They gained an appreciation of the region’s natural and cultural heritage. The day ended with fun activities: the Patadyong Race and Museum Object Hunt.

Sug-alaw brought heritage out of the books and into life. As NMP Iloilo redefines what a museum is, here, heritage is not just stored and displayed; it is experienced, interpreted, and shared through the stories that accompany each artifact, specimen, and artwork.