Guimaras Museum: Guimaras' Saddest Spot

Believe it or not, with all the wonders and beauty that I've seen from this paradise called Guimaras, I, myself, cannot believe that our last stop, Guimaras Museum, would be the most disappointing part of them all. Taking the fact that this sad place holds the collection of this paradise's history - really, really sad to see.

FYI, I wrote this blog not because I wanna throw dirt on Guimaras, if you'll read my previous blogs about my first visit here, you'll feel how I enjoyed the province. I wrote this to call the attention of their local government or probably the national government to help the province preserve what's left for them - their rich culture, their simple yet colorful history.

Upon arriving at the Guimarass town proper, coming from the resort where we stayed in, Raymen Resort, it will take you roughly 30 minutes to reach this place. Before heading here, we visited first the sacred spot of the monks at the Trappist Abbey where we bought some delectable Guimaras treats. We have high spirit that day since the sun started shining brightly. Our nice driver whole-heartily dropped us here to see this simple place.

Given that Guimaras is just a small province, we were not really expecting a grand museum like what we have here in Manila, but at least a decent one - a rural museum where we can see the life before we came here.

The facade was so simple, with earthly-colored walls, the architectural design embodies the simplicity of the whole province. They have this not-so-high tower where a statue of man carrying a basket, probably showing the main source of living here in Guimaras, is shown facing the east.

I barely go to museum, to be honest, and every time I'll get a chance to visit one, I get excited, since as I said, I barely go to one.

Upon entering this one-floor structure, a man, whom we believe was a guard there, told us that the museum is close. It was just Friday, so we asked the man how come the museum is close? He said to us that the whole place is flooded. Due to curiosity, we begged him to let us in since it was our first time to visit the place and our last day at the island. We were really eager to see everything with our very tight schedule.

He informed us that the museum is close for quite some time now due to flooding and leakage from the roof. He added that it is hot inside because they turned off the air conditioning system. But since, I am so "makulit", I told him that it'll be okay, so out of his goodness, he let us in. We'll just spent a little time there and we'll just take some souvenir photos, I said.

Honestly, it wasn't really that bad. But to be called this place a provincial museum, it was just disheartening. It was like a grade school classroom, submerged in the flood, with floor tiles missing, wooden cabinets and stands looking unstable. Seeing all those bit and pieces of Guimaras' history ALMOST taken for granted, it was the most depressing part of my visit here in Guimaras.

I'm not sure if everything they have for their museum was all in there or they hid the most important ones somewhere else, but as a visitor of the province, and as a citizen of this country, witnessing all of these, I can't help but to wish that the government or even non-government organizations do something about this. The fact that this museum is just behind the provincial capitol makes it more depressing.

I mean this is a serious problem. These items - statues, painting, shirts, books, maps, fossils, shells, old church bells - they are not just some trash, they are these items that will keep the past generations and new generations connected. I saw a lot of interesting stuff in here that's why I feel so sad about them being neglected like that.

We just spent some 15 minutes in there since the heat became unbearable. There were also another group of people who came right after us, so the small room started to get smaller. 

As I exited to the same door I got in, I thanked the guy who let us in. Though, we didn't pay any fee to get in, we gave the man some "pang-merienda" since I personally thought that his job is kinda boring.

I hope that on my next visit to this gifted province, which will happen soon, I'll see a better and safer museum - a museum that will truly embody the natural beauty and wonder of Guimaras.

Happy rammmpa!