House bill to pay tribute to artists in civil service

A Las Piñas Congresswoman intends to pay tribute to the increasing number of government employees with special talents in culture and arts through the creation of the Artists Career Service (ACS).

The move is embodied in House Bill 783 filed by Rep. Cynthia Villar which recognizes the significant growth of "artists" in the bureaucracy for the past years especially in the fields of music, literature, visual arts, film and media arts, architecture, theater and dance.

In a statement, Villar said the proposed creation of the Artists Career Service is geared to attract artists to stay or join the government work force and to provide for recognition and reward of artistic performance, productivity and creativity within the context of government service.

Villar explained the ACS will provide the basic structure of the artists’ career path, as well as their promotion and reward system based on their different levels of talent and creativity.

"ACS will address the problem of ‘artists’ in civil service. At present, they only attain the highest position as government employees by becoming administrators and leaving their craft. Sadly, this situation affects the artistic units in the bureaucracy and the civil service in turn, loses a great deal of people who have a passion for culture and arts," Villar said.

With the passage of the measure, Villar said the career progress of the best artists will be conferred through appropriate ranks rather than position. The ACS is closely patterned after the Scientific Career System where scientists ascend the career ladder as scientists rather than administrators, she said.