The UPV CMPG Team headed by Overall Project Leader Anna Razel L. Ramirez convened with the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 6 Regional Executive Director Livino B. Duran to begin collaboration on the Cultural Mapping of Panay and Guimaras project.

The engagement between DENR and UPV CMPG will bolster the project implementation based on its objective of mapping the cultural and natural heritage of Panay and Guimaras.  The project is likewise expected to come up with a quality cultural registry/inventory, as well as to foster appreciation for traditional knowledge systems.

The project is anchored on the Cultural Mapping Law or Republic Act No. 11961, authored by Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, which requires all municipalities to produce a cultural map. This law also mandates LGUs and related government agencies, such as DENR, to work together in identifying and recognizing the various cultural properties that are present within the political jurisdictions of communities.

A memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the two parties will be established to foster their collaborative efforts on the project.

Director Duran stated that DENR has appointed Mr. Artemio Colacion, Senior Information Officer of DENR VI, to be the focal person of their office for the CMPG project.