ANTIQUE Rep. Loren Legarda has filed a measure that seeks to enhance cultural heritage education programs and cultural mapping to strengthen the conservation and protection of national cultural heritage.

House Bill 6891 aims to amend Republic Act 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009.

“Our culture is our story as a nation. It is the narrative that binds Filipinos regardless of ethnicity, social class, or educational background into a common chronicle of tradition, trials and triumph,” Legarda said in her explanatory note.

The lawmaker stressed that the  United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization considers cultural mapping as a vital tool in the preservation of cultural heritage.

“The fundamental goal of cultural mapping is to educate and help the nation visualize its rich heritage while allowing for reflection of what it stands to lose as a result of its collective apathy,” she said.

House Bill 6891 mandates local government units to conduct cultural heritage mapping in their areas for both tangible and intangible and natural and built heritage.

It also directs local government units to work with the Commission on Higher Education and the Department of Education in instituting cultural awareness in State Universities and Colleges and Basic Education.