The Philippine Development Plan (PDP) pays close attention to the empowering

nature of culture. Cultural awareness is a requirement for social inclusion and equity.
Enhancing the social fabric toward a high-trust society entails building better
relations for social cohesion among people. More and better interactions among
members of a community, in turn, require awareness and appreciation of culture
and values that drive peoples attitudes and behavior. Culture is that complex whole
of the peoples way of life, which includes the knowledge, belief, art, law, morals,
customs, values, ideas, sentiments, and any other capabilities acquired by a person
as a member of society. It offers a summation and distillation of the past that
provides a sound basis for living in the present and marching into the future.

Culture has several dimensions; its role in development spans and intersects with
multiple sectors. As such, culture is regarded as one of the pillars for achieving
inclusive, sustainable, and human-centered development. Building culture into the
formulation of policies and in the design of development interventions enhances the
effectiveness of programs and projects because cultural contexts are recognized.
Failure to acknowledge the significance of culture in shaping our society may lead to
cultural fragmentation, perceived distrust toward fellow Filipinos, parochialism,
perpetuation of historical injustices, and inability to collaborate for nation building.

The priority areas of the cultural agenda are: (a) safeguarding and enshrining our
cultural heritage; (b) achieving equity and inclusion in access to cultural resources
and services; and (c) sustaining and enhancing cultural assets to foster creativity and
innovation for socio-economic growth.

Chapter 4 Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 Overall Framework

(http://www.iro.ph/article_doc/fc55bc53_PDP-2017-2022-Prepublication-2.pdf)

The Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022 is the first medium-term plan
anchored on the AmBisyonNatin2040, consistent with Executive Order No. 5, series
of 2016. The priorities are guided by the Duterte Administration's 0 to10-point
Socioeconomic Agenda, the regional consultations conducted by the various
planning committees and the social development summits that culminated in the
20@22 Agenda: Malasakit at Pagbabago.

The goal of the PDP 2017-2022 is to enable Filipinos to attain a matatag,

maginhawa at panatag na buhay. It acknowledges the accomplishments of the
previous administrations, adopts the good practices and carefully considers the
lessons gleaned from these experiences.

Assessment and Challenges

The performance of the economy during the past administration, though impressive,
actually fell short of the targets set in the PDP 2011-2016. In contrast, those
pertaining to the social dimension reducing poverty incidence and
unemployment rate surpassed the target. The target to significantly reduce
underemployment, however, remains elusive.
Strategic Framework
By the end of 2022, more Filipinos will be closer to achieving their AmBisyon to
have a matatag, maginhawa at panatag na buhay. The Administration will lay
down a solid foundation for more inclusive growth, a high-trust and resilient society,
and a globally competitive knowledge economy.

Targets
Growth will be more inclusive as manifested by a lower poverty incidence in the
rural areas, from 30 percent in 2015 to 20 percent in 2022. Overall poverty rate will
decline from 21.6 percent to 14.0 percent in 2022 equivalent to lifting about 6
million Filipinos out of poverty. The proportion of subsistence poor individuals will
fall from 8.1 percent to 5.0 percent. Food inflation will also be closely monitored, to
serve as an early warning indicator on the welfare of the poor. It should not go
beyond the bounds set for overall inflation, which is at 2 to 4 percent.

The unemployment rate will decline from the current 5.5 percent to 3-5 percent in
2022. Assuming a slight increase in labor force participation rate to 64.1 percent, this
implies that 950,000 to 1.1 million new jobs will be generated per year. Youth
unemployment rate will decline to about 8 percent from the current 11 percent2 . In
areas outside NCR (AONCR), emphasis will be on improving the quality of
employment. The underemployment rate in AONCR will be reduced to 16-18 percent
by 2022.

There will be greater trust in government and in society. The indicators for this will
need to be developed and then measured by the Philippine Statistics Authority for
2017 and 2022.

