Legarda Lines Up More Cultural Programs Thru Legislation

Following the inauguration of the new Hibla and Baybayin Galleries, Senator Loren Legarda said she has lined up more programs aimed at promoting and protecting the unique and diverse Filipino culture through proposed measures she has filed in the Senate.

During the program for the said inauguration held at the Museum of the Filipino People, Legarda, through the encouragement of National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Chairperson Felipe de Leon Jr., committed to filing a measure that will mandate government offices, departments and agencies to use Baybayin in their official logos.

De Leon said during his speech, “the Baybayin is something that we can be very proud of, because all over Asia they have their own scripts. It will be good if we can promote our baybayin in our calling cards, in the logos of the different agencies.”

Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Cultural Communities, immediately committed to filing a measure on the said proposal.

De Leon further said, “I would like to thank the senator for being the most culturally-enlightened in the Senate. Thank you very much Senator for doing this for the Philippine society, because the basis of identity is always culture. Maybe if you have to choose another career you will be an anthropologist because of your interest in really searching for the identity of a people.”

National Museum Director Jeremy Barns also thanked Legarda for her valuable support to the institution.

“We express our deep gratitude to Senator Loren Legarda for her vision, determination and strong support for the work of the National Museum and the role of this institution in our national life,” said Barns.

Legarda said that while she is proud of these galleries that showcase the ingenuity of Filipinos, she knows that there are a lot of issues regarding the promotion of culture and support for indigenous peoples that must be addressed.

The Senator has already filed several bills on Filipino culture and indigenous peoples (IPs), including the following:

·      Senate Bill No. 1391, which will create the Department of Culture;

·      Senate Bill No. 105, which seeks to preserve the country’s traditional folk arts through the regional museums of the National Museum;

·      Senate Bill No. 669, which seeks to safeguard the traditional property rights of IPs;

·      Senate Bill No. 515, which will ensure equal employment opportunities to IPs or members of Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs);

·      Senate Bill No. 534, which will include ethnic origin in the National Survey conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO); and,

·      Senate Bill No. 1357, which will prohibit profiling, violence and all forms of intolerance against persons based on ethnicity, race, religion or belief, language, disability or other status.