Empowering Local Government Units of South Cotabato: Heritage Frontliners Advancing Documentation and Safeguarding

In accordance with the request from the Provincial Government of South Cotabato, the Philippine Registry of Heritage (PRH) conducted a 2-day orientation workshop on the maintenance of Local Cultural Inventories (LCIs) of the Local Government Units (LGUs) in South Cotabato on November 13-14, 2025. The workshop was attended by various cultural workers, academes, private individuals, and tourism officers from different LGUs within the province.

The first day of the orientation revolves around the brief introduction of the Cultural Heritage Law or RA 10066, as amended by RA 11961 and the components and services offered by the PRH. After every end of the topic, the participants were allowed to raise their questions related to the discussion. Later in the afternoon, the PRH team engaged everyone to play the recap game Jeopardy! Culture Edition, where the participants gave their utmost participation. Afterwards, the discussion moved to the topic of Cultural Property: Definitions and Grade Levels. The day concluded with the introduction of the workshop mechanics, providing participants with an outline of what to expect during the workshop proper.

On the second day, the participants played the last leg of the recap game: Jeopardy! Culture Edition. This was followed by the discussion of the Introduction to Basic Documentation: Guides and Tips. This elaborated on the different and best practices and principles of cultural property documentation amongst the 4 Domains included in the Registry. Afterwards, the Workshop Proper commenced. Each group were given different samples of non-compliant LCIs along with reference materials that could aid their documentation, as their goal is to turn the LCIs to become compliant by providing critiques and suggestions to improve each documentary requirement and produce a compliant Registry Form of their assigned cultural property. The groups later on presented their outputs along with the guidance and critiques by Ms. Carando and Mr. Lozada. Lastly, the lecture on the Submission and Maintenance of LCIs was discussed, highlighting the steps on how to submit their LCIs accordingly and encouraging the LGUs to regularly visit and monitor their cultural properties.

The orientation workshop effectively provided the attendees with the information, methods, and possible resources to recognize and record their LCIs, which will pave the preservation and safeguarding of South Cotabato's rich cultural legacy.