Manila, Philippines — In celebration of International Museum Day 2025, the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) unveiled a historical marker today at the renovated Sentinel of Freedom Monument in Liwasang Rizal, located at the southern section of the Rizal Park Complex.
The event also marked the reopening of the main gates at Maria Orosa Street, closed since 2021. It now offers direct access to the National Museum Complex from Maria Orosa Street and Rizal Park – Luneta. Visitors were welcomed through the gate to explore Liwasang Rizal and join this year’s International Museum Day activities.
NMP Board Chairperson Andoni Aboitiz and Director-General Jeremy Barns led the unveiling ceremony. They were joined by National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) Chairperson Regalado Trota Jose, Jr., and Executive Director Carminda Arevalo, National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Chairperson Victorino Mapa Manalo, National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) Deputy Executive Director Jezreel Gaius Apelar, and former Senator and Philippine Red Cross Chairman Richard Gordon.
The new marker commemorates the revised foundation date of the National Museum, which the NHCP reviewed and approved in 2022. It acknowledges the August 12, 1887 royal decree that established the Museo-Biblioteca de Filipinas as the genesis of the first museum-library of national scope, and recognized as the precursor of the National Museum of the Philippines.
The Sentinel of Freedom Monument became part of the NMP in 2019 through Republic Act No. 11333. Built under the initiative of the Department of Tourism, the 11.14-meter-tall figure stands as a tribute to the intertwined legacies of Lapulapu and Dr. Jose Rizal. The hero of Mactan’s statue joins the Gomburza National Monument, also within the National Museum Complex, in highlighting pivotal moments in our history that culminated in the execution of Dr. Rizal–all of them brave heroes prominently honored in the 1898 Declaration of Independence.
This unveiling on International Museum Day also underscored the National Museum’s role as a guardian of Filipino heritage. Through exhibitions, research, public programs, and preservation of national collections, the NMP aims to further enhance its services and contribute to cultural education.
Both the NMP and NHCP are encouraging the public to take part in this year’s International Museum Day by visiting museums across the country as part of ongoing efforts to promote culture and the arts nationwide.