PH GOVERNMENT, SAN FRANCISCO’S FINE ARTS MUSEUMS OF SAN FRANCISCO AGREE TO REPATRIATE ANCESTRAL HUMAN REMAINS TO THE PHILIPPINES
SAN FRANCISCO, USA – Coinciding with National Heritage Month in the Philippines and Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in the United States, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) have agreed on the repatriation of Philippine ancestral human remains from the de Young Museum to the Philippines.
Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil Ferrer signed the agreement on behalf of NCCA Chair Victorino Mapa Manalo, at a signing event at the de Young Museum on 21 May 2025.
Representing FAMSF Director and CEO Dr. Thomas P. Campbell during the signing event was FAMSF Chief Program and Strategy Officer Lisa Grove. Also witnessing the signing were FAMSF Curator in Charge of the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas Christina Hellmich, FAMSF Director of Registration and Collections Management Kimberley Montgomery, and Fil-Am San Francisco Veterans Affairs Commissioner Deborah Dacumos.
In his remarks, Consul General Ferrer said that the repatriation is not only “about returning the remains to their place of origin” but is also “about restoring dignity to those who came before us… it is also about healing—through acknowledgement, and through continued dialogue.”
“We recognize the immense contributions of the AAPI Community to the American economy and society. More than four million Filipinos and Filipino Americans call the United States their home, around 500,000 of whom live and work here in the Bay Area. But we also reflect on the journeys that have brought their stories here. Today, one such journey begins its homecoming,” Consul General Ferrer said.
“On behalf of the Philippine government and the Filipino people, as well as the Filipino American Community in the Bay Area, I extend my deepest gratitude to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the de Young Museum for your openness, patience, and understanding as we tread the delicate process of returning these remains back to their homeland,” Consul General Ferrer said, adding his hope that the repatriation may, “inspire similar acts of restitution across the globe.”
The two ancestral remains, both human skulls, were brought to the United States likely as spoils during the Philippine-American War, at the beginning of the U.S. colonization of the Philippines, and were eventually donated to the de Young Museum in 1903 and 1905, respectively. In 2020, the FAMSF formally deaccessioned the two remains from its collection. Under the signed agreement, the remains will be repatriated to the Philippines. END
Consul General Neil Ferrer signs the agreement, on behalf of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, on the repatriation of Philippine ancestral human remains from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. (San Francisco PCG photo)