The National Archives of the Philippines

The task of guaranteeing that documents and records are preserved and accessible to the public lies with the National Archives of the Philippines. Its main responsibility is to preserve the primary sources of information on Philippine history, the basic components of cultural heritage and collective memory. These documentary sources are the embodiment of community identities as well as testaments to shared national experiences.

The National Archives of the Philippines is the home of about 60 million documents from the centuries of Spanish rule in the Philippines, the American and Japanese occupations, as well as the years of the Republic. It is also the final repository for the voluminous notarized documents of the country.

The Treaty of Paris (December 10, 1898) established the Office of Archives (formerly Spanish Division of Archives) under the Americans. The Treaty urged the turn-over of documents from Spain and the Philippines. Philippine Commission Act No. 273 (October 21, 1901) established the Bureau of Archives under the Department of Public Instructions (now Department of Education)

On May 21, 2007, by means of RA 9470 – the first archival legislation after more than a century – the National Archives of the Philippines came into existence. The new law strengthened the government’s recordkeeping systems and administration programs for archival materials.

Today, in implementing its mandate, the Archives utilizes a two pronged approach where effective records management goes hand-in-hand with the development of a sense of pride in one’s heritage. To achieve its goals, the Archives interacts with other government agencies and the private sector to set up projects which will illustrate how heritage resources can be used for enhancing community life. Archival materials can be utilized for tourism information, creative product design and heritage education modules that revitalize the youth’s sense of identity and membership in a dynamic, multifaceted nation.