Organisations in Cultural Policy

Organisations and Policