Museum of the Filipino People

The Museum of the Filipino People is the old Finance Building at Luneta (if the Department of Tourism is to the left of the giant Rajah Sulayman statue, then this one is to the right). This is where they transferred and installed most of the former exhibits at National Museum.

It's major exhibits include: San Diego Exhibit (showcasing what was dug from a wreck site, mostly jars and cannons);  Five Centuries of Maritime Trade, The Origin (presenting origins of the Philippine islands);  Kaban ng Lahi (the archaeological treasures gallery) and   Kinahinatnan (the Filipino people's rich cultural heritage).

We went there an hour or so before the museum closed so I don't think we saw all exhibit rooms that were open/operational. But what we did saw, we loved. It literally took me back to school days of tackling history and Science and rekindled, in a way, pride at my heritage.

So, yes, for that reason alone, everyone must go to this Museum.

one of the bigger cannons at the San Diego Exhibit

 

the spiny spooner crab looks like something I've eaten many times already, hehe

 

a table display of different corals from our seas

 

not an optical illusion... these stuffed cloud rats are HUGE! A friend said you can see live ones at Tarak Ridge in Bataan (I didn't really come near the display case because I was busy cringeing). To the left of this is a monkey-eating eagle display (literally, a stuffed Philippine eagle with its talons on a monkey... and that WAS cool).

 

Bayawak (monitor lizard) was pretty common in Batangas where I'd spend summers in... even watched a friend's sister shoot at one and hit it in the mouth... this is a delicacy in some provinces here

 

Hoy, Hoy... Bulol :D  I thought Bulol (god/deity that features in harvest rituals) was limited to depictions of a deity sitting down, but apparently... he isn't

 

there are so many display cases like this which features musical instruments (like this one), everyday tools and trinkets (iron, feeding implements), farming implements etc

One room that I liked (but didn't take a picture of) was the exhibit where the Manunggul Jar (a secondary burial jar) is... because with it were a lot of other secondary burial jars, with covers of carved heads and some coffins.

The geek in me would like to explore this museum further... preferably without excited kids getting distracted by one exhibit after another. Haha.