Bill promoting Filipino youth talent now a law

Two proposed measures aimed at promoting youth welfare are now laws, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said.

The senator’s office disclosed Senate Bill (SB) 2503 which seeks to declare August 12 of every year as “National Youth Day” and SB 2504 which aims to discover, help and develop young Filipino musical talents through the National Music Competitions for Young Artists Program (NAMCYA) have lapsed into law on Tuesday.

Senators Sonny Angara and Ramon Revilla Jr. authored both measures. The copies of the measures were transmitted to Malacañang in June.

SB 2504 seeks to designate the National Music Competitions for Young Artists Program (NAMCYA) as the Philippine national youth development program for music to “further promote high standards of excellence through its various music competitions and festivals”.

The bill also mandates the creation of a NAMCYA Special Committee to be joined by the chairperson of the National Commission on Culture and Arts (NCCA), DepEd secretary, Tourism secretary, Interior, and Local Government secretary, Information and Communications Technology secretary, Philippine Information Agency director, Cultural Center of the Philippines president, NYC chairperson and the NAMCYA president.

Further, NAMCYA is authorized to avail the assistance, benefits, and privileges from the involved government agencies.

SB 2503, meanwhile, directs the National Youth Commission (NYC), in coordination with the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education, (CHED), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Sanggunian Kabataan (SK), and other youth and youth-serving organizations to prepare and implement an annual program of activities including, but not limited to, discussions and/or forums on career paths, Sustainable Development Goals, environment preservation, gender equality, and mental health.

All schools, colleges, and universities are likewise mandated to launch related activities such as leadership training, youth empowerment, workshops, basic mass integration, and community immersion activities in celebration of the National Youth Day, provided that the specific activities will be undertaken at the discretion of the school administration.

The budget allocation for the implementation of the bill will be charged against the respective current year available appropriation of the NYC, DepEd, CHED, and SK, the bill added.—LDF, GMA News