ICOMOS Philippines Appoints a New Board Member and Legal Counsel

Manila, Philippines – ICOMOS Philippines Board of Trustees appointed a new Board Member and Legal Counsel last August 1, 2024 on its 11th Board Meeting of the year.

We happily welcome you and look forward to working with you in Philippine heritage that is celebrated and conserved through the highest standards.

Board Trustee Hon. Caroline Marie Q. Lising is a university lecturer, archaeologist, licensed interior designer, visual artist, and entrepreneur. She is also the Honorary Consul of Georgia in Manila and Luzon. As an archaeologist, she specializes in cultural heritage management of materials and sites of deep history. She obtained her PhD in Prehistoric Archaeology (Magna cum laude) from the Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany. 

She created Crania Heritage Sciences, Inc in 2015 as a venue to deliver programs and events related to collaborative science-based heritage management. Mylene is president of Plaza Management, Inc. which manages Plaza Santiago, a courtyard and buildings across Fort Santiago–the most popular tourist, cultural, historical, and archaeological site within Intramuros, the historical walled city of Manila. 

Legal Counsel Atty. Lucille Karen E. Malilong-Isberto is a lawyer with advocacies in forest and cultural heritage preservation. She holds degrees in law and economics from the University of the Philippines Diliman. 

She headed the Committee on Monuments and Sites at the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) from 2014 to 2016. She was Chairperson and later Executive Director of the Nayong Pilipino Foundation (2019-2021), a government owned and controlled corporation mandated to conduct research on humanities and social sciences.  She is currently a Vice President of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Legal, Administrative and Financial Issues.

For the remaining term of 2024 – 2026, the following are the current Board of Trustees (BoT), Executive Officers (EOs) and Officers, Representatives and Coordinators (ORCs) as of August 19, 2024:

Chairman / President: Dr. Cheek S. Fadriquela, PhD

Vice President: Ar. Kenneth Javier Tua

Corporate Secretary: Ms. Lilia Rosa “Tats” Rejante-Manahan

Treasurer: Ar. Harvey A. Vasquez

Board Trustee and Spokesperson: Dr. Caroline “Mylene” Marie Quinto-Lising, PhD

 Legal Counsel: Atty. Lucille “Kay” Karen E. Malilong-Isberto

Communications Officer: Mr. Joselito “JJ” H. Corpus

 Membership Officer: Ar. Giuseppe “Gio” Luigi Hernandez Abcede

 EPWG National Representative: Ar. Claudia Isabelle V. Montero

SDGWG National Representative: Ar. Anjelika A. Orui

CCHWG National Representative: Ms. Kristine Kate A. Lim

(EPWG: Emerging Professionals Working Group, SDGWG: Sustainable Development Goals Working Group, CCHWG: Climate Change and Heritage Working Group. All National Representatives are also Coordinators)

Current Board of Trustees, Officers and National Representatives

The ICOMOS Philippines Membership is pleased to have them in the National Committee and looks forward to their valuable contribution towards the continuation of an excellent and fruitful three-year term.

Know more about the people behind the International Council on Monuments and Sites Philippines in the links below: 

Board of Trustees and the Secretariat

Committee Officers and National Representatives

Pilot study on the Cultural Landscape Heritage Conservation (CLHC) specialization in the Philippines by ICOMOS Philippines’ members of the International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes

Are we prepared to be teaching landscape heritage conservation? We have many cultural landscapes that need to be preserved, but few formally trained practitioners. 

The Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development published the research on the Cultural Landscape Heritage Conservation (CLHC) specialization in the Philippines. The study by ICOMOS Philippines’ members Arch. Kenneth J. Tua together with fellow Cultural Landscape specialists LArch. Gabriel Caballero and LArch. Susan C. Aquino-Ong was in coordination with the current four  universities offering landscape architecture in the country: the University of the Philippines – Diliman, University of San Carlos, Bulacan State University, and University of San Agustin. Relevant stakeholders were also consulted in the study, such as the Philippine Association of Landscape Architects (PALA), the Technical Committee for Landscape Architecture, Commission on Higher Education (TCLA-CHED), and the Professional Regulation Commission – Board of Landscape Architecture (PRC BOLA).

The peer-reviewed article reviews the preparedness of the Landscape Architecture curricula in the Philippines for the CLHC specialization and will serve as a starting point to engage discussions with the PRC BOLA in its development of the CLHC specialization currently being planned. The end goal is to develop a training program for landscape architecture students from the current four universities, and landscape architects and heritage professionals. 

