The new PHP200-million Museo Dabawenyo is set to open next year, the City Information Office said in a statement on Thursday.

The five-storey building, funded by the Office of the President and the National Museum of the Philippines, is located inside the People’s Park here.

“It is designed with a futuristic durian-inspired exterior. Once open, admission to the museum will be free. The local government unit and the National Museum of the Philippines will manage the Museo Dabawenyo,” CIO said.

Winnie Rose Galay-Bulig, the officer-in-charge of Museo Dabawenyo, said the museum will not only display local artifacts and history but also a museum of national history.

“What we can see at the National Museum in Manila will most probably be the same as what we have here. We will be expecting more galleries, exhibition areas not only focusing on local history but also national history as well,” she said.

Bulig underscored the importance of the museum in preserving only Davao’s culture and heritage but of the rest of the Philippines as well.

Museo Dabawenyo is currently located at the University Avenue, Juna Subdivision, Matina, and is temporarily closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The city government, however, encouraged people who wanted to visit the museum to take a 3D virtual tour through bit.ly/2Q0vC92 or at the Museo Dabawenyo Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/museodabawenyo.

The 3D virtual tour will be available online until December 31, 2020.

Museo Dabawenyo is a city-run facility in collaboration with the private sector that regularly holds activities geared towards better historical and cultural awareness, understanding, and integration. (PNA)