Bishop Julito Cortes of the Diocese of Dumaguete said fresh areas of interest, particularly in art and tourism, are being eyed for the 14th national biennial convention of church cultural heritage workers, which will be held in Mindanao.
As he officially closed the four-day 13th national biennial convention of church cultural heritage workers at the Negros Oriental Convention Center in Dumaguete City on Thursday, November 30, Cortes expressed hope that new topics such as heritage tourism, music and history would emerge come the next meeting.
“We will look into topics in the area of heritage music and musicology, intangible heritage, archives and archivistics, history and historiography, heritage tourism, funerary art and cemeteries,” he said.
Cortes also mentioned the Republic Act (RA) 11961 or The National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, which he said amends RA 10066 and RA 11904, also known as the Philippine Creative Industry Development Act, saying these are essential to efforts to promote church cultural heritage.
He officially ended his stint as chair of the Episcopal Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church (ECCHC) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Thursday, and will be succeeded by Batanes Bishop Juan Danilo Ulep.
About 107 church cultural heritage workers, including priests and lay people, participated in the convention, which reeled off in Dumaguete from November 27 to 30, with the theme “Working Together, Journeying Together: The Synodality of Church Heritage Work.”
Fr. Ted Torralba, CBCP-ECCHC Executive Secretary, said they are considering holding the 14th biennial national convention sometime in 2025 in one of the dioceses, either in Davao, Zamboanga or Surigao, but they still have to consult with the bishops concerned.
He expressed gratitude to the Diocese of Dumaguete for the successful staging of the convention.
The commission has been in existence for the past 27 years and “we could say that awareness concerning heritage has expanded.
Torralba also emphasized the need for education on safeguarding intangible heritage and conservation. (PNA)