The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) urged the government to bank on the creativity of Filipinos to promote and preserve their culture, and help boost the country’s creative economy.
At a recent forum in Cebu City, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said the government sees Filipinos’ creativity, or their passion for the arts, as an opportunity to protect and value the cultural identity and heritage as a nation.
Pernia said the innate creativity in Filipinos cannot be denied, but needs to be encouraged, supported, and promoted in the Philippines.
Based on study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies in 2014, creative industries contributed as much as 4.3 percent and 5.4 percent to the country’s gross domestic product in 2008 and 2009, respectively.
However, given the variation in data sets and metrics used by the different studies conducted to measure the size of the Philippines’ creative economy, there is still a need to improve the development and availability of cultural data in the country to aid in development planning.
The Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022 is the first medium-term development plan that has a chapter on promoting culture and values.
It identifies the following key strategies like valuing the diverse cultures, and advancing “pagkamalikhain” or creative excellence.
“We must create strong linkages between the academe and the creative industry to generate opportunities for arts graduates and workers,” Pernia said in a statement.
“There is also a need to establish regional arts academies and create specialized programs on cultural education and arts at the secondary and tertiary levels,” he added.
The National Commission on Culture and Arts is currently developing two cultural hubs in the country, particularly the Maestranza, in Intramuros, Manila and another one in Bohol.
These creative hubs will help in developing the country’s pool of creative talents and create opportunities for them.
