About ICOM Philippines

ICOM Philippines serves as the National Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) in the Philippines. As an intermediary between ICOM members and the General Secretariat, its primary function is to manage the interests of ICOM within the country. The committee aims to contribute to the implementation of ICOM's programs and Strategic Plan while ensuring effective communication and coordination among members. Through its mission, ICOM Philippines plays a crucial role in promoting the objectives and values of ICOM within the Philippine cultural landscape.

Our History

ICOM Philippines was established as a response to the growing need for a national committee to represent the interests of ICOM members in the country. It is an organization duly incorporated at the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines as of December 14, 2011, under registration number CN201121315; and is duly registered at the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) of the Philippines with TIN 008-175-657. Since then, we have been working to promote and support the museum sector in the Philippines, through advocacy, capacity building, and networking initiatives.

ICOM Philippines has experienced a remarkable increase in membership in the past years, now numbering in the hundreds. This growth underscores our commitment to fostering a vibrant community of museum professionals and enthusiasts across the Philippines. As the leading conduit for promoting best practices in museum management and preservation, ICOM Philippines serves as a vital platform for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and advocacy within the cultural sector.

Our Mission

ICOM Philippines is committed to promoting and supporting the museum sector in the Philippines. Our mission is to provide a platform for museums and museum professionals to connect, learn, and collaborate. We believe that museums play a vital role in society, and we work to ensure that they are valued, supported, and sustained for future generations.

Meet the ICOM Philippines Board

ICOM Philippines board for 2022 to 2025 is led by dedicated professionals who are committed to promoting and supporting the museum sector in the Philippines.

President

HERRERA, MARIA VICTORIA T.

Ma. Victoria T. Herrera is Director and Chief Curator, at Ateneo Art Gallery. This was preceded by her post as Director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Visual Arts and Museum Division, Production and Exhibition Department from January 2012 to April 2015. She was then seconded from the University of the Philippines – Diliman where she was a regular faculty for more than 20 years at the Department of Art Studies. She also lectures for the BFA in Arts Management program at Ateneo de Manila University where she teaches curatorship, collections management, and other museum-related courses. She has done art consultancy work for corporate entities. She is also a curatorial consultant for the UP Baguio Museo Kordilyera.

Vice President

ABAÑO, ISIDRO

Father Isidro “Didoy” Abaño is the Director of the UST Museum. Fr. Abaño is a longstanding member of ICOM Philippines and he is one of the founding members of the ICOM University Museums and Collections Subcommittee (UMAC), which began in 2001. He is no stranger to professional associations of museum officials, he served as a board member of the University Museums and Collections (UMAC) from 2013 to 2016. In 2015, he spearheaded the UMAC International Conference that was held in UST.

He obtained a Diplomate in Higher Studies on Church Cultural Heritage from the Gregorian Pontifical University in Rome, Italy. He also obtained his Licentiate in Sacred Theology/M.A. H.R. from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Manila and his Theology/Baccalaureate from the said university.

Secretary

ABUID-PADERANGA, ARLENE

Arlene Abuid-Paderanga is the forever young President of the Asian Institute of Maritime Studies (AIMS) and the Wilijado P. Abuid Foundation because of her happy disposition. She is an educator committed to nation-building missions. With over 35 years of experience in education specializing in maritime and as an Architect and Interior Designer by training, she established the AIMS Museo Maritimo. It is one of the first maritime-themed museum dedicated to Filipinos. She synthesizes her experiences in the arts, management, and maritime education to influence communities and create great synergies. An arts and heritage advocate who successfully established herself in a male-dominated maritime industry.

One of the successful women in the maritime education sector with experiences coming from her Doctorate in Educational Management from De La Salle University, Master in Management from the Asian Institute of Management, and Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Design from Far Eastern University. She also obtained Diplomas from Worker’s Educational Association (Newcastle, Australia) and Galilee College (Tivon, Israel). She has a Certificate in Archeology and Museum- Oxford University (London). A well-traveled and updated fellow for international and local seminars, conferences, and conventions in arts & culture, human resources development, maritime, and quality systems. She hopes to deliver her expertise in management and administration to ICOM Philippines. She runs the current secretariat of ICOM Philippines and together with her team and Mr. Daryl Lorence Abarca, they standardized and organized the operations of ICOM Philippines ensuring to deliver the best service to the museum community.

