It is a
growing challenge of museums and heritage sites to safeguard precious artifacts while allowing visitors a chance to see a valuable piece of history.
The recent burglary in Fort San Pedro Museum created questions among the public on the security in museums and heritage sites.
During the Nov. 24 episode of “Pagtukiâ€, the official radio program of Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI), SPO4 Romeo Cabrera, deputy chief of Cebu City Tourist Police, said that there is a shortage of policemen in museums and local sites.
“Our tourist policemen are only on-duty during office hours (8 a.m.- 5 p.m.). When the museum closes, blow guards assume their posts. This absence of round-the-clock duty is because of the number of tourist policemen available,†he added.
The tourist police program was created by the Philippine National Police in 2010 to regain foreign visitors' trust and confidence in the law.
Cabrera said that the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in museums help museum administrators monitor activities inside the building.
“Tourist policemen are doing the best they can in their service. When a crowd of visitors draw in one heritage site alone, our focus is on that site. Our concern is the lack of policemen who will respond to the problems of other museums and heritage sites,†he said.
At present, there are only 22 policemen deployed in Cebu City's heritage sites.
Cabrera said that they do not respond to tourist problems alone but also to problems concerning the whole community.
For Florencio Moreño II, curator of Casa Gorordo Museum, safeguarding cultural properties and archaeological artifacts is a joint responsibility of the community and not just of the tourist policemen.
“Museums and heritage sites are important because they help us understand our own history. They give us an idea of the life of our forefathers. Also, this is our basis for our identity as Cebuanos,†Moreño stressed.
“Museum burglary is a silent destruction of our cultural properties. It’s a good idea to install modern technologies like CCTV. But most importantly, the community must understand and value these artefacts as well,†he added.
Casa Gorordo Museum will display the traditional Belen of the Gorordo family on Dec. 2.
"Pagtuki†is aired over dyLA every Saturday at 10-11 a.m. The program, which is one of the Knowledge Sharing & Advocacy capabilities of RAFI, tackles timely and relevant issues affecting the Cebuano community. - source: press release
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=59988.0
Topic: How to guard museums and heritage sites (Read 782 times)