By EJ Roque/PNA
MANILA — Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Assistant Secretary Marie Rafael on Wednesday lauded the stronger promotion of Philippine culture and arts.
“With so much going on outside, may it be in politics, the rah-rah on principles and freedoms or economics and a hyper tri-media that make up most of what we read in the paper or see on social media and the news, the lesser publicized stories can be just as, if not more important, that’s of course, culture and the arts, where there’s not much bickering and bashing, less judgment, just simply gracious appreciation,” Rafael said in her speech at the 11th Ani ng Dangal awarding ceremony in Manila.
Rafael congratulated the awardees and lauded them for their creativity and preservation of culture.
“I congratulate the men and women who not only made a name in their respective fields of endeavor but who made our country proud through the expression of their creativity and even enhanced and preserved our country’s sense of place,” she said.
Rafael thanked Senator Loren Legarda for the stability in government fund allocation for the culture and the arts.
“Thank you for affording government funds for culture and the arts that made possible access to arts establishments and institutions and for providing resources for participation such as the arts festival and the prestigious Ani ng Dangal. We are positive that there will be no in-year cuts in the budget due to some political changes and priority spending settlement for the next three years,” Rafael said.
She also lauded and thanked the National Commission for Culture and the Arts for making the promotion of the country’s culture and arts “vibrant.”
