Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. leads the inauguration of the congressional “Wall of Honor” and the e-library of the House of Representatives. Photo by Marc Jayson Cayabyab
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Tuesday led the inauguration of the new House of Representatives library, archives and museum.
He also led the ribbon-cutting of the new congressional “Wall of Honor” built beside the new library building.
Fr. Jun Villanueva, Assistant Parish Priest of Nuestra Señora dela Paz y Buenviaje Parish of the Diocese of Novaliches, led the prayer and blessing of the facility.
Belmonte led the tour of the building, which remains empty up to now.
The construction of the building was Belmonte’s idea for the efficient management of the legislature’s information resources.
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Employees in the House of Representatives wore red and lighted candles during the blessing of the building.
In her speech, House Secretary General Marilyn Barua-Yap lauded the leadership of Belmonte for paving way for the construction of the new e-library and the congressional wall of honor.
Yap said Speaker Belmonte recognized the importance of preserving the records of Congress.
“This is a testament of the kind of commitment in the preservation of legislative history,” Yap said.
In an earlier statement, House Deputy Secretary-General Edgardo Pangilinan said the House Legislative Library, Archives and Museum Building would house the first electronic legislative library in the country, boasting of modern information and communications technology equipment.
The facility would offer e-library services that are needed for legislation and would maintain a specialized collection of information resources like books, e-books, journals and other online information resources on legislation.
Pangilinan also said it would serve as a center for the digitized archival collection of the House, including legislative documents and other artifacts from 1907 up to the present.
The building will also house a museum that would feature artifacts and memorabilia about House Speakers since 1907 when the first National Assembly was held.
Guests would also be greeted at the lobby with a mural depicting the history of the House of Representatives created by artists from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
The Congressional Wall of Honor showed the complete roster of the members of the lower House of Congress from 1907 to 2016.
“It is a tribute to the men and women who shaped and defined the Philippine legislature as a strong institution of democracy in the country,” according to a statement of the House.
Yap said the Congressional Wall of Honor “immortalized in stone the names of all those who have been given the honor by the people of the Philippines with the privilege of serving as their representatives.”
A plaque built in front of the wall of honor reads: “This monument stands as a proud testament to the rich history of the legislature of the first democracy in Asia and an embodiment of the zeal of the Members of the House of Representatives to preserve the nation’s legislative heritage.” TVJ