National Museum partially opens to public next week

CEBU, Philippines —  From being a customs building to being the "Malacañang sa Sugbo", one of Cebu City’s architectural treasures is now a "National Museum" and is set to partially open to the public next month.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. will lead the national museum’s inauguration today, July 28, 2023, but Cebuanos and the rest of the Filipinos would be able to get in by August 1, 2023 yet.

The National Museum of the Philippines (NMP)-Cebu will be partially opened to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesdays to Sundays, starting Tuesday next week. Admission will be free.

As per records, the building, located beside Plaza Independencia, was built in 1910 by Architect William Parsons  as the customs building, more popularly known here as "Aduana".

The structure served its purpose as the old customs house for 94 years and even survived the World War II bombings.

In 2004, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo converted it into the Malacañang sa Sugbo as a gesture of bringing the national government closer to the people in the region.

However,  a magnitude 7.1 earthquake damaged the building in 2013, prompting its closure.

In 2019, the building was declared a National Cultural Treasure.

In December of that year, the National Museum of the Philippines was given the right to convert it into the NMP-Cebu.

The Cebu City Government welcomed the development, as the building is an added attraction, with the Plaza Independencia and Fort San Pedro right next to it.

NMP-Cebu will feature exhibitions that capture the Cebuano spirit and heritage, including the island’s rich and diverse biodiversity, geology, archaeological treasures, art, and ethnographic and maritime traditions.

The new museum also hosts a special exhibition featuring artworks from the Philippine Center in New York and will soon feature artworks by Cebuano master Martino Abellana.

 Aside from five galleries, NMP-Cebu also boasts of a lobby and reception hall featuring art by Cebuanos and on Cebuano culture and history, a terrace, courtyard, and the NM’s first-ever regional Museum Shop.  — RHM (FREEMAN)