The Philippines: 1st ASEAN Culture Capital

No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive. It is with this thought that we take pride in being the 1st ASEAN Culture Capital. This honor gives the Philippines the opportunity to be at the forefront of promoting intercultural exchange among member states and engagement among artists which allows for the cultivation of a long-lasting friendship for peace and sustainable development.

Such was seen as the Philippines hosted the recently-concluded ASEAN Festival of the Arts and the 4th Ministerial Meeting on Culture +3. The four-day event served as a venue in showcasing the wealth of cultural diversity in the region. Together with the Philippines, countries such as Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam exhibited their most colorful representations of their respective arts and traditions.

Camaraderie through the celebration of cultural diversity was a dominant theme throughout the event. We found joy in the image seen at the Clark Bio-Cultural Diversity Park where Ministers planted trees to the rhythm of the PUP Banda Kawayan surrounded by sail paintings from Baler, Bohol and Boracay. We were touched by the appeal to stop violence against mankind and Mother Earth made by the differently-abled Earthsavers DREAMS Ensemble (recognized as UNESCO Artists for Peace), the Ambassadors of Light, the Cardona Bottle-playing Youth Group, the indigenous young artists from Tempaken Cotabato, the Bukidnon State University Chorale and the Tatalon Gawad Kalinga. We saw a sense of cooperation as Ministers and the 10,000 spectators stood up and joined the pledge to fight global warming and end armed conflict; candles were lit and doves were released to heighten the ASEAN Call for Peace.

The Festival stood as a unique intercultural gathering manifesting ancestral roots to new artistic routes of expression. We applaud the efforts of Cecile Guidote Alvarez, NCCA Artistic Director, for conceiving an event that highlighted the Philippines as a haven of cultural diversity. Culture is indeed integral to every nation, thus we commend any administration that gives importance to promoting our own and sees the value in appreciating others. We acknowledge the support given by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo through an administrative order that created a national organizing committee led by the DFA and the NCCA to launch and actualize a two-year framework as ASEAN Cultural Capital.

The President has also recently signed the Heritage Bill primarily sponsored by Sen. Edgardo Angara. What is interesting to note, is that this bill was passed with the assistance of Senators Richard Gordon, Loren Legarda and Mar Roxas among others – a testament that where politics divides, the Arts can heal and unite a nation.

We appreciate that steps toward promoting culture and diversity are continuously being made and developed. We believe that culture and the arts are essential in achieving the appeal for unity to advance the welfare of our people. After all, a nation that does not promote its culture is like a man who does not give importance to his soul.