Individuals and communities will be more resilient. It should be noted that the
Philippines ranks fourth in terms of number of natural calamities faced in
1995-20153 . This is on top of risks from human-induced hazards like
ideologically-motivated conflict, criminality, house fires, etc. Building up resilience
involves reducing exposure to hazards, mitigating the impact of the risks, and
accelerating recovery if and when the risk materializes. An index will be developed,
considering the interplay of these three components; data will be collected to
estimate the baseline (2018) value and the value in 2022.

Filipinos will have greater drive for innovation. As measured by the Global
Innovation Index, the Philippines will rank among the top one-third by 2022 from
being in the top 60 percentile (74 out of 128 economies) in 2016. More individuals
will be encouraged to obtain knowledge, or acquire skills and expertise. There will be
more of the youth and adults (aged 15 and up) who will be engaged in employment,
education or training.

Strategies

The strategies to achieve the targets cited above fall under the three major pillars of
Malasakit,Pagbabago, and Patuloy na Pag-unlad. There are cross-cutting
strategies, as well, to support the other interventions and to provide a solid bedrock
for all strategies to work.

Enhancing the social fabric: The aim is to regain peoples trust in public institutions
and cultivate trust in fellow Filipinos.

NEDA LAUNCHES THE PHILIPPINE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

The National Economic and Development Authority launched the Philippine

Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022, the blueprint for the countrys development
under the Duterte Administration, in Pasay City, Friday.

Over 500 people from the public and private sectors attended the event, titled
Aksyon para sa AmBisyon: The Philippine Development Plan Expo.
The PDP 20172022 largely stems from the 0-10 point Socioeconomic Agenda. It is
the first of four medium-term plans that will work towards realizing AmBisyon Natin
2040, the collective vision of Filipinos over the next 25 years.

Now available online, the PDP has 21 chapters aimed at laying a strong foundation
for inclusive growth, a high-trust and resilient society, and a globally competitive
economyall of which will enable Filipinos to achieve their aspiration of a matatag,
maginhawa, at panatag na buhay.

The said plan is structured along the pillars of malasakit (i.e., enhancing the social
fabric), pagbabago (i.e., inequality-reducing transformation), and patuloy na
pag-unlad (i.e., increasing growth potential).

The PDP has set targets that the government aims to achieve.

By 2022, the Philippines will be an upper-middle income country. The growth rate
of GDP is set at 7 to 8 percent in the medium term.

Overall poverty rate is targeted to decline from 21.6 percent in 2015 to 14 percent
by 2022. Poverty incidence in rural areas is intended to decrease from 30 percent to
20 percent for the same period.

The unemployment rate will also go down to 3-5 percent by 2022 from 5.5 percent
in 2016.

Other targets are higher trust in government and society, more resilient individuals
and communities, and a greater drive for innovation.

Embedded in the PDP are bedrock strategies that provide the necessary
environment for the plan to work. These include achieving peace and security,
accelerating infrastructure development, building resilient communities, and
ensuring ecological integrity.

We already have the goal. Now heres the plan to turn AmBisyon Natin 2040 into
reality, Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning Ernesto M. Pernia said.

Senator Loren Legarda, National Competitiveness Council Chairperson Guillermo Luz,

and Dean Dennis Mapa of UP School of Statistics were present in the Expo and spoke
on the pillars of the PDP.

The Expo also featured booths showcasing the strategies set in the PDP, as well as
plans and ongoing programs of government agencies.
 NEDA LAUNCHES THE PHILIPPINE DEVELOPMENT PLANA
BOARD APPROVES PHILIPPINE DEVELOPMENT PLAN
2017-2022

February 21, 2017

MANILA During its third meeting under the administration of President Rodrigo R.
Duterte, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board officially
approved the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 on February 20, 2017 at
Malacanan Palace.

The Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022 is the first medium-term plan to
be anchored on a national long-term vision, or AmBisyon Natin 2040, which
represents the collective vision and aspirations of Filipinos for themselves and for
the country. The PDP also takes off from the Administrations 0-10 point
Socioeconomic Agenda and is informed by inputs from the cross-section of
stakeholders and the general public.

