ARMM holds Archives Day forum

COTABATO CITY – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao marked its 2nd Archives Day celebration and held recently a day-long forum to educate employees handling records on how to comply with National Archives of the Philippines (NAP) circulars and standards.

"I hope that this activity will instil in the consciousness of ARMM offices and Bangsamoro constituents to know how important to archive records and documents," Abdulhamid C. Alawi, Jr., ARMM Records Chief, said.

"Archiving allows for reference at a later point in time. If all the offices in the region will archive important documents and records, then it will be easy for the next administration to plan for the next programs in the region," he added.

Dr. Ronaldo C. Ferariza, Supervising Records Management Analyst, of the Nap-regional Archival Network, provided input on archives administration, security records and records creation, and control. The other speaker, Richel Jane R. Guinto, also a Senior Records Management Analyst, gave lecture on records disposition administration.

"It is important for the offices to conserve and promote the Filipino cultural heritage and resources including the documentary records of Filipino culture, history, and governance," Dr. Ferariza said as he reiterated the necessity of giving utmost priority to the protection and preservation of the public documents and records as it will be essential tools for the preservation of the country’s rich history and colorful cultural memory.

NAP is the home of about 60 million documents from the centuries of Spanish rule in the Philippines, the American and Japanese occupations, as well as the years of the Republic. It is also the final repository for the voluminous notarized documents of the country.

Its main responsibility is to preserve the primary sources of information on Philippine history, the basic components of cultural heritage and collective memory.

Dr. Ferariza cited Republic Act 9470, which states that all public records with enduring value, held by government offices, including, but not limited to, all branches of government, constitutional offices, local government units, government-owned and -controlled corporations, state universities and colleges, Philippine embassies, consulates and other Philippine offices abroad shall be transferred to a permanent government repository for proper management, control and regulation of record disposition.

He said that each agency must keep and preserve a logbook in which all official acts, decisions, transactions or contract pertaining to their functions shall be in chronological order.

Speeches, press releases, publications, programs, reorganization records, standard operating procedures, issuances, logbooks, manuals, official gazettes, master lists of the participants in the seminars or trainings, property cards, resolutions, legal opinions, deeds of donation, decisions, staffing patterns, service cards, reports, personnel actions, plantilla of personnel, handwriting specimens and signature, auditor's copy, trial balances and supporting schedules, profits and losses, accounts receivable, registry books of checked released, registered checks warrants, official cash books, list of remittances, sundry payments by checks and warrants, expense ledgers, financial statements, cash flow charts, books of final entry, cooks of original entry, annual statements of accounts payable, and organizational performance indicator framework are deemed ready for permanent storage.

"At the end of the day, our objective of coming here in ARMM is to let the employees here know what is the value of the records," Dr. Ferariza said.