Legarda Aims to Bind Filipinos through the First Philippine Traditional Textile Gallery

THE DIFFERENT REGIONS AND PROVINCES OF THE COUNTRY ARE DISTINGUISHED NOT ONLY BY POLITICAL BORDERS BUT ALSO BY DIVERSE CULTURAL TRADITIONS, AND SENATOR LOREN LEGARDA AIMS TO THREAD A LINK TO THIS DIVERSITY THROUGH THE HIBLA NG LAHING FILIPINO: TRADITIONAL PHILIPPINE TEXTILE GALLERY.
Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Cultural Communities, conceptualized the creation of the nation’s first gallery for indigenous Philippine textiles and in partnership with the National Museum, brought it to fruition.
“The Traditional Philippine Textile Gallery houses the vast collection of fabrics made from indigenous materials found in different parts of the country,” the Senator explained.
“Through this museum, we aim to bind our culture as Filipinos by displaying one common thread-the exceptional weaving skill and the rich heritage that every piece of fabric in the gallery reveals of the cultural community it originated from,” she stressed.
On March 21, the Senator will lead the soft launch of the Hibla ng Lahing Filipino: Traditional Philippine Textile Gallery at the third floor of the National Museum. The event coincides with the Forum on Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge, wherein Legarda will also be a keynote speaker.
Fabrics such as the Abel Iloko from Vigan, Tinguian blanket from Abra, Gaddang garments from Ifugao, Textiles from Polomok, South Cotabato and Maranao garments from Southern Mindanao, as well as items used for weaving are exhibited in the museum.
“This gallery is a story of the ties that connect Filipinos as told through the collection of the National Museum’s traditional Philippine textiles. These textiles reveal visions of our national identity,” Legarda concluded.