Treasurer

CRUZ, REGINA MERCEDES

Mercedes Cruz served as the Deputy Director of the BSP Museum. She plans, directs, organizes, and coordinates the activities of the BSP Museum Staff including management of the BSP artwork and painting collections. She supervised and coordinated the functions of the Business Facilities Management Division, BSP Museum, and Special Services Division.

She has been responsible for the BSP collections including paintings, sculpture, pre-colonial gold, pottery, decorative arts, and numismatics including the management of the Money Museum. She supervised the care/conservation of all cultural properties at the BSP Main Office, Security Plant Complex, Philippine International Convention Center, and all BSP regional offices and branches.

She obtained Certificates in Fine and Decorative Arts and Museum Studies from New York University. She pursued her MA and have taken units for her PhD of History of Art from the University of Kansas. She also graduated with a BA Art History degree from the George Washington University (Cum Laude) and a BS Psychology degree from the University of the Philippines, Diliman.

She is an active member of the International Council of Museums and a founding member of the Association of Greater Manila Area Museums (AGMAM). She was also a member of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts-National Committee of Museums from 2010-2016.

Board Member

BUENCAMINO, YAEL

Yael Buencamino is the former President of the Museum Foundation of the Philippines. She is the Head of Programs and Audience Engagement at Lopez Museum and Library and was the director of the Manila Museum Summit 2021. Her professional interests lie in interdisciplinary initiatives in cultural institutions and museum development. She was the founding Executive Director of Arete, the creativity and innovation hub of Ateneo de Manila University (2017 – 2019) and managing curator of the Ateneo Art Gallery (2007-2017). She contributed to the book Making Museums Work: A Zero in Handbook. She holds an MA in Southeast Asian Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

Board Member

CASTRO, NESTOR

Nestor Castro graduated BA Anthropology (cum laude), MA Anthropology, and PhD Anthropology from UP Diliman. His Master's thesis was on the communist movement in the Cordillera region of Northern Philippines while his PhD dissertation was on the politics of ethnic identity in the Philippines, with the experience of the Dananao Kalinga as a case in point.

Specializing in Cultural Anthropology, his expertise includes ethnicity and inter-ethnic relations, indigenous peoples' issues, Deaf culture, and cultural heritage management. He has done extensive field research in the Philippines and in several other countries of Southeast Asia and Melanesia. He has works have been published in notable journals such as Le Temps Modernes, Human Biology, Colloquium: The New Horizon of Contemporary Sociological Theory, Philippine Social Sciences Review, Diliman Review, Kasarinlan, and Aghamtao.

Dr. Castro is the previous President of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and the International Federation of Social Science Organizations (IFSSO), Vice-Chairman of the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) – Social Sciences Division. He is previously the Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs, UP Diliman. He also previously served as Associate Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP) of UP Diliman, Chairman of the Department of Anthropology of UP Diliman, Vice Chairman of the Anthropological Association of the Philippines (UGAT), and Southeast Asian Representative to the International Commission for the Rights of Aboriginal People (ICRA).

Board Member

TOMADA, AUDREY

Audrey Dawn M. Tomada is the head of the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) in Cebu since January 2022. She was the former head of the National Museum in Bohol from 2019-2022 where she was instrumental in the completion of the restoration and reconstruction of heritage churches and National Cultural Treasures in the island province that were severely damaged by the 7.2 magnitude Bohol Earthquake in 2013.

She is an active member and former president of the Central Visayas Association of Museums (CVAM) – one of the regional museum associations of the National Committee on Museums (NCOM) under the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). She served as an Executive Council member of the NCCA-NCOM from 2015-2019, and commissioner to the Cebu Archdiocesan Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church in 2018.

Ms. Tomada is also a member of the Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC). She graduated with a degree in Anthropology from the University of the Philippines – Diliman.