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Sponsorship Speech DESIGN COUNCIL OF THE PHILIPPINES Senate Bill Number 2930 August 9, 2011 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: Today, I rise up to call for your support for the passage of Senate Bill number 2930, titled An Act Creating the Design Council of the Philippines and for other purposes. In calling for the passage of this bill and for the creation of this Council, we seek to recognize the world-class talents of Filipino designers in the various creative fields, and to harness the vast potentials of this sector. In so doing, we tap this valuable resource for our economic and social development initiatives, and allow it to take its rightful place in the arena of global creative excellence. And, if we dont act now, we face the specter of putting this important national resource to waste. Allow me to explain the basis for this call. Let me begin by underscoring an important fact that may have been hidden from our view. Fact: Design is a sunrise industry. Ladies and gentlemen, a decade or two ago, the term design simply referred to the creation of material products or improving its look. It has gone a long way since then. Today, the term Design has evolved into a new development paradigma discipline that several nations now see as a driver of economic growth, and a vital tool for shaping human interactions and social systems. Allow me to illustrate. The name of this outstanding Filipino is Kenneth Cobonpue. Kenneth, today, is a world-renowned Cebu-based furniture designer. He has won accolades following his ingenious integration of indigenous Philippine materials with modern production techniques. Because of the genius of his innovative design, he is not only bringing in ordinary economic returns. His products bring in what is called in economic parlance as very high value export earnings. Ladies and gentlemen, I stand here awed by the possibilities. Imagine if our country could multiply these returns a thousandfold by going beyond just lauding the success of one Kenneth Cobonpue, but empowering and leading more young Filipinos to achieve the same. Sayang kung hindi natin gagawin. Heres another story of the ingenuity of the Filipino designer. And this story is close to my heart because it impacted on the very work of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. During that crucial moment in our history, a group of young creative talents called the 2720 design studio compiled news articles and facts about the cases against the former Ombudsman, and transformed
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