MANILA, Philippines — Three pieces of Philippine documentary heritage were added on Thursday to a register of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).
The Unesco-Philippine National Commission or Unacom said in a post on Facebook that during the 11th general meeting of the Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific in Jakarta, Indonesia on Nov. 5, "all three Philippine nominations were successfully inscribed in the" Unesco Memory of the World Regional Register.
Those three are: The Laguna Copperplate Inscription (LCI); The Baybayin Documents in the Archivo de la Universidad de Santo Tomas; and The Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group (RoFG) Audiovisual Archive.
"This remarkable achievement brings greater international recognition to the Philippines' rich documentary heritage and opens new opportunities to preserve, share, and promote these invaluable treasures for future generations," the Unacom said.
An infographic in the Unacom's post described the LCI as the Philippines' "earliest known historical document." The LCI has "a record on debt acquittal etched into a thin copperplate as early as" the year 900, the infographic said.
Another infographic in the Unacom's post described the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Baybayin Documents as "the oldest known manuscripts written entirely in" Baybayin. The manuscripts, the infographic said, show "structural correspondences with Southeast Asian and North Indian writing systems..."
An infographic in the Unacom's post said that the RoFG Audiovisual Archive is composed of over 3,700 "ethnographic films and recordings (1970-2016) initiated by" Obusan who is a National Artist. "It documents indigenous dances, rituals, and community practices across the Philippines...," the infographic said.
UST said on Facebook that it "is honored to be the home of a precious National Cultural Treasure that has now been inscribed in the" register.
"A little over a decade after Documents A and B of the Baybayin scripts became the country's first archival National Cultural Treasure, the Asia and the Pacific Region now recognizes the value of this piece of our country's history," UST said.
The university congratulated the Archivo de la Universidad de Santo Tomas and thanked the stakeholders "who help us care for these important pieces of our heritage."
"As we advance to face the challenges of the modern world, may we do so with renewed respect for the treasured past that we care for in the present," UST said.
The 415-year-old university said it was "a proud moment" not only for Thomasians but also for Filipinos.
