February is National Arts Month

Education for All is a global UNESCO policy to eradicate poverty that our government adheres to. In line with the 10-point agenda of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo linked to the UN Millennium Development Goals, where culture has been given due accord in the government’s Medium Term Philippine Development Plan, we congratulate NCCA for fleshing out this directive as it commemorates February as National Art Month with “Ani ng Sining” aptly signifying a season of harvest of the artistic genius of our race.

With the launching of the Philippine Arts Festival in government centers through a flag ceremony in Malacañang this Monday, 4th of February, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, likewise deserves applause for underscoring the significance of the Kalahi Cultural Caregiving Program linked with the Cabinet Poverty Alleviation Cluster targeting the marginalized sectors of society including the abused women and children and out-of-school youth. Expect a touching rendition of inspirational songs of youthful offender/inmates from Camp Sampaguita of the National Bilibid Prisons trained by Professor Jerry Dadap. They were given permission by DOJ Secretary Raul Gonzalez and General Calderon through the intercession of Assistant Solicitor General Carl Miranda to be part of the National Arts Month observance. UNICEF-Philippines Ambassador of Goodwill, Gary Valenciano, will join the singing prisoners in a rendition of Lead me Lord. Street kids from the district of Councilor Yul Servo, participants from DSWD Crisis Intervention Centers and other depressed areas of the National Capital Region will showcase the creative output of Kalahi, in an art exhibit joined by masterpieces of their teacher, Paeng Pacheco, Father of Finger Painting in the Philippines and AAP President Fidel Sarmiento to vividly display the potential of the arts in providing healing, capacity and confidence building as well as livelihood opportunities. This approach will be replicated in Congress, the Senate and the Supreme Court.

I am especially delighted that the Zarzuela version of my book, Something to Crow About, which was given an Aliw Award for Best Musical, will be featured in a tribute to a resident National Artist by the City of Makati led by Mayor Jejomar Binay. The production twinning the UST Conservatory of Music with the Philippine ITI Center-Earthsavers DREAMS Ensemble features the cockfighting choreography of National Artist Leonor Orosa Goquingco reprised by his son Benjie Goquingco including the masterful costumes of Filipinescas. Similar activities of Pagpupugay sa mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining sa Literatura will be done in Cebu, in Iloilo, in Ilocos Norte, and in Naga City coordinated by Vim Nadera of Likhaan Institute of Creative Writing. Also, a traveling exhibit of National Artists in Architecture begins at NCCA in Intramuros.

All over the country this month, we will be bombarded, not with weapons that destroy life, but with a barrage of entertaining-educational cultural performances, workshops, festivals and exhibits. From Jolo, Sulu and the Zamboanga Peninsula in the South to Cagayan Valley and Baguio City up North, the NCCA being the lead culture agency has laid out activities for this festival of harvest in the arts. Even the mass transport installations in Metro Manila will not be spared. Frequent users of the LRT and MRT will be surprised to see performances in train platforms and stations as well as view art pieces. Sayaw-Pinoy will be seen in major plazas, churchyards and parks. WebSining designs and Cinemaleta will be viewed in Gawad Kalinga-Baseco and selected barangays.

With the macro-economic fundamentals of the country in their highest, the culture and arts sector can be upbeat and anticipate a similar rise in patronage and the widening of the market for artworks, literature, cinema and the performing arts. Cecile Guidote Alvarez’ leadership of the NCCA Secretariat with the blessing of the NCCA Board under the chairmanship of DepEd Undersecretary Vilma Labrador in democratizing the right to culture by bringing the arts closer to the masses is worthy of applause. I have no doubt in the efficacy of the creative roadmaps laid out by the NCCA Arts Steering Committee and the newly elected stewards of the Arts SubCommission of NCCA. The recent Educational Summit Resolution carries appropriate recommendations of relevant creative arts training and use of Mother Tongue in early childhood education. Arts applied as a force for education will lead to a continuing harvest of the wealth of the country’s cultural diversity generating the collective pride in our history, heritage, habitat and language.

This is what we desire all along — that the Philippines breaks through from the seeming elitism in the field of culture and that the common Filipino will be given the chance to appreciate the richness of our traditions as a wellspring for contemporary arts expressions for social transformation and sustainable development.