By the end of 2022, Filipinos will be closer to achieving their long-term aspirations.
Through this PDP, the current Administration will lay a solid foundation for inclusive
growth, a high-trust society, and a globally-competitive knowledge economy by
grounding its development thrusts on Malasakit, Pagbabago, and Patuloy na
Pag-unlad, said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia during his
presentation at the NEDA Board meeting.

The Philippine Development Plan contains seven main parts, which include an
overview of the economy, development challenges that lie ahead, and development
strategies thoroughly articulated through chapters on Enhancing the Social Fabric,
Inequality-Reducing Transformation, Increasing Growth Potential, Enabling and
Supportive Economic Environment, and Foundations for Inclusive and Sustainable
Development.

Targets

As identified in the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, growth in gross

domestic product (GDP) is expected to strengthen at 7 to 8 percent in the medium
term. Growth is also expected to be more inclusive, where overall poverty rate is
targeted to decline from 21.6 percent to 14 percent, and poverty incidence in rural
areas to decrease from 30 percent in 2015 to 20 percent in 2022.

The government also identified in the PDP its target of reducing unemployment rate
from the current 5.5 percent to 3 to 5 percent by 2022. Included among the targets,
also, are higher trust in government and society, more resilient individuals and
communities, and a greater drive for innovation.
We want the Philippines to be an upper-middle income country by 2022. With the
right policies and with mutual trust between government and the citizenry, this is
very possible, said Secretary Pernia.

Strategies

The Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 is founded on three main pillars. First
is Malasakit, which aims to regain peoples trust in public institutions and cultivate
trust among fellow Filipinos. Strategies under Malasakit include promoting
awareness of anti-corruption measures, improving the productivity of the public
sector, implementing regulatory reforms, increasing access to legal aid, pursuing
corrections reform, and promoting culture-sensitive governance and development.

Second is Pagbabago, or inequality-reducing transformation through increasing

opportunities for growth of output and income.

Opportunities in agriculture will be expanded. We will increase our presence in the

global market, and we will streamline bureaucratic processes for both local and
foreign businesses, said NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon, who presented
to the NEDA Board the PDP strategies.

Also under this pillar, we will pursue strategies such as achieving quality and
accessible basic education for all, enhancing disaster risk reduction and management
(DRRM) mechanisms, and adopting universal social protection, added
Undersecretary Edillon.

Third, Patuloy na Pag-unlad concentrates on increasing potential growth through

sustaining and accelerating economic growth, this will be done by maximizing the
demographic dividend and vigorously advancing science, technology and
innovation.

Strategies under this pillar will ensure maintaining macroeconomic and financial
stability, and observing fiscal prudence while the tax system is being reformed into a
much simpler, fair and equitable one. According to NEDA, a strategic trade policy
will also be implemented alongside measures to promote competition and establish
a level playing field.

Meanwhile, under these three pillars lie four cross-cutting bedrock strategies, which
are, (1) attaining just and lasting peace, (2) ensuring security, public order and safety,
(3) accelerating strategic infrastructure development, and (4) ensuring ecological
integrity and a clean and healthy environment.

Furthermore, to set the direction for future growth, the PDP 2017-2022 espouses a
National Spatial Strategy (NSS), recognizing that population, geography, and cities
are engines of economic growth. The NSS was adopted to identify specific strategies
and policies in order to decongest Metro Manila, connect rural areas to key growth
areas, and to improve linkages between settlements for higher resilience against
natural disasters.
The PDP 2017-2022 also gives special attention to Overseas Filipinos (OFs) and their
families. It identifies strategies and policies that will work to protect the rights of
overseas Filipinos, improve their quality of life, and integrate them into the countrys
development.

NEDA Board members who moved for the approval and adoption of the Plan
expressed appreciation to NEDA for the efforts to formulate the PDP. Secretary
Pernia however clarified that the PDP is not the sole work of NEDA, but is an
interagency effort, as mandated by the Memorandum Circular issued last October 24,
2016. The Philippine Development Plan is the product of a Steering Committee
composed of Cabinet Secretaries and technical working groups across agencies, he
added.

