NCCA pushes grassroots history, fact-checking vs fake news

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NCCA museums committee head Jose Eleazar Bersales says a fact-checking system is needed to counter disinformation as communities write, preserve, and promote their cultural heritage and history

DAPITAN, Philippines – Communities must take the lead in writing and promoting their own histories with a crucial fact-checking system in place to confront the spread of disinformation and misinformation online, National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) officials said during the launch of National Heritage Month (NHM) 2025 in Dapitan City on Friday, May 2.

Dr. Jose Eleazar Bersales, head of the NCCA’s committee on museums, urged communities to “write, preserve, and promote” their own cultural heritage, history, and practices amid all the digital clutter and clickbait – irrelevant or misleading online content that drowns out substance and distorts truth.

“There should be a fact-checking system to confront the proliferation of disinformation and misinformation,” Bersales said during the NHM 2025 kickoff at the Jose Rizal Memorial State University (JRMSU).

STORYTELLING. Peter Dominic Hamoy, owner of Balay Hamoy, recounts the friendship between his grandfather Don Mariano Hamoy and Jose Rizal. He and his wife, Kathleen Uyehara, built and maintain the only private museum in the Zamboanga Peninsula. Gualberto Laput/Rappler

This year’s NHM theme is “Preserving legacy, building futures, empowering communities through heritage.” Dr. Ivan Anthony Henares, head of the NCCA’s committee on monuments and sites, said the focus will be on training and capacity building.

Henares said the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage must be community-driven, with people serving as the custodians of their own traditions, stories, and cultural practices.

“History should not be boring if it is taken in its story form, not just enumeration of dates, names, and numbers,” said Dr. Niel Martial Santillan, head of the NCCA’s committee on historical Research.

Henares said the NCCA is counting on support from local governments, the academe, and communities for heritage awareness, while the commission will handle training and capacity-building initiatives.

Among the flagship programs for NHM 2025 are seminar-workshops on library resource preservation, restoration, and digital archiving, in partnership with the National Library.

“I believe many will be interested because almost everybody is on social media,” said Elvira Lapuz, head of the NCCA’s committee on library and information services.

Other NHM 2025 activities include a discussion on the vulnerability of ecclesiastical archives and cultural heritage to “biodeterioration, climate change, and political conflict,” set for May 20 to 22 at the University of Santo Tomas.

On May 27 to 28, the NCCA will hold a training  in Tacloban City on the preservation and conservation of heritage structures in the Philippines.

The NCCA’s committee on art galleries, in partnership with Estancia Mall, will also conduct a workshop on archiving and collections management to help artists, galleries, and collectors care for their collections.

After the kickoff, visiting NCCA officials toured historical sites in Dapitan, including Balay Hamoy, the only private museum in the Zamboanga Peninsula, which documents the friendship between Jose Rizal and Dapitanon businessman Mariano Hamoy. – Rappler.com