Opening Remarks of Senator Loren Legarda during the Hearing of the Committee on Culture and the Arts (January 15, 2025)

Opening Remarks of Senator Loren Legarda
Committee on Culture and the Arts
15 January 2025

In my four terms in the Senate, there is a question I have often heard, lingering like a quiet challenge: “Nakakain ba ang kultura?”

This question reveals a deeper tension—not simply a matter of policy or funding, but a challenge of perspective.

In a world where many struggle to put food on the table, where natural disasters test our endurance, and where security is a fragile promise, why, you may ask, are we gathered here today to talk about culture? Even in the deliberations for the 2025 budget, I found myself compelled to confront this question—not just through words but conviction—to show that culture is not a footnote in the narrative of progress, nor is it an indulgence or an expendable item to be pushed to the margins.

Because the simple truth is this: yes, culture feeds us, and it nourishes us in ways far beyond the physical. Let us begin with what is tangible. Culture fuels economies. Picture the Sinulog Festival, where the streets of Cebu come alive with a sea of colors, drumbeats, and devotion. Beyond its artistry, it draws thousands of tourists, sustaining livelihoods for artisans, small vendors, tour guides, and entrepreneurs. Our creative industries show us that culture is not merely an expression of identity, but an engine of empowerment.

But, much more than an economic driver, culture is also the glue that binds us as a people. Consider the recent Translacion or the annual Feast of the Black Nazarene. To some, it may appear as a religious tradition, but to millions, it is an act of solidarity, reminding us that collective strength flows from shared practices and faith. For in the face of trials, culture always presents itself to be our refuge.

Culture also holds answers to the many challenges of our time. Look to the Isneg people from the Province of Apayao, which has been recently included in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve List, who has long upheld the Lapat system, a natural capital accounting practice that highlights sustainability, food security, and climate resilience—answers we seek yet find already alive in their wisdom.

And, perhaps most importantly, culture is our dignity. When the Maranao people rebuilt their torogans and madrasahs after the Marawi siege, they reclaimed far more than just structures, but their identity, pride, and humanity.

Ladies and gentlemen, at the heart of progress lies more than the will to survive—it is the courage to embrace our heritage and craft lives imbued with purpose and meaning. To dismiss culture is to strip humanity of its soul, reducing life to mere existence. But to enrich culture is to honor who we are and affirm the beauty, creativity, and connections that make life
truly worth living.

So I ask in return: Sino nga ba tayo kung wala ang kultura? Let this hearing affirm that protecting our culture is no abstraction but an investment in the Filipino people—not merely to sustain our bodies, but to nourish our spirit; not just to survive, but to truly live. ###