UNESCO hails RP’s ‘good governance’

The Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has lauded renewed efforts by the Philippine government to stamp out graft and corruption and promote good governance through a "continued spirit of dialogue," noting that this will help eradicate poverty in the country.

In a letter to Philippine Ambassador and permanent delegate to UNESCO Hector Villaroel dated May 18, UNESCO Director-General Kolchiro Matsuura also hailed the country’s new cultural thrusts that "promotes dialogue, cultural diversity and protect artistic expression."

Matsuura particularly lauded President Arroyo for declaring May 2005 as "Anti-Graft and Corruption Awareness Month" through Proclamation No. 591 and 2005-2015 as the "Decade of Good Governance and Good Citizenship to Fight Corruption and to Eradicate Poverty" through Proclamation No. 828 — all intended, he said, to fight corruption and predicate poverty.

"I am heartened to learn that the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) of the Philippines, in close collaboration with the Office of the President of the Philippines, is organizing a week-long celebration of the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development" from May 23 to 29, Matsuura stressed.

NCCA Executive Director Cecille Guidote Alvares said the country’s contribution to the UNESCO celebration is the two-day NCCA Cultural Summit on "The Power of Arts and Media for Values Education" and "Breaking the Cycle of Corruption, Pollution, Poverty and Violence" from May 23 to 24 at the Manila Pavillion Hotel on UN Avenue, Manila, complemented by a youth comprehensive media value education campaign.

Among the President’s cultural priorities to be undertaken by the NCCA is the "Magna Carta for Artists" — a proposed law protecting the intellectual and artistic rights and properties of Filipino artists and cultural workers as well as their welfare and career path advancement — which now has the full support of Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., Alvares said.

Another is the "Debt-for-Culture Swap" — a creative policy spearheaded by the Department of Finance (DOF) that is designed to free up resources of debtor countries for much needed cultural conservation activities. The scheme enables the government to decrease economic burden by canceling debts to foreign countries in exchange for a commitment to mobilize resources to promote tangible and intangible Philippine cultural heritage and historic sites.

"Let me applaud the excellent initiative of your country, which helps bring the spirit of dialogue and development to the grassroots level and raise public awareness of cultural diversity and wish every success to the organizers of the event," the UNESCO chief added.

Alvarez said the Cultural Summit, approved and supported by the NCAA board chaired by Ambeth Ocampo, is consistent with President Arroyo’s program for "social transformation through culture and the arts."