It utilizes the framework of Harvard professor emeritus Carl Steinitz’s ‘Geodesign’,  in formulating a developmental process and validation of the interrelationship and collaborative activity of the identified thematic areas and courses in terms of IT, geographic sciences, design professions and the people of the place. 

If a program is created, then the hope is that more technically proficient practitioners can create methodologies and policies to preserve and protect places of cultural and natural significance.  

The work has been presented initially at the NAMI: 2021 PALA National Convention, and has been uploaded as open source here: https://openarchive.icomos.org/id/eprint/2539/ . The published and peer-reviewed version is available in this DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-11-2021-0194 .

ICOMOS Philippines congratulates the work of Arch. Tua, LArch. Caballero and LArch. Aquino-Ong for this significant publication! 

Publication Cover Page Photo from Emerald Publishing and ICOMOS Philippines

For more information on ICOMOS Philippines ➡️ https://philippines.icomos.org/ 

#ICOMOS #ICOMOSPH #LandscapeHeritage #Conservation #SustainableDevelopmentGoals #LikasKayangPagUnlad #PhilippineHeritage #PAMANA2030 

New Intern: Rhizza Mae B. Comandante (September 2021)

Rhizza Mae B. Comandante is an undergraduate student from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines taking a Bachelor of Arts in History. She is a student and research assistant at the PUP Center of Human Rights and Studies. She is an active member of the PUP-Samahan ng mga Mag-aaral ng Kasaysayan, and an active deputy of the Kabataan Partylist, a youth partylist group in the Philippine congress.  Despite her numerous responsibilities outside the university, she is a consistent President’s and Dean’s Lister and a scholar of the Taguig City Government.

Her research interests focus primarily on (1) Local History; for the aspiration to give limelight to the collective struggles and experiences of the grass-root masses and Indigenous people, (2) Cultural Heritage; as she believes that the long-standing history of the people is reflected on their Cultural Heritage, and (3) Asian Studies; because she wanted to acquire an interdisciplinary understanding in studying the diverse culture and profound history of the Asian countries.

She joined the ICOMOS Philippines Internship Program because of the belief that this institution will help her achieve her utmost goal: to serve the Filipino people. As a scholar, she would like to amplify the voice of the Filipino masses and Indigenous communities by studying their remarkable history and culture, by contributing to the conservation of their Cultural Heritage and traditions, and lastly, by advocating that history must be accessible to the general public. Under the program, she hopes to create a significant contribution to the organization with the guidance of the ICOMOS Philippines mentors.

New Intern: Jake Advincula (August – October 2021)

Jake is a graduate student currently taking up MA Philippine Studies at the University of the Philippines Asian Center. Having graduated BS Communications Technology Management from the Ateneo de Manila University, he is passionate about how marketing, design, and heritage all intersect and inform the Philippine cultural identity. 

With ICOMOS, he hopes that his internship will deepen his understanding of heritage work in the country, as well as provide him an opportunity to contribute. He believes that heritage is an important part of realizing and appreciating who we are as Filipinos.

New Intern: Novo Mickey M. Mitra (September 2021)

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Novo Mickey M. Mitra is an undergraduate student from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Manila studying Bachelor of Arts in History. She is an active officer of the student organization of the Department of History PUP ‘Samahan ng mga Mag-aaral ng Kasaysayan’ as a year-level representative. Aside from school, she is an active officer and a member of a community organization ‘Rotaract Club of Culiat’ as Professional Service Director. She’s a consistent President’s Lister and a scholar. 

She joined a month Internship with ICOMOS Philippines because of her interest in studying culture in Traditions of the Philippines as well as Military History and the ruins that wars left in the soil of the Philippines. She believes that there is a world beyond books that she wants to discover in order to understand the diversified communities, their stories and their significance to each other. Like her program History, Heritage studies become closer to her heart as she met and read about the Indigenous People and their struggles about keeping their culture and Heritage in modern days and ICOMOS Philippines is one of the most powerful places to empower such ambition. She hopes to learn new things and knowledge outside her current program and contribute to the ICOMOS.

New Intern: Glyre Faeldonia (September – November 2021)

Glyre Treasure Faeldonia is an undergraduate student studying a degree in Human Geography at Lancaster University, UK. Aside from his studies, he is an active member in a number of student organisations that facilitate conversations and activities in international relations and cultural heritage in particular – and his proudest achievement is being recently accepted as a member of the European Students’ Association in Cultural Heritage!

