After eight years of closure, the Pasig City government reopened the newly renovated Pasig City Museum to the public on Wednesday, March 26, marking a milestone in preserving the city’s rich history and cultural heritage.
The renovated museum offers enhanced exhibits and guided tour to give Pasigueños and visitors a deeper appreciation of the city's diverse and renowned past. It also has a dedicated room for the Concepcion Family, the founders of the mansion-turned museum, for their photographs and artifacts.
Pasig City Museum OIC Ana Katrinah San Mateo shared the upgrades and renovations of the museum, which include various exhibits showcasing Pasig's colorful history from the 1800s to the present. It also shows indigenous communities that have preserved their traditions and cultures.
Mayor Vico Sotto expressed excitement over the museum’s reopening, recalling the city's efforts to preserve and enhance the museum from 2019 and how it was halted during the pandemic with the renovation works resumed in 2022.
He also emphasized the importance of maximizing the museum's limited space for it to remain informative and relevant while still being interactive and engaging for future generations of Pasigueños.
“Gusto natin na magkaroon tayo ng mga susunod na henerasyon ng Pasigueño na tunay na naa-appreciate ang ating kultura at ang ating kasaysayan; at tunay na nakaka-appreciate ng kultura’t sining natin bilang mga Pasigueño (We want to have a generation of Pasigueños who appreciate our culture and our history; and those who truly appreciate our culture and arts as Pasigueños),” Sotto said.
Rep. Roman Romulo also recognized the city's progress in preserving its history, including the museum’s revamp, but noted that much remains to be done.
“Malayo na, pero malayo pa ang mararating para maibahagi ang history ng Pasig City (We've gone far but there's still a long way to share the history of Pasig City),” he said.
Vice Mayor Dodot Jaworski Jr. highlighted the importance of knowing and appreciating history in relation to the reopening of the museum.
“As we try to push our society to have a deeper sense of ownership, to have a deeper sense of longing and loving our country, we first have to know kung saan po tayo nanggaling. Kailangan po tayong lumingon saan tayo nanggaling (First, we have to know where we came from. We need to look back to where we came from)," he said.
One of the highlights of the inauguration was the signing of the Certificate of Turnover and Acceptance of the Important Cultural Property Marker, followed by the unveiling of the National Museum Marker, led by Ms. Anne Rosette Crelencia from the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP).
Crelencia thanked the city government for helping preserve the Pasig City Museum which showcases Filipino talent and craftsmanship.
The local government said that the museum, originally known as the "Lumang Mansyon ng mga Concepcion," is a historical landmark located in the heart of the city.
Built in 1937 by Don Fortunato Concepcion, former mayor of Pasig, for his wife Doña Victoria Concepcion, the mansion has served various purposes—from being a torture house during World War II to a clinic, a home, and eventually, an educational space (silid-aralan, silid-aklatan, at museo) after the local government acquired it in the 1980s.
The Pasig City Museum is open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Guided and group tours are also available on Saturdays and Sundays by appointment. (Vincent Brian Gutierrez)