Abstract: Cavite is a historical province in the Philippines known for its three Historic Museums. First is the Aguinaldo Shrine where the flag of Philippine Independence was first waved. Second, the Gen. Baldomero Aguinaldo Shrine, where the brother of the first Philippine president, Emilio Aguinaldo, took residence. These two Shrines are both located in the town of Kawit. Lastly, the Bonifcacio Trial House, which served as the military court for Andres Bonifacio’s trial. All these historic museums are under the management of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), which also reports that historic museums are disaster vulnerable because of their old-aged structures. This study assessed the disaster preparedness of the historic museums. The method is qualitative in nature and utilized interview as the instrument of the study. The respondents are representatives of each historic museum. The result shows that NHCP is aware of the disaster vulnerabilities of the three historic museums. Moreover, they have conducted restoration projects and soundness test as precautionary measures. However, soundness test has not been conducted again for some time. The NHCP and the local government coordinate when it comes to disaster preparedness. Response is an issue because historic museums are not considered priority and because of the geographic features, that made the historic museums vulnerable. The historic museums are important because they are part of culture, history, and identity. The historic museums were disaster- prepared because of restoration and modernization projects which were done roughly 5 years ago. Disaster preparedness is important because the historic museums are old, valued and a part of community. The historic museums are also prone to flooding. While the local government has created plans to mitigate flooding, floods can be prevented so long as government programs are implemented. More importantly, regular monitoring of water level is a key component in flood control. The historic museums are prone to ground shaking (earthquake). This risk could be due to construction. There is also coordination within NHCP and the local government in disaster preparedness for ground shaking. Nevertheless, ground shaking cannot be prevented; hence, precautionary measures such as regular structural checks are conducted.
Keywords: Cultural Heritage Site, Disaster, Disaster Preparedness, Historic Museum.
Title: DISASTER PREPAREDNESS OF THE HISTORIC MUSEUMS IN THE PROVINCE OF CAVITE
Author: Reina Krizzia R. Yanagisawa, Chloe Louise G. Soriano, Monika Bharti, Dr. Jimford Tabuyo
International Journal of Thesis Projects and Dissertations (IJTPD)
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