Glyre wanted to get involved in the ICOMOS PH internship since he is impassioned with the policy-making, economic, and cultural-mapping aspects of Cultural Heritage. He also has a sharp interest in intangible heritage, with the main pursuits of preserving indigenous traditions and practices in the Philippines, on the main account that he comes from the Subanon people which further invigorates his enthusiasm! Furthermore, he aims to spread awareness to the British-based Filipinos of their rich heritage that is brilliant as it is abundant in the Philippines.

Throughout the duration of his internship, Glyre will be under the guidance of Tina Paterno to contribute in restructuring and repopulating the organisation’s e-library, as well as developing certain sections of the ICOMOS PH’s website. Further work also includes producing reports and assisting in reviews of certain issues pertinent in the field.

We are looking forward to Glyre’s work for ICOMOS Philippines. Welcome!

New Intern: Lorenzo Vesagas (June – August 2021)

Lorenzo is an undergraduate student currently taking a degree in AB History with a minor degree in Education at the Ateneo De Manila University. With a passion for film and Philippine history, he hopes to combine the two passions to make history more accessible to people.

Lorenzo wanted to become an intern at ICOMOS Philippines because of his interest in making history accessible to people. He believes that knowing more about one’s own cultural heritage will help them value their own history. With these intentions in mind, he hopes to contribute to the research at ICOMOS.

Glad to have you on the team Lorenzo!

New Intern: Kly Macaraeg (June – August 2021)

Kly Allyson Macaraeg is a college senior taking up a degree in History at the Ateneo de Manila University and is also currently taking a double minor in Japanese and Southeast Asian Studies. Her research interests lie mainly in cultural heritage and history, preservation of local languages, and ASEAN development studies.

Kly has joined the internship program with the goal of growing in knowledge in the field of cultural heritage, through a more hands-on learning experience in the development of resources in the Philippine context, and as well as advocating for more profound appreciation of Philippine heritage practice. Through the advice and guidance of her mentors she hopes to be able to make valuable contributions to the research projects of the organization’s internship program.

Welcome to the team Kly!

Internship Testimonial – Marga De Lemos (Comms and Strategy Track)

I was an ICOMOS Philippines Communications and Strategy intern from March 2021 to June 2021. As a Consular and Diplomatic Affairs student, most of my works were related to policymaking. Working with ICOMOS Philippines as a Communications track intern has helped solidify my passion and advocacy for all things heritage, culture, and history.

My two primary tasks were: 1) Communications and Strategy work support, including but not limited to social media management. I did the primary strategy support for the International Day for Monuments and Sites 2021 (IDMS) and the 2nd ICOMOS Philippines Student Symposium (IPSS). I also produced the collaterals for IDMS 2021 and edited the bio notes for the IPSS speakers 2) Copyediting organizational outputs, specifically the official ICOMOS Philippines website. 

Although I was not part of the research track, I was also assigned to research international heritage initiatives. In my research, I learned that young professionals and the like have been proactive in cultural works and simply need a better and suitable platform to deepen their contributions further. Hence, organizations such as ICOMOS are ever more significant in ensuring that we may continue to enjoy sustainable heritage. 

Two years on, as I pursue a law degree, I’ll continue promoting and advocating for heritage and culture in my sphere of influence. With the help of my experience as an ICOMOS Philippines intern, I’ll be able to effectively convey the proper cultural conservation and preservation issues that we must address.

New Intern: Briel Lising (May – August 2021)

Briel Lising graduated with a degree in AB History and a minor in Cultural Heritage from the Ateneo de Manila University in 2017. Since then, she has worked for Saint Pedro Poveda College and the Lopez Museum. Currently, she is teaching college freshmen in the Ateneo  as part of the Department of History. Briel hopes that her internship with ICOMOS will help her gain knowledge and confidence to start a community-based heritage program for the city of Pasig. Through her experience in research and education, as well as a heart for heritage, she hopes to make valuable contributions to the research project with the guidance of her mentors under the ICOMOS Philippines Internship Program.

Briel’s mentors are ICOMOS Expert Members Chen Mencias and Gabriel Caballero. Chen Mencias is a tourism planning consultant who runs her own firm, Blue Water Consultancy and the the primary mentor of the research. Gab Caballero is a Landacape Architect based in Singapore, currently the Focal Point for Sustainable Development Goals of ICOMOS International. Briel will be working with Chen and Gab for research on the Role of Heritage Conservation as a Dimension of Sustainable Tourism in the Philippines.

We look forward to Briel’s contributions, welcome to the team!