Iloilo’s maritime university gets NCCA aid on museum enhancement

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1043268
• Friday, August 3, 2018

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- The enhancement of the maritime museum of the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University (JBLFMU) here is a recipient of a grant from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts worth PHP350,000.

Dr. Ronald Raymund Sebastian, chief executive officer of JBLFMU, in an interview on Tuesday said he has already approved the plan for the expansion of the storage area, where all other artifacts and documents will be stored.

“The museum has specific requirements about the storage and where to put it,” she said.

The museum is located on the second floor of the JBLFMU-Molo campus. It holds a collection of valuable artifacts found in a sunken galleon dating back to the Ming and Sung dynasties, equipment and navigational tools used by the university prior to the advent of technology, the Lacson genealogy and the development of the university starting from being just a maritime academy.

The artifacts -- porcelains, jars -- were authenticated by the National Museum and registered in the National Library.

The museum started as an archive back in the 1990s.

“It blossomed into a library, we call it Library of Cultural Heritage,” said Mary Lou Arcelo, president emeritus and chairman of the Board of JBLFMU.

She added it was inspired by the book she wrote “Less than Noble Intention,” a history of the Lacson family and how Capt. (Juan) Lacson founded the Maritime School.

“Since he was a master mariner, so we put in a lot of maritime artifacts,” she added. So the collection already included the first instrument, equipment that we had, books (some are even used as reference materials of their students) and sunken treasures because Galleon trade was part of maritime,” she added.

With the suggestion of Dr. Angel Alcala, a Filipino scientist, the museum also added shells, fishes and corals for it to become “holistic” because maritime is not only about shipping but also about the sea.

In 2015, they decided to convert it into a maritime museum. Dr. Melchor Magramo, JBLFMU research director, asked the help of the National Historical Museum on how to organize it and make it look like a museum.

“Basically it’s the same collections, items since the very beginning only that it was organized. We started with the legacy of the Lacson, development of different school sites, equipment,” he said.

Museum curator Dr. Wilfredo P. Ramos said they can already start with the enhancement anytime because the plan has already been approved.

“It will be incorporated in the existing museum,” he said.

Annually the NCCA calls for project proposals for culture and arts projects and activities.

Early this month, Niño Selibio, NCCA Project Development Officer for the Arts Section said the commission has approved PHP2.375 million worth of project proposals from Iloilo for 2018. Included in the approved grants was the proposal for JBLFMU for their museum project.

Sebastian said that the museum is very significant because the JBLFMU is the oldest maritime school in Iloilo. It became the country’s first maritime university in 2007.

The museum is the sole maritime museum in the Visayas open for public viewing. They just have to advise the university about the visit, especially when in group, so they could make the necessary preparations, Sebastian said.