| Abstract: |
The National Museum of the Philippines is one of the cultural agencies of the Philippine government. It is a scientific and educational institution as well as a cultural center. It was established in 1901 as part of the Bureau of Non-Christian tribes. It has been attached, transferred and/or separated from other government agencies until 1998, when it finally became an independent government agency with the passage of Republic Act 8492. To carry out its mandate, it is guided by other laws such as Republic Act 4846 and Presidential Decree 374 and recently with Republic Act 10066 or the National Heritage Act. It has 7 scientific divisions carrying out primary researches in various fields including land and underwater archaeology supported by 13 administrative and coordinating divisions. The National Museum is the only agency mandated by the government to issue permits for all archaeological surveys and excavations around the country. The Archaeology and Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage divisions are the major divisions doing terrestrial and underwater archaeology. National Museum archaeologists have also been actively involved in collaborative researches with colleagues from Southeast Asia, USA, France and Australia to name a few.
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