Legarda seeks preservation of Pinoy culture, arts

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Loren Legarda has proposed the creation of a Department of Culture that will focus on government programs and projects on Philippine arts and culture.

“(This will) ensure the preservation, enrichment and dynamic evolution of a Filipino national culture that is rooted in unity amid diversity,” Legarda said yesterday.

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) conferred on Legarda its lifetime achievement award called “Dangal ng Haraya,” given to individuals and organizations that showed support, patronage and contributed to Philippine arts and culture.

Legarda focused on helping Philippine indigenous groups, led the opening of a permanent textile exhibit at the National Museum in Manila and passed laws like the Philippine Tropical Fabrics Act, among others. 

With the help of the National Museum, the lawmaker aims to establish more Philippine traditional textile exhibits in all museums administered by the National Museum nationwide.

Legarda stressed that through the creation of the dedicated department, “cultural considerations cannot anymore remain on the sidelines of policy-making.”

“These needed to be integrated in education, economic planning, urban and rural development, and technological innovations, among others,” she said, adding that the Duterte administration is one “that continues to support arts and culture.”

The proposed Department of Culture could tap the potential of today’s young people – particularly the so-called millennials – to make them appreciate their roots and become promoters of Philippine culture and the arts.

“We have one of the youngest population demographics in the world, with a median age of 23 years,” Legarda noted, adding that “this is a resource, unequalled in importance… but they need to be nurtured in ways that they become instruments of constructive change, that will bring us together and not divide.”