In the third and final day of our data gathering and site visit on the tourist and heritage spots here in Iloilo City, we were able to check the old Prison of Iloilo that was restored as the Regional Museum of Western Visayas. Located in Bonifacio Drive beside the new Iloilo Capitol, it was an ideal spot for a new museum project which is just near the existing Museo Iloilo. Good job to the National Museum of the Philippines.

The old prison of Iloilo or the Iloilo Provincial Jail was built in 1911 and has served its function up until 2006 when the new provincial jail built in Pototan was used instead. The official turnover by the Iloilo Provincial Government to the National Museum coincided with the 117th founding anniversary of the Iloilo Province. The provincial government spent P19 million to retrofit the old structure while the National Museum allotted P80 million to convert the jail into a museum.

We arrived at the place just after lunch and it was a scorching heat at that time as there are only a few trees in the outside park surrounding the museum. I think we were the only visitors at that time and as we entered the old but restored prison, we can see the huge dome covering the middle part of the place. There is one gallery in one of the function rooms and it featured Habol Panay, the weaving culture that is still practiced up to today. It is related to the Arevalo Hablon shop that we visited on Day 1. We were then welcomed by their curator and she started discussing the history of the fibers in Western Visayas and other related information.

Here below are the pics I have taken during the site visit.