In expressing his support for the PDP, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez said
that the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 is close to a masterpiece, and is
unlike any other medium-term development plan I have read.

Following NEDA Board approval, the NEDA will draft an Executive Order that
mandates all government agencies to align respective programs, projects and
activities with the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022.

The NEDA will work closely with national government agencies to prioritize identified
policies and programs in order to further the countrys development goals. The
NEDA will also be monitoring progress with various inter-agency committees, and
will be reporting regularly its accomplishment of outputs and outcomes through
Socioeconomic Reports.

Culture and Arts of the Philippines

Culture & Arts

The arts of the Philippines reflect a society with diverse cultural influences and
traditions. The Malayan peoples had early contact with traders who introduced
Chinese and Indian influences. Islamic traditions were first introduced to the Malays
of the southern Philippine Islands in the 14th century. Most modern aspects of
Philippine cultural life evolved under the foreign rule of Spain and, later, the United
States. In the 16th century the Spanish imposed a foreign culture based in
Catholicism. While the lowland peoples were acculturated through religious
conversion, the Muslims and some upland tribal groups maintained cultural
independence. Among those who were assimilated arose an educated elite who
began to establish a modern Filipino literary tradition. During the first half of the
20th century, American influence made the Philippines one of the most Westernized
nations in Southeast Asia. The cultural movements of Europe and the United States
profoundly influenced Filipino artists, even after independence in 1946. While
drawing on Western forms, however, the works of Filipino painters, writers, and
musicians are imbued with distinctly Philippine themes. By expressing the cultural
richness of the archipelago in all its diversity, Filipino artists have helped to shape a
sense of national identity. Many Malay cultural traditions have survived despite
centuries of foreign rule. Muslims and upland tribal groups maintain distinct
traditions in music, dance, and sculpture. In addition, many Filipino artists
incorporate indigenous folk motifs into modern forms.

A. LITERATURE

The indigenous literature of the Philippines developed primarily in the oral tradition
in poetic and narrative forms. Epic poems, legends, proverbs, songs, and riddles
were passed from generation to generation through oral recitation and incantation
in the various languages and dialects of the islands. The epics were the most
complex of these early literary forms. Most of the major tribal groups developed an
original epic that was chanted in episodic segments during a variety of social rituals.
One common theme of the epics is a hero who is aided by benevolent spirits. The
epics that have survived are important records of the ancient customs of tribal
society before the arrival of Islam and Christianity. After the arrival of the Spanish,
Catholic missionaries employed indigenous peoples as translators, creating a
bilingual class known as ladinos. These individuals, notably poet-translator Gaspar
Aquino de Belen, produced devotional poetry written in the Roman script, primarily
in the Tagalog language. Later, the Spanish ballad of chivalry, the corridor, provided
a model for secular (nonreligious) literature. Verse narratives, or komedya, were
performed in the regional languages for the illiterate majority. They were also
written in the Roman alphabet in the principal languages and widely circulated.
Francisco Balagtas Baltazar, generally considered the first major Filipino poet, wrote
poems in Tagalog. His best-known work, Florante at Laura (Florante and Laura),
probably written between 1835 and 1842, is an epic poem that subversively criticizes
Spanish tyranny. This poem inspired a generation of young Filipino writers of the
new educated class, or ilustrados, who used their literary talents to call for political
and social reform under the colonial system. These writers, most notably Jose Rizal,
produced a small but high-quality body of Philippine literature in Spanish. Rizal's
novel Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not), published in 1886, and its sequel, El
Filibusterismo (The Subversive), published in 1891, helped to shape a new,
nationalist identity during the last years of the 19th century.The transfer of the
Philippines to United States control in 1898 resulted in a dramatic increase in literacy
and, consequently, literary production. A variety of new literary journals began to be
published. English-language Filipino novels, short stories, and poems were first
published in book form in the 1920s. Many Filipino authors have had distinguished
writing careers. Their works typically explore the Filipino cultural identity in the
context of social and political issues. Filipino authors often write in more than one
literary form and in more than one language. Major English-language works include
Winds of April (1940) and The Bamboo Dancers (1959) by N. V. M. Gonzalez; Many
Voices (1939) and Have Come, Am Here (1942) by Jose Garcia Villa; You Lovely
People (1955) and Scent of Apples and Other Stories (1980) by Bienvenido N. Santos;
The Laughter of My Father (1944) and America Is in the Heart (1946) by Carlos
Bulosan; Bitter Country and Other Stories (1970) by Rosca Ninotchka; The Woman
Who Had Two Navels (1972) and A Question of Heroes (1977) by Nick Joaquin; The
God Stealer and Other Stories (1968) and Tree (1978) by Francisco Sionil Jose A
Question of Identity (1973) by Carmen Guerrero Nakpil; and His Native Coast (1979)
by Edith L. Tiempo.

