The House Special Committee on Creative Industry and Performing Arts chaired by Pangasinan 4thDistrict Representative Christopher de Venecia ended its inquiry into the state of the Philippine performing arts industry and other related industries with a clear goal: for the Philippines to be number one Creative Economy in ASEAN by 2030.
“It’s April 2023, so we have about six and a half years. The clock is ticking,” de Venecia said.
“It’s April 2023, so we have about six and a half years.”
After four meetings conducted by virtue of House Resolution 791, the veteran legislator admitted that “…we’ve only scratched the surface (however) we were able to learn more about what comprises this sector, the issues that hound it, and find opportunities for collaboration between the performing arts and other creative sectors, the government and the private sector, and many others.”
“We’ve only scratched the surface.”
The seasoned lawmaker summarized the actionable points as follows: 1) institutional financial investment, 2) identification of different funding sources of Local Culture and Arts Councils (LCACs), 3) synthesis of the list of performing arts spaces, 4) strengthening industry roadmaps, 5) support for guilds, 6) accreditation of teachers and more courses for professional teaching, 7) provision of more opportunities for performing arts groups, 8) review of the moratorium on field trips, 9) integration in tourism circuits, and 10) stoppage of the practice of dealing with unauthorized collecting agencies.
He instructed the special committee to provide the Department of Trade and Industry an executive summary as well as minutes of the meeting to so these can serve as input to the soon to be convened Creative Industry Council provided in Republic Act No. 11904.
DICT Director Emmy Lou Delfin of the ICT Industry Development Bureau; Dr. Ivan Henares, Secretary General, UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines, Department of Foreign Affairs; Marjo Evio, Chief of CITEM Home Lifestyle and Creative Industry Division; Design Center of the Philippines Senior Manager Kenneth Biunas; and NCCA Commissioner Arvin Villalon were among the resource persons consulted for the inquiry.
