Legarda vows to push more programs developing PH arts and culture

Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda vowed to continue upholding projects that aim to enrich and preserve Philippine arts, culture, and traditions.

During her keynote speech at the opening of the “Buhay na Dunong: Bukal ng Sining” Schools of Living Traditions Exhibit at the Metropolitan Theater – Gallery, Legarda said that the present shall not erase the past.

“Sa panahon ngayon na kay bilis ng modernisasyon, hindi natin hahayaan na lang na maibaon sa limot ang mga kayamanan ng ating nakaraan,” Legarda asserted.

“Nagsasagawa tayo ng iba’t ibang programa upang itaguyod ang mga buhay na tradisyon bilang isang paraan ng pagpapahalaga sa ating kultural na pamana habang nagbibigay rin ng kabuhayan sa mga katutubong komunidad,” she added.

To continue commemorating National Arts Month, the NCCA, along with the Office of Senator Loren Legarda, as well as the Culture and Arts Managers of the Philippines (CAMP) Pag-ayo, Inc., formally opened the exhibit on Thursday and will last until the end of the month.

It is an extension of the “Buhay na Dunong: Bukal ng Sining Aklan Piña Handloom Weaving Exhibit” launched last February 6 at the Senate building in Pasay.

Currently, there are 29 Schools of Living Traditions (SLTs), all of them supported by Legarda.

“Isa sa pangunahing adhikain ko ang pagpapahalaga at pangangalaga sa ating sining, kultura, at mga tradisyon,” remarked the four-term senator.

“Bawat pagbisita sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng ating bansa, bawat pakikisalamuha sa mga katutubo, ay nagdulot sa akin ng isang makabuluhang pag-unawa sa potensyal at ganda ng kanilang mga likha na siyang bumubuo ng ating masiglang kultura at humuhubog sa ating pagka-Pilipino.”

Ever since her first term as senator in 1998, Legarda has pushed for the development and support of SLTs to ensure the transfer of artisanal talent to the next generation to preserve and elongate arts and culture.

To continue ensuring the importance of arts and crafts in many cultural communities, Legarda filed Senate Bill 624, which seeks to establish the Institute for Living Traditions.

Its aim is to ensure the viability of the great arts and crafts traditions in many cultural communities, with priority given to worthy practices in danger of extinction.

Legarda has also supported the development of cultural villages of the Ata-Talaingod, Mandaya, B’laan, and Bagobo Tagabawa in their SLTs.

“Hinihikayat ko rin kayo na bigyan ng sapat at tamang pangangalaga ang ating kalikasan dahil ang ating sining at kultura ay konektado sa ating kapaligiran,” told Legarda.

“Dito nagmumula ang mga materyales na ginagamit ng ating mga kultural na manggagawa at mga katutubo sa paglikha ng magaganda at dekalidad na mga produktong sumisimbolo sa ating pagka-Pilipino,” she concluded. (End)