B. ART AND ARCHITECTURE

During most of the Spanish colonial period, the art and architecture of the
Philippines were strongly influenced by the patronage of the Roman Catholic Church.
Most art emphasized religious iconography. The church commissioned local
craftspeople, often skilled Chinese artisans, to construct provincial stone churches
with bas-relief sculpture and to carve santos, or statues of saints, and other
devotional icons in wood and ivory. The edifices, statues, and paintings of the period
show Chinese and Malay modifications of Spanish baroque, an elaborate and
detailed style.Philippine painters began to explore secular themes in the mid-1800s.
The painters Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccien Hidalgo produced works in the
romantic and early impressionist styles, achieving recognition in Europe. Painters of
the early 1900s-notably Fernando Amorsolo, Fabien de la Rosa, and Jorge
Pineda-produced romanticized landscapes, genre scenes, and portraits. In the late
1920s Victorio Edades, an American-trained painter, infused modernism into the
Philippine art world. Many Philippine painters who were influenced by American and
European modernism also experimented with it to reflect Philippine realities, such as
Carlos Francisco, Arturo Luz, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Vicente Manansala, and Hernando
Ocampo. Lee Aguinaldo and Fernando Zobel de Ayala achieved international
recognition in the 1960s and 1970s.Sculpture took on secular themes in the early
1900s. The major Filipino sculptor of the American colonial period was Guillermo
Tolentino, who trained in classical sculpture in Rome. In the 1950s Napoleon Abueva
pioneered modernism in Philippine sculpture. Many talented sculptors were active in
the following decades, notably Eduardo Castrillo, whose large welded-metal
sculptures are displayed in Manila's Memorial Park; Solomon Saprid, noted for his
expressionist series of mythical figures titled Tikbalang; and Abdulmari Imao, who
produced contemporary interpretations of traditional Muslim designs. More recently,
sculptors have tended to utilize ethnic artifacts and natural materials to produce
assemblages with social themes.In remote areas, tribal groups have preserved
traditional art forms such as woodcarving, textile weaving, bamboo and rattan
weaving, and metalsmithing. Artistic body adornments such as bead jewelry, body
tattoos, and headdresses are important indications of social status. In the northern
Philippines, the Ifugao people are known for their sculptural wood carvings of bulul
figures, which represent guardian deities. The figures are ritually placed in rice
granaries to bring a plentiful harvest. The terraced rice fields of the Ifugao are
considered a major architectural feat. The Ifugao built them over a period of
centuries by carving terraces into the mountainsides and reinforcing each level with
stone walls.The Muslim peoples in the south practice okir, a design tradition that
shows evidence of Indian and Islamic influences. Rendered in hardwood and brass,
the okir designs are mostly figurative, depicting animals, plants, and mythical figures.
The style is highly decorative, with long curvilinear lines and secondary arabesques.
The designs are based in the ancient epics and serve as significant cultural symbols.
An important motif of the Maranaos is the sarimanok design, depicting a bird
holding a fish in its beak or talons. Many okir designs are used as decorative
elements in architecture. The Muslim peoples of the Philippines are noted for their
metalworking skills, producing weaponry such as swords and decorative containers
in brass and silver.

