Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 28) — The largest branch museum of the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) in the Visayas will open its doors to the public on Aug. 1.
Located within Plaza Independencia in Cebu City, the Central Visayas Regional Museum was inaugurated on Friday with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in attendance.
In his speech, Marcos said the launch of the museum is in line with the government’s agenda to promote tourism and national identity.
\”If you haven’t been in there, you are in for a very special treat,\” the president said after touring the exhibits.
\”It is a milestone not only for the Queen City of the South and the whole province of Cebu but for the entire country, as the opening of this museum brings to the fore our rich natural, cultural, and artistic treasures,\” he added.
According to the NMP, the new museum has five galleries \”highlighting Cebu’s unique geological features and publicly unfamiliar plant and animal species endemic to the place; significant archaeological finds about the Cebuanos and Filipinos’ history and prehistory; and, sustained ethnographic traditions inculcated in maritime history and industry.\”
The building was originally the Cebu Customs House, established in 1910 to facilitate trade between Cebu Island and neighboring communities. It was converted into the Malacañan sa Sugbo in 2004, but was hit by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in 2013 and had to be closed.
