Declarations of National Cultural Treasures (NCTs; Mga Pambansang Yamang Pangkalinangan in Filipino) are regulated by the National Cultural Heritage Act. Designations are undertaken by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and related agencies such as the National Museum, the National Library, and the National Archives. Nominations for an item to be designated with an NCT title may be submitted by any Filipino institution or person.

Classification RA 10066 outlines the processes in selection, declaration, preservation, promotion and delisting of cultural property as National Cultural Treasure (NCT).

NCTs are classified two property categories, tangible and intangible, meanwhile tangible cultural property can be categorized into immovable and movable national cultural treasures:

Tangible cultural property – cultural property with historical, archival, anthropological, archaeological, artistic and architectural value, and with exceptional or traditional production, whether of Philippine origin or not, including antiques and natural history specimens with significant value Movable National Cultural treasures – movable objects with historical, anthropological, archaeological value and/ or associated with national history Immovable National Cultural treasures – structures that shall not be relocated, rebuilt, defaced or otherwise changed in a manner, which would destroy the property's dignity and authenticity, except to save such property from destruction due to natural causes Intangible cultural property – peoples' learned processes along with the knowledge, skills and creativity that inform and are developed by them, the products they create and the resources, spaces and other aspects of social and natural context necessary for their sustainability Furthermore, article II, section 3 of the law also includes the category Natural property of cultural significance refers to areas possessing outstanding ecosystem with flora and fauna of national scientific importance. This categorization is used in National Integrated Protected Areas System as well as other government databases, such as the Philippine Registry of cultural property.

Privileges Cultural properties deemed National Cultural Treasure (NCT) shall have the following:

Priority government funding for protection, conservation and restoration Incentive for private support of conservation and restoration An official heritage marker identifying the cultural property as national cultural treasures Governmental protection from armed conflict, national disasters and other exceptional events

Natural National Cultural Treasures Official NCT NameCurrent locationPeriodDescriptionLegal BasisYear declaredBontoc, Mountain ProvinceBronze age ca. 1500 BCThe Alab petroglyphs are ancient figures interpreted to as human genitalia carved on rock by the prehistoric people of Bontoc, Mountain Province.PD 260, s. 19731973 Kabayan, Benguet Sagada, Mountain Province Alab, Bontoc, Mountain Province14th–19th centuryTwo hundred man-made burial caves, 15 of which contain preserved human mummies of the Ibaloi culture known as the Kabayan MummiesPD 260, s. 19731973Burial caves of Sitio AlabokBagulin, La UnionMore commonly known as the Kedlap Burial cave. Once a burial site containing wooden coffins of carabao zoomorphic designsProclamation no. 1683, s. 19771977Rizal, KalingaNeolithic to ProtohistoricExcavation site of prehistoric megafauna such as the rhinoceros and stegodon.1977Lipuun Point, Quezon, Palawanca. 9,000 BPThe cave complex has an approximate area of 138 hectares, composed of 218 caves, 38 of which were used as habitation and burial sites in the past. Tabon Cave, one of the caves in the complex, yielded the earliest human remains found in the Philippines.NMP Declaration No. 1-20112011Dewil ValleyPalawanNeolithic to ProtohistoricLimestone Karst forest with evidences of Neolithic to Protohistoric human habitation such as shell middens and burial sites.NMP Declaration No. 39-20202020

