Legarda opens National Arts Month 2026, calls for broader investment in Filipino creativity

Senator Loren Legarda, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Culture and the Arts, marked the opening of February as National Arts Month 2026 with a call to strengthen support for Filipino artists, artisans, and creative communities whose work keeps local culture alive and drives innovation across the country.

This year’s celebration carries the theme “Ani ng Sining: Katotohanan at Giting,” captures how artists and cultural workers confront contemporary challenges with courage and creative integrity, and how the arts shape communities, governance, and sustainable societies.

“Every February, we celebrate the soul of our nation through the arts. This year’s theme reminds us that truth and courage are lived through the creativity of our people. The arts continue to guide us toward justice, cultural strength, and progress,” Legarda said.

Legarda highlighted two key measures she recently authored and sponsored that have passed on Third and Final Reading in the Senate—the Aklan Piña Conservation and Innovation Center Act (Senate Bill No. 1425) and the Schools of Living Traditions Act (Senate Bill No. 1507).

“Through SBN 1425, we will establish the Aklan Piña Conservation and Innovation Center in Kalibo to expand the planting of Red Spanish pineapple, build facilities for research and innovation, and strengthen cooperation among weavers, farmers, and educational institutions,” Legarda said.

Legarda added, “SBN 1507 institutionalizes our Schools of Living Traditions (SLTs) as community based, intergenerational cultural education mechanisms. SLTs are sanctuaries of wisdom where cultural masters transmit knowledge to younger generations, ensuring that oral traditions, crafts, and rituals continue to inspire our future.”

Legarda’s long-standing work in culture and heritage policy includes major laws such as the National Cultural Heritage Act, National Museum of the Philippines Act, Philippine Creative Industries Development Act, Philippine Tropical Fabrics Law, Cultural Mapping Act, and National Music Competitions for Young among others—collectively designed to make the cultural sector a driver of employment, innovation, and inclusive development.

She also initiated the National Arts and Crafts Fair (NACF), launched in 2016, which continues to give local artisans national exposure and market opportunities. The 2025 edition, held at the Megatrade Halls of SM Megamall, featured over 300 exhibitors from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, showcasing how heritage and culture can sustain livelihoods while preserving tradition.

Legarda also recalled her vision to bring Filipino literary excellence and cultural pride to the global stage, building on her leadership at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2025, where the Philippines was Guest of Honour.

“When the Philippines stood as Guest of Honour in Frankfurter Buchmesse last year, we showed the world that our imagination and literary excellence articulate the Filipino identity and situate our stories at the heart of the global stage,” Legarda said.

“My vision is to continue opening doors for Filipino ingenuity to flourish and be celebrated at home and across continents,” Legarda added.

Beyond individual measures, Legarda’s legislative work has consistently pushed for culture to be integrated into education, local development, environmental protection, and economic planning, protecting indigenous traditions while creating more spaces for arts and cultural work to support communities.

National Arts Month 2026 thus becomes both a celebration and a call to action: to honor Filipino artistry, to uphold truth and courage, and to ensure that culture continues to shape a fair and sustainable society.

“Every work of art and every piece ofculture is part of the larger story of who we are as a people. When we stand beside the artists and cultural workers who keep that story alive, we also keep our future more imaginative, more just, and more humane,” Legarda said.

On Wednesday, February 4, Legarda will preside over the hearing of the Committee on Culture and the Arts on proposed cultural measures, namely, the Department of Culture Act, the NCCA Board Composition Expansion, the Philippine Music Industry Act, the Filipino Music Promotion and Usage Act, the Philippine Rondalla Training Program Act, the Philippine Culinary Heritage Act, and the Waling-waling Orchids as Second National Flower of the Philippines. (30)