C. MUSIC AND DANCE

Filipino classical musical compositions in many ways epitomize the blending of

multicultural influences. The compositions often embody indigenous themes and
rhythms in Western forms, such as symphonies, sonatas, and concertos. Several
composers and conductors in classical music have achieved international recognition,
including Antonio Molina, Felipe Padilla de Leon, and Eliseo Pajaro. Jose Maceda is
considered the first Filipino avant-garde composer, liberating Philippine classical
music from the traditional constructs of Western forms. Traditional types of music
are played on wind, string, and percussion instruments made from local materials.
These include the kulibit, a zither with bamboo strings and tubular bamboo
resonators; wooden lutes and guitars; and the git-git, a wooden three-string bowed
instrument. The Muslim peoples use these and other instruments to play complex
musical compositions that have been passed by memory from generation to
generation. Most Filipino communities remember the tunes and lyrics of traditional
folk songs. Tagalogs, for example, have more than a dozen folk songs for various
occasions, including the uyayi or hele, a lullaby; the talindaw, a seafaring song; the
kumintang, a warrior song; the kundiman, a love song; and the panambitan, a
courtship song. Some songs are accompanied by a specific folk dance.Formal training
in classical dance has been available in the Philippines since the 1930s. The first
noted Filipino choreographers in classical ballet were Leonor Orosa-Goquingco,
Remedios Totoy de Oteyza, and Rosalia Merino-Santos. Orosa-Goquingco is most
noted for her staging of Filipinescas: Philippine Life, Legend and Lore in Dance, which
toured the world in the 1960s. Merino-Santos later turned to modern dance and
founded the Far Eastern University Modern Experimental Dance Troupe. Other
dance companies include Ballet Philippines (formerly the Modern Dance Company),
Hariraya Ballet Company, Dance Theater Philippines, and Pamana Ballet (formerly
the Anita Kane Ballet Company). Several Filipino ballet dancers have achieved
international fame, including Maribel Aboitiz, Eddie Elejar, Lisa Macuja, and Anna
Villadolid.Choreographer Francisca Reyes-Aquino is recognized for pioneering
research in the documentation of Philippine folk dances and founding the Philippine
Folk Dance Society. She codified the folk dances into steps, directions, and musical
arrangements that are taught in physical education classes in most schools. Among
other folk dance troupes, the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company (formerly the
Bayanihan Folk Arts Center) and the Far Eastern University Folk Dance Group
perform stylized adaptations of folk dances in local and international tours. Informal
folk dancing is performed for a variety of occasions, such as harvests, weddings, and
religious celebrations. The Manila Symphony Orchestra accompanies many dance
performances. The Philippine Cultural Center in Manila provides an important venue
for the performing and applied arts.

D. LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS

In addition to the university libraries, the major libraries of the country are the
Manila City Library, the National Library, and the library of the Science and
Technology Information Institute, all in Manila. The Lopez Memorial Museum and
Library, in Pasay, has collections of paintings by major Filipino artists, as well as the
letters and manuscripts of Jose Rizal. The Santo Tomas Museum, in Manila, has
major archaeological and natural-history collections, illustrating the history of the
islands. The National Museum, in Manila, has divisions of anthropology, botany,
geology, and zoology, along with art collections and a planetarium.

Philippine culture now the focus of Asia Society in New York

By: Virgilio A. Reyes Jr. - @inquirerdotnet

05:18 AM December 25, 2016
Fernando Zobel, Doris Magsaysay- Ho, Loida Nicolas-Lewis

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of Asia Society (AS) with inter
alia, a special lobby installation of six decades in photographs, and an art exhibit
entitled In and Out of Context, highlighting selected historical and contemporary
works from the AS collection presented in a manner to trigger new ways to
understand them.

There were also panel discussions, including Asean: The next 50 years, and
Performing Asia: Legacy of Performing Arts at Asia Society.

AS and the Philippines have not always had the closest relationship, even though there
have been many former US ambassadors to the Philippines, such as Nicholas Platt,
Richard Holbrooke and Stephen Bosworth, who have served on its board in various
capacities.

