DRAFT BILL ON STRENGTHENING CULTURAL SENSITIVITY

This is a draft of a bill to raise interest on culture and develop the sensitivity of the Filipino people on art and culture, covering fine arts, music, film, theatre, and all the other arts. Please send in your comments to miravera2010@gmail.com.
or emmaorozco8008@gmail.com.

A LAW TO ENCOURAGE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CRITICAL FACULTIES OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE ON ART AND MUSIC

BY WILHELMINA S. OROZCO,
DIWATA SOCIETY OF WOMEN IN PHILOSOPHY AND EDUCATION

Whereas the existence of dynamic art and music fields in a country encourages the commitment of the people to democratic processes as they allow the truthful, untrammeled and politically-free expression of their artistic urges;

Whereas a nation is in need of artists and musicians who can reflect, through their products, the soul of her people, as well as their historical experiences;

Whereas art and music criticisms are important aspects for the development of these fields;

Whereas the Philippines has not come up with original and novel forms of art and music;

Whereas, mostly, the products of these fields reflect imitation if not adaptation of western forms, which although laudable, are still not enough;

Whereas a need exists for the country to develop original forms, whether based on indigenous art and music, or other wise, in order that the identity of the nation shall be recognized in artistic forms and soci-culturally as well;

Whereas art and music criticisms have been ignored and instead praise releases have been resorted to by media organizations;

Whereas instead of cultivating art and music criticisms, media have heavily emphasized advertising, a commercial undertaking which limits if not inhibits the exposure of art and music in general;

Whereas media has the capacity to develop the artistic and musical perspectives in order to review, point out, praise, encourage all artists to become novel, unique and original in their approaches to creation,

Whereas, exposure of the public in art and music criticism is in order to raise the level of cultural taste;

Whereas a need exists to bridge the gap between the cultural elite who have knowledge of critical perspectives and the audience groups majority of whom are just fed with scandal-ridden news of artists and performers;

Whereas the government is as guilty of blocking the development of critical art and music criticisms;

Whereas government institutions encourage panhandling instead of dignified sponsorships of art and music performances, exhibitions by providing advertising products in exchange for patronage, that showcase the faces of certain government officials especially those in the presidency, a form of feudal relationship that is anathema to the development of art and music that are free;


Ergo, It is hereby mandated that:

That the NCCA shall develop a system of raising the need and spaces, both print and air, for art and music criticisms;

That the NCCA shall require that at every performance, in all cultural venues, whether inside a building or outside, a review of exhibitions and performances shall be done in national papers, if they have been done in NCR, and in community and/or local papers if regional.

That broadcast stations shall devote 30% of their programming to cultural programs, and shall have critical reviews of all the art forms and music on a daily basis;

To encourage legitimate critics, 10% number of tickets for performances shall be reserved for media critics;

That writers/critics shall be compensated properly by media organizations;

That media shall reserve 20% of total salaries for media personnel to critics;

That they shall reserve 30% space for critical articles in the lifestyle section covering the different arts and music;

ergo, the NCCA is mandated to produce critical reviews on a regular basis in all the printed media and broadcast stations, allotting 30% of its budget for the purpose.

That every radio and tv station shall devote 20% of its programming to critical programs, showcasing knowledgeable critics and reviewers’ writings on relevant issues and events;

That media shall also devote space for feedback of audience on what they have seen and heard;

Whereas advertising in lifestyle sections where reviews and criticisms are usually carried shall be limited to 30% of its space in order to make the readers focus their mind and eyes on the substantial aspects.