But the question is why did it happen in the first place? There are several reasons why. And what can be done to prevent it from happening again.
1. I remember attending a talk at the University of the Philippines Baguio. The speaker touched on the "fascinating irony" of how we Igorots incessantly promote our ancient burial sites as tourist attractions then we get offended when overly enthusiastic tourists take it upon themselves to hoist these burial sites or their contents as macabre curiousities and often in erroneous ways.
The speaker has a point. When we keep promoting these sites as attractions, it gives signals to tourists (especially influencers hungry for content ideas) to present these to their viewers in a sensationalized manner.
Maybe it's time to consider sparing our "sacred" burial sites from these desecrations by not promoting them as things to be gawked at.
2. Tourists going into sites that the locals consider as "sacred" should always be accompanied by a guide who would without question prevent guests from desecrating such "sacred" sites. If the content creator who handled the skulls in Sagada was with a guide, then that guide was amiss in his/her duties.
3. Influencers and content creators are bolder than most people. They'd do things for the sake of attention in the form of views, shares, and likes. So it's always recommended to put up signs or reminders in sacred sites like burial grounds that tell them not to touch or handle anything. This way it will be clear to them that handling anything there is prohibited. So that they can't come up with the "I didn't know it was prohibited" excuse.
4. The LGUs concerned should seriously demand an explanation or an apology from desecrators. Then use the opportunity to educate the general public on how to respect or how to conduct themselves around sites considered as culturally sacred by locals.
𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢: I took this photo of the Opdas Burial Cave in Kabayan, Benguet. I snapped it from a distance because our guide dutifully explained to us to not touch or even get very close to the bones.
