The Eugenio Lopez Foundation, Incorporated’s Lopez Museum recently held a one-day disaster preparedness seminar aimed at helping participants understand what to expect and what to initially do when disaster (man-made or otherwise) strikes. The seminar was conducted by Roberto Balarbar, Architect, Evelyn Esguerra of the National Museum of the Philippines and Dr. Ana Labrador of the UP Vargas Museum.

The seminar, which took place last February 15, 2006 in celebration of Arts Month, tackled topics such as the preparation of a disaster preparedness program to protect people and the objects which are valuable to them due to their historical, artistic, and cultural significance. Seminar participants were also taught how to take a pro-active rather than reactive approach to disaster preparation with respect to cultural property; to be able to initiate recovery program after disaster strikes; and to draft an emergency preparedness program for heritage institutions.

Raymund Anthony de Leon Juanillo of Museo De La Salle, a workshop participant, says: “We took the Disaster Preparedness seminar of the Lopez Museum to enhance what we already know. And indeed we found out that being proactive to any catastrophe is helpful in minimizing damage not only to valuable objects but to humans as well. One important thing I have learned is the method of assessment of hazards and vulnerabilities, which I am now planning to apply within our museum. I also enjoyed the actual staging of a disaster scenario which I believe could really happen in real circumstances.”

The seminar is just one of the many lecture series of the Lopez Museum for preserving Philippine art and culture as well as sharing best practices in environment, safety, and health (ESH) for museums.