Tangible-movable National Cultural Treasures Official NCT NameCurrent locationPeriodDescriptionLegal Basis/Official markerYear declaredAssassination of Governor Bustamante and His Son by Félix Resurrección Hidalgo y PadillaNational Museum of Fine Arts, Ermita, Manila1884An oil-on-canvas painting depicting the assassination of Spanish governor-general Fernando Manuel de Bustillo Bustamante y Rueda in 1719. The painting won Hidalgo a silver medal in the 1884 Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Spain.1974BalangaysNational Museum – Butuan, Libertad, Butuan320 A.D.Balangays are large plank boats which were the main form of transportation in the precolonial era. These ancient balangays were found in what used to be the Kingdom of Butuan.Proclamation 86, s. 19871987National Museum of Fine Arts, Ermita, Manila1968Also known as the Filipino struggles through history, this monumental painting depicting the History of Manila is painted by NA Carlos V. Francisco.1996Basi Revolt Paintings by Esteban Pichay VillanuevaNational Museum – Vigan, Ilocos Sur1807The paintings depict the Basi Revolt, also known as the Ambaristo Revolt in 1807 which was held in opposition to taxes on liquor in the Ilocos against the Spanish. The series of 14 paintings by Esteban Pichay Villanueva currently hangs at the National Museum in Vigan.2009Spanish document section of the National Archives of the PhilippinesNational Library of the Philippines, Ermita, ManilaEighteen million original pages of documentation from the Spanish colonial period dating as far as the 16th centuryFeeding the Chicken Painting by Simon FloresNational Museum of Fine Arts, Ermita, Manila1890An oil-on-canvas painting of master painter Simon Flores regarded as a transition from the miniaturist school of homegrown portraitists of the nineteenth century to the idyllic tableaux of the American period academic masters.NMP Declaration No. 03-20082008National Museum of Fine Arts, Ermita, Manila On loan: Louvre Abu Dhabi1895Also known as La Bulaqueña, literally "the woman from Bulacan", the oil-on-canvas painting is portrait of a Emiliana Yriarte Trinidad, Filipino woman wearing a traditional Filipino dress. Painted by Juan Luna.Museum Declaration No. 01-20082008National Museum of Fine Arts, Ermita, Manila1894Made by revolutionary hero Jose Rizal during his exile in Dapitan. The terra cotta sculpture is an allegorical representation of the situation in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period.NMP Declaration No. 02-20082008Artifacts and Ecofacts from Philippine Archaeological SitesNational Museum of Anthropology, Ermita, ManilaPleistocene (707,000 YA) – 15th centuryNational Cultural Treasures are as follows: Manunggul Burial Jar Calatagan Ritual Pot Maitum Anthropomorphic Burial Jar No. 13 Maitum Quadrangular Burial Jar Leta-Leta Jarlet with Yawning Mouth Leta-Leta Footed Jarlet Leta-Leta Presentation Dish Pandanan 14th Century Blue-and-White Porcelain Lena Shoal Blue-and-White Dish with Flying Elephant Puerto Galera Blue-and-White Jar Palawan Zoomorphic Ear Pendant Cabalwan Earliest Flake Tools Batangas Likha Figurines Mataas Shell Scoop Duyong Shell Adze Tabon Skull Cap Tabon Mandible Tabon Tibia Fragment Bolinao Skull with Teeth Ornamentation Gold Seal of Captain General Antonio Morga Oton Death Mask Butuan Paleograph Laguna Copper Plate San Diego Astrolabe Banton Burial Cloth Marinduque Celadon Jar Butuan Balangay Boat Butuan CrucibleNMP Declaration No. 3-20102010National Museum of Fine Arts, Ermita, Manila1884An oil-on-canvas painting by Juan Luna considered by the Filipino art community as the most prized painting made by a Filipino master painter.2006Retablo (altar piece) from the Church of San Nicolas de Tolentino in Dimiao, BoholNational Museum of Fine Arts, Ermita, Manila18th centuryA side altar from the St. Nicholas de Tolentine Parish in Dimiao, Bohol. The retablo with traces of vibrant polychrome was made by an unknown master.NMP Declaration No. 6-20112011National Museum of Fine Arts, Ermita, Manila1953The artwork consists of four oil paintings on canvas created by national artist Carlos V. Francisco in 1953 for the entrance of the Philippine General Hospital. This quadriptych depicts the history of medicine in the Philippines until the middle of the 20th century.2011National Museum of Fine Arts, Ermita, Manila1892Interior d'un Café (Parisian Life) by Juan Luna (1857–1899) was exhibited in 1904 at the St Louis Exposition (World's Fair).University of Santo Tomas Baybayin DocumentsUniversity of Santo Tomas, Sampaloc, Manila1613The UST Baybayin Documents are 17th century land deeds written in baybayin, an ancient Philippine syllabary or suyat. It is the first document to be declared a National Cultural Treasure.2014National Museum of Fine Arts, Ermita, Manila1962Twin murals of NA Vicente Manansala portraying Filipino rural life, previously displayed at the International Rice Research Institute in Los Baños, Laguna.2015Maradika Qur'an of Bayang (From Lanao del Sur)National Museum of Anthropology, Ermita, ManilaThe oldest known Quran (Koran) in the Philippines. The Quran is believed to be one of the few copies translated into a non-Arabic language—that is, using a language in the Malay family and handwritten in Arabic calligraphy.2015Alcaiceria de San Fernando Marker of 1762 (from Binondo)National Museum of Anthropology, Ermita, Manila1762A large stone tablet discovered at the Spanish colonial era site of the Real Alcaicería de San Fernando – a customhouse and marketplace, an example of official regulations enacted by the Spanish colonial government against the Chinese.2015Sacred Art of the Parish Church of Santiago Apostol (Four Paintings in Situ)Paete, Laguna18th–19th centuryFour monumental paintings inside the St. James the Apostle Parish church in Paete, Laguna, which are: San Cristobal I San Cristobal II Langit, Lupa at Impierno