Press Release, 20 September 2025
Jose Maria “Ka Joma” Sison Legacy Museum formally opened its doors to the public yesterday, 19 September, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Joma’s comrade-wife Julie de Lima, assisted by Utrecht City Council representative and member of the political party Bij1, Ms. Noura Oul Fakir.
Created and managed by the JMS Legacy Foundation, the JMS Legacy Museum is a space that will generate curiosity among generations to come, stressed de Lima during the ribbon-cutting: “Opening a museum has been an aspiration of the JMS Legacy Foundation since its inception. The JMS Legacy Museum is for everyone. We are very proud to have the museum open to inspire all to learn from Joma’s life and legacy.”
“Professor Sison showed strong enthusiasm to discuss with young Dutch people and students about the Philippine struggle, and the need for social change,” said Dr. Mario Fumerton, assistant-professor at the Center for Conflict Studies in the University of Utrecht, when asked about his impression of Sison, whom he would often invite to speak to his classes at the university.
“Sison was well-loved and respected by the Filipino migrant community in the Netherlands,” shared F. den Hollander, a Dutch artist and long-time solidarity activist.
Slots for the opening tour were sold out as guests composed of young and old solidarity activists, admirers, comrades and friends were treated to a guided tour of the museum. Some highlights of the exhibit were the showing of select videos of Sison’s last interviews, a glimpse into a rare photo showing Sison and wife Julie in a group photo with China’s Mao Zedong and other distinguished international guests during the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Yenan Forum in the People’s Republic of China in 1967, and a question and answer period where guests asked questions about the how the museum materials were chosen, what advice Ka Joma would have to young activists today, and what are the Foundation’s future projects and plans. At the end of the tour, organizers and guests chanted “Ka Joma Lives!”
According to the Foundation, the JMS Legacy Museum “provides a unique opportunity to take a glimpse into the life of Ka Joma as an ardent revolutionary, committed internationalist, respected public intellectual, and distinguished poet. Through rarely-seen photos, documents, and belongings, the museum weaves together the history of the heroic Filipino people’s struggle with the life of one of its most dedicated proponents, encouraging participants to engage with Ka Joma’s life story and reflect on how every individual has the opportunity to change the world”.
Ka Joma’s lifelong works, stated the Foundation, not only changed the course of Philippine history as it pertains to the Filipino people’s struggle for national and social liberation but also continues to inspire and influence progressive and revolutionary movements around the world. Sison follows in the footsteps of such great Marxist thinkers and leaders as Lenin and Mao whose theoretical works and revolutionary practice had transformed not only their own countries but changed the course of history, the Foundation emphasized.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Central Committee in its tribute to Joma Sison on his passing on December 16, 2022 declared him as “among the greatest of Filipinos of the past century for masterfully and creatively applying Marxism-Leninism-Maoism to the Philippines and the Philippine revolution, and giving the Filipino people the strength to carve the country’s future and attain their aspirations for national freedom and democracy”.
The JMS Legacy Museum in Utrecht is open for walk-ins and guided tours with regular hours starting in October. Interested individuals and groups may organize private tours upon request to the JMSLF.