Its founder, John Rockefeller III, was a pioneer in the collection of Asian art, with an
initial concentration on Chinese and Japanese art. Southeast Asian art, including
Buddhist sculptural art, would later figure, making AS a selective but important center
for the study of Asian art.

Philippine art has always been problematic for Asian art collections. It is barely (if at all)
represented in major art museums in Paris, London, Zurich and San Francisco. It has no
representative window in the New York Museum of Natural History, even if similar
ethnic groups such neighbors Malaysia and Indonesia are both duly represented.

The reason for this is that the Philippines colonial Hispanic heritage seems to make it
an anomaly in Asia. It has no great Hindu, Buddhist or even Sinic art that links it to the
mainland. As Dr. Fernando Zialcita points out, our culture is authentic but not
exotic.

Its unique style of earthquake baroque churches and bahay-na-batoalthough

some are now recognized by Unesco as world heritage monumentshave not stirred
the attention of denizens of Asian art who tend to think of Borobodur, Bagan and
Angkor Wat.

President Corazon C. Aquino with Asia Society president Robert B. Oxnam during her
visit toNew York in September 1986

Gold

It was only in 2015 that Philippine culture was featured in a major exhibit in AS, with
Philippine gold as focus. This served to emphasize the fact that the Philippines already
had high art, which could rival that of Java and Cambodia, in the 10th century.
The Boxer Codex clearly documented this, as well, as the now famous collections at
the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and Ayala Museum, pieces of which were featured in
the Asia Society exhibition.

With the establishment of Asia Society Manila in 1999, the Philippines is now firmly on
the map of audiences of Asian art and culture

This will be reinforced by the reopening of the renovated Philippine National Museum
in 2017.

Philippine personalities have been featured nevertheless. In the photo exhibit,

President Corazon C. Aquino is featured alongside Asia Society president Robert B.
Oxnam during her visit to New York in September 1986. She is quoted as thanking the
organization for being among the first to give her husband, Benigno Ninoy Aquino
Jr., a forum while he was in exile during the Marcos era.

In the photo, Aquino stands beside Mr. Oxnam and responds to a question about the
role of women in the revolution and in Philippine politics. My favorite song, she
quipped, is Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better.

There is also a picture of President Diosdado Macapagal and Eva Macapagal with King
of Thailand Phumipon (Rama IX) and Queen Sirikit.

In 2012, a lifetime achievement award was given to Washington Sycip at Asia Societys
Annual Dinner in New York. He was recognized for being a long-time supporter and
active advisor to Asia Society, for founding the organizations Philippine Center in 1999,
as well as helping establish the Asian Institute of Management and Sycip, Gorres and
Velayo in Manila.

Philippine craftsmanship has also been featured in the Asia Societys Shop AsiaStore,
with Wynn Wynn Ongs creations and Jewelmer golden pearls. A beautiful capiz floral
lamp hangs above the cashiers desk in the popular, trendy store.
Bea Valdes in Asia Society; her accessories sold in its shop.

The situation of arts and culture

BY KATRINA STUART SANTIAGO ON AUGUST 20, 2016

The recent events in our arts and culture institutions have made me think about my
relationship with these organizations, given how I stand in favor of its independence,
and against all these questionable government appointments.

See, the discipline I grew into in the academe was one that was critical of these
institutions, looking always at the ways in which these are created to perpetuate the
same forms and aesthetics that are primarily (arguably) based on the padrino system
a mentorship system that is about who you know, not what your skills are and
has a tendency toward keeping the opportunities (fame? fortune? haha!) within the
very small circle that the cultural establishment sustains.

The amount of time I started to spend writing about arts and culture as an
independent cultural worker forced me to study these institutions and keep track of
what they were doing, seeing that as reference point for the work happening
through private efforts, regardless of access to support.
Patronage and conflicts of interest
It is, of course, this lack of access to support that is the most dominant criticism
against the existing cultural institutions, specifically the National Commission for
Culture and the Arts (NCCA), given that it is the de facto Ministry of Culture under
the law. The National Endowment Fund for Culture and the Arts (NEFCA), for which
individuals, cultural organizations and institutions might apply for grants for their
projects, is under the NCCA.

