Legarda beats drum anew for creation of Department of Culture

Senator Loren Legarda at the onset of the National Arts Month once more called attention to the need for the establishment of the Department of Culture which will focus on the preservation of the country's cultural heritage and tangible assets.

“We need an empowered agency that will adequately support the preservation, enrichment, and dynamic evolution of a Filipino national culture based on the principle of unity in diversity in a climate of free artistic and intellectual expression,” Legarda was quoted as saying in an official statement released on her website on Monday.

Legarda in an interview on ANC on Thursday affirmed her stance and said that supporting the arts is her "lifelong advocacy."

"We [would] like to institutionalize the projects and activities so that there could be a change. Imagine if every LGU (local government unit) will have a folk arts museum, schools of living tradition — there could be resurgence," she said.

Legarda filed Senate Bill No. 1528 or the Department of Culture Act in July 2017 and its second reading has been pending since August 2017.

Six bureaus will be created under the proposed department: (1) on Cultural Communities and Traditional Arts Development; (2) on Cultural Properties Protection and Regulation; (3) on Cultural Properties Preservation; (4) on Artistic Resources Development; (5) on Cultural Research, Education and Dissemination; and, (6) on Cultural and Creative Industries.

Moreover, the Department of Culture could consolidate the fragmented agencies related to culture and the arts. The National Museum and the National Book Development Board, for example, are under the Department of Education. Meanwhile, the Intramuros Administration and the National Parks Development Committee are under the Department of Tourism.

"The Commission [on the Filipino Language], National Archives of the Philippines, the Film Development Council...all of this which are part of NCCA can be part of the Department of Culture. We can see the documentation of all intangible heritage. We can see more preservation in our built heritage," Legarda said.

Legarda asserted that arts and culture instill pride of place and creates a strong sense of national identity that is essential to nation building. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), she noted in the interview, is also pushing for having cultural experts.

"It just takes legislation. It is already on the floor, [we can] prioritize. It would be a great legacy for us. I [don't] see any problem [with the] creation of [the] Department of Culture," she said.

Legarda's term as a senator ends on June 30, 2019. However, she said she is not retiring and she'll likely continue advocating for the arts, culture, education, and the environment. —Aya Tantiangco/KG, GMA News