Philippine National Memory of the World Committee

🎤 How can we honour stories passed down by voice alone?

💿 The Hinilawod Epic Chant Recordings — now part of UNESCO’s Asia-Pacific Register — are the earliest known audio recordings of Panay’s epic traditions. Chanted in Karay-a by Indigenous epic chanters from Iloilo and Capiz, they preserve the living voices behind an oral literature with apparent precolonial roots. They remind us that some of the world’s most enduring knowledge is spoken, not written.

Have you or your organization preserved materials that tell powerful stories?

🌏 Nominations are open for the 2026 Memory of the World Asia Pacific "Mowcap" Regional Register.

📅 Deadline: 15 SEP 2025

🔗 How to apply: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-opens-nominations-its-2026-memory-world-regional-register-asia-and-pacific?hub=66925

UNESCO Jakarta | ЮНЕСКО Алматы | UNESCO New Delhi Office | UNESCO Office in Viet Nam | UNESCO Dhaka | UNESCO Kabul Office | UNESCO Office in Kathmandu | UNESCO Cambodia | UNESCO-Tashkent | UNESCO Myanmar Project Office | UNESCO Mongolia

Press Release
14 April 2025

SAVING THE NATION’S MEMORY: UNACOM LEADS THE CALL TO SAFEGUARD PHILIPPINE DOCUMENTARY HERITAGE

Learn more about the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme: https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world

📢 Call for Nominations: 2026 Asia-Pacific Regional Register

📜 Are you preserving historically, artistically, or culturally significant ?

Submit your nomination for UNESCO's Memory of the World Committee for Asia & the Pacific Regional Register and help safeguard history for future generations!

📅 Deadline: 15 September 2025

📄 Details & How to Apply: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-opens-nominations-its-2026-memory-world-regional-register-asia-and-pacific?hub=66925

Memory of the World Asia Pacific "Mowcap" | UNESCO Jakarta | ЮНЕСКО Алматы | UNESCO New Delhi Office | UNESCO Office in Viet Nam | UNESCO Dhaka | UNESCO Kabul Office | UNESCO Office in Kathmandu | UNESCO Cambodia | UNESCO-Tashkent | UNESCO Myanmar Project Office

DID YOU KNOW?

The UNESCO Memory of the World Programme inscribed the Radio Broadcast of the Philippine People Power Revolution in its International Register in 2003. This collection features recordings from 44 audiocassette tapes and a mini-disc, capturing unedited broadcasts from key stations like Radio Veritas, DZRJ/DZRB, Radio Bandido, DZRH, and Voice of the Philippines.

The Philippine People Power Revolution was a peaceful, spontaneous uprising that toppled a dictatorship—one of the 20th century’s most unique political events, shaped and documented through radio.

In celebration of the 108th Birth Anniversary of Dr. Jose Maceda, a National Artist for Music and a pioneering figure in ethnomusicology, here’s a trivia for you.

From 1953 to 2003, Dr. Maceda recorded and preserved over 1,700 hours of traditional music from the Philippines and Southeast Asia, documenting 68 ethnolinguistic groups. His invaluable collection — comprising 1,936 tapes, field notes, photographs, and films — serves as a window into the Philippine musical traditions that are rapidly fading with the changing times.

This priceless archival collection is housed at the UP Center for Ethnomusicology, ensuring its accessibility for research and preservation. In recognition of its immense cultural significance, the Jose Maceda Collection was inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register in 2007.

The nation celebrates the 108th Birth Anniversary of National Artist Jose Maceda.

Jose Maceda was a distinguished composer, musicologist, educator, and performer who explored the rich musical heritage of Filipino culture. Throughout his career, he dedicated himself to understanding and advocating for traditional Filipino music. His extensive research and fieldwork led to the compilation of a significant archive of recorded music from isolated mountain villages and distant island communities.
His academic writings illuminated the core characteristics of Philippine traditional and ethnic music, providing valuable insights for both local and international scholars. Additionally, Maceda's innovative approaches allowed Filipino musical expression to transcend the limitations of a strictly Eurocentric perspective.

To read more about NA Maceda, please visit: https://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/culture-profile/national-artists-of-the-philippines/jose-maceda/

Back in Metro Manila for an event of the Philippine National Memory of the World Committee at the UP Film Institute. Eddie Romero’s 1976 film “Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?” is in the MOW National Register.