For a long time, I was only interested in the Subcommission for the Arts, which has a
committee each for Architecture and Allied Arts, Cinema, Dance, Dramatic Arts,
Literary Arts, Music, and Visual Arts. I imagine all these committees had a tendency
to fall into the trap of patronage: it is easy to keep the same set of people in
positions of power, where names might change, but loyalties do not.

There was also something questionable, at least to me, about having private
businesses represented in an organization like NCCA. For example, the members of
the Committee for Dance are listed according to designation and region on the NCCA
website, and while the others are self-explanatory, i.e., University of Cebu Dance
Company, Sinukwan Training for the Arts, these dance companies are listed
alongside the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet, which to me does not fall under the same
category, business as that is.

It is also the same apprehension I have about having a Committee on Art Galleries
under the Subcommission on Cultural Heritage, when galleries are generally
privately owned.

Transparency and diversification

How exactly are the members of these committees chosen, and who exactly are
marginalized by these choices?

Is it possible for those in the sectors to vote in a representative, even when they are
not part of any artist organization, or are not, uh, well-connected? Is there
representation across generations of artists and scholars? Is there a better way of
ensuring better, more honest representation across the sectors, since so many of us
are not organized?

It would be interesting to find out how exactly each committee on the different arts
goes about its task of promotion because that is their mandate or is that limited
to actually picking the projects that will receive funding?

Its important to note that compared to the Subcommissions on Cultural

Communities and Traditional Arts, on Cultural Dissemination, and the
aforementioned one on Cultural Heritage, that it is the one on the Arts that has the
thinnest set of requirements. The other subcommissions actually deal with
conservation, education, research, cultural mapping among other specialized
activities.

Nowhere in the mandates and functions of all four Subcommissions and its individual
committees is there a sense that there is any place in the NCCA for critical work,
criticism, or critics.

Sadly, for our cultural institutions, organizations, sectors, that is no extraordinary

erasure.

(Even sadder? The Film Development Council of the Philippines under Briccio Santos
actually encouraged critical discourse. But thats gone now.)

Information and policy

The past three years or so, I have found it more and more interesting to go through
the projects that the NEFCA has funded, because it is that list that gives one a sense
of how NCCA fulfils its mandate of decentralizing the funding for cultural work. The
document for the past three years is easily accessible online, and should be critiqued
by anyone who wants to talk funding, sectoral support, decentralization and change.

This is the thing: I dont blame anyone who does not know whats going on with the
NCCA. The organization has a huge problem with communication and information
dissemination.

This is why NCCA has no real national character. We do not know what it does
exactly and toward what end. We do not know the leaders who are there,
disengaged as they are from the relevant issues of the day. Case in point, when
cultural workers talk about contractualization, or when musicians talk about getting
more OPM back on radio, why do we not hear the heads of the committees speak?
When we hear about art mafias, or the crisis of movie piracy, workers rights, why do
we not hear NCCA committee members shedding light on these issues?

This goes beyond making sure that information is disseminated. Its also about
ensuring that a national cultural policy which cuts across sectors and all cultural
workers, across all aspects of culture, artmaking, and creativity, is being created, is
evolving, and is being understood by the larger public. Its about having the artists
and academics within NCCA making the effort to speak to the public about why
culture is relevant, and how it dictates where we all stand on issues of the day.

The current climate of change, and the decision of the more ambitious among us
to wrest control of our cultural institutions by critiquing this before understanding
what it does, is telling of how NCCA itself failed to establish itself as the culture
ministry. This does not mean that it is not doing its job in fact, if anyone cares to
do research, there is pretty great work thats been done by the current leadership,
despite limitations. All it means is that there is not enough information about this
work being passed on to the public.

Which is sad, because it brings us to this critical juncture, when so few care that
government is ignoring our cultural institutions independence, and many imagine
that a Department of Culture is the way to go. What, allow a politico to control who
will get the NEFCA? Allow a politico to decide on affairs of culture?

Why would any self-respecting cultural worker want that?