House panel okays Baguio special high school for arts bills

PARTICIPANTS join “Art in the Park”  2022, an  event collaborated by Baguio Environment and Tourism offices,  Pasakalye Group of Artists, and DOT-CAR. The event is part of the iBagiw festival held at Wright Park to  promote creative tourism and encourages interactive participation in arts activities in  Cordillera particularly visual arts, music, dance among others. The event started  Nov. 23 and ended  Nov. 26. -- Neil Clark Ongchangco

By Gaby Keith

BAGUIO CITY -- The House committee on basic education and culture has approved a bill that seeks to create a special high school for the arts in the Summer Capital.
    Baguio Rep. Mark Go refiled House Bill (HB) 974 that seeks to establish the Baguio City High School for the Arts.
    The bill seeks to nurture the creative talents of young artists and support the city's long-standing heritage of folk arts and crafts. This bill was passed by the House of Representatives in the 18th Congress.
    The bill would support the city's commitment to uphold its creative and cultural traditions and provide sustainable livelihood to its local artisans.
    Baguio became the first Philippine city to be inducted into the Unesco Creative Cities Network in 2017, which recognizes cities with rich cultural heritage, and that recognize creativity as a major factor in their urban development.
    Once signed into law, the school will be administered and supervised by the Department of Education, in close coordination with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). The NCCA and CCP will provide policy direction and technical assistance to the school through the DepEd-Cordillera Administrative Regional Office and Baguio City's Schools Division Office.
    Go said the approval of HB 974 will be a significant milestone for Baguio, a city that is known for its strong cultural traditions and highly values its creative industries. He added that a formal academic institution focused on the arts would help ensure long-term sustainability in the creative sector in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
    The City of Pines is home to a bustling creative tourism and artistic community and counts National Artist Benedict "Bencab" Cabrera and famed director Kidlat Tahimik as long-time residents.
    "The city has been recognized by the global initiative for its crafts and folk arts expressions which not only showcase indigenous talents, but also provide sustainable livelihood to many residents through the city's local trade and creative tourism economy," Go said.
    "Culture and the arts are essential to the holistic development of society. As such, it is important to inculcate in the youth the value of the arts, to give them an avenue for their creative pursuits, and to introduce them to real world opportunities in the creative sector."