BINANOG DANCE. Participants in the 15th Binanog Festival perform the Binanog dance in 2018. The Binanog Festival and the Binanog Dance are among those mapped out by the municipality of Lambunao as part of their cultural heritage.(Photo courtesy of CEC Infocenter Lambunao) ILOILO CITY - The municipality of Lambunao in Iloilo has completed the mapping of its identified prominent cultural heritage that will pave the way for their preservation to be appreciated by the younger generation. Republic Act No. 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 defines cultural heritage as "the totality of cultural property preserved and developed through time and passed on to posterity". The result of their online presentation, validation, and finalization with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) on March 16 was deemed "good as approved" the identified cultural heritage, said Lambunao municipal tourism officer Jennifer L. Osorio in an interview on Friday. "We prioritized those that were prominent tangible and intangible heritage. But this will be a whole year activity that we will undertake," she said. Those approved were the Binanog Festival; Binanog dance; Mari-it Conservation Park; the four endangered animals that can be seen inside the park namely the Visayan writhe hornbill (Dulongan), Tarictic hornbill, Visayan warty pig, and the Visayan spotted deer; Lambunao Catholic Church; and two delicacies that were distinct in the municipality - the linupak (mashed banana) and the coconut ball. Osorio said they were still waiting for words if the NCCA would still conduct an onsite visitation for actual validation. The tourism officer said that Lambunao has a rich cultural heritage and they will continue with the mapping because those mentioned were just part of what they had completed so far. "This (cultural mapping) is very significant so we can give more importance and value to our tangible and intangible cultural heritage and for them to be embraced by the young generation," she added. Osorio said that once declared as cultural heritage or cultural structures, there are provisions in the law that will provide guidelines on how they will be managed. (PNA) }