GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The provincial government of South Cotabato is working on the creation of a special body that will manage local programs and activities on arts and culture.
Indira Cagaanan, acting head of the South Cotabato Arts, Culture, Tourism and Museum (ACTM) development promotions unit, said Thursday preparatory works are underway for the establishment of the province’s Culture and the Arts Council.
She said the move was based on an endorsement made by the Provincial Development Council’s Social Development Committee (PDC-SDC).
Cagaanan said their office was tasked to draft an Executive Order for the creation of the council that will be signed by Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes.
Evelyn Fantilanan, PDC-SDC secretary, said the establishment of the council was provided for in Memorandum Circular 2017-133 issued by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on September 29 last year.
It mainly enjoins local government units to legislate for the establishment of their own Local Culture and the Arts Council (LCAC).
The province’s culture and arts programs and activities are handled by the ACTM office in partnership with South Cotabato Culture and the Arts Foundation Inc. (SCCAFI).
SCCAFI is privately-run group composed of representatives from local culture and arts groups, artists and other stakeholders.
Fantilanan noted that with the DILG issuance, it is only proper for the province to create its own LCAC.
Citing the DILG memorandum, she said the proposed council will be headed by the governor as chair and composed of 21 members.
It will involve representatives from various sectors such as local government offices, national line agencies, private and business institutions, academe, professional groups, indigenous peoples, non-government organizations, artists, cultural workers and other stakeholders.
She said its primary function is to prepare an annual plan on culture, arts and cultural heritage that will complement with the Philippine Development Plan for Culture and the Arts.
“These will be integrated in the local development plan and considered in the annual appropriation ordinances,” she said.
Fantilanan said the LCAC is also tasked to coordinate programs and recommendations that will help develop and sustain local cultural and artistic talents, cultural industries, traditional and contemporary arts and crafts and their processes.
It will coordinate with the appropriate affiliated cultural agencies of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts for the conservation and monitoring of national cultural properties found in the area, she said.
“It will facilitate the conduct of cultural events such as festivals, competition, lectures, seminars and symposia as well as identify other programs and activities for the promotion of cultural heritage and arts,” she added. (PNA)
