Section 19Sec./Art. 19

Retention of Income and Disposition of Donated Funds. -The National Museum is hereby authorized to retain the entirety of its income from all sources of its operations nationwide and overseas, and to expend the same for any purpose in benefit of the National Museum as may be authorized by the Board, in accordance with this Act and other laws pertinent to the Museum and any special provisions as may be provided for in the General Appropriations Act for any given fiscal year. Such income shall be placed in a dedicated National Museum Income Fund, and may accumulate for disbursement in future fiscal years if not expended within the fiscal year in which it was generated.

The existing Revolving Fund of the National Museum is hereby abolished, and its balance shall be transferred to the National Museum Income Fund herein established.

Donations of moneys covered by legally executed deeds of donation shall be placed in a dedicated National Museum Donations Fund, to be disbursed according to the terms and purposes of the respective deeds or, in cases where no specific purposes are stipulated, to be otherwise disbursed for any purpose in benefit of the National Museum as may be authorized by the Board.

The National Museum is authorized to accept anonymous donations of money, in Philippine or foreign currency, from its visitors, which shall be considered as gratuities and be credited to the National Museum Donations Fund. Such donations shall in all cases be voluntary in nature and may be solicited from visitors by means of recommended amounts to be formulated and approved by the Board, and these shall be accepted through the placement of donation boxes or by persons authorized for the purpose. The handling and accounting of such donations shall be subject to rules and regulations to be prescribed by the National Museum in agreement with the Commission on Audit within six (6) months after the effectivity of this Act.

As a general principle, and unless otherwise provided for by law, the retained income of, and anonymous donations and donations covered by deeds of donation that do not have any specified purpose to, the National Museum shall be applied to the purchase of capital assets for the benefit of the National Museum, including real properties and movable assets such as equipment and collections items. In all cases, the disbursement of such funds shall be subject to the authorization of the Board and existing budgeting, accounting and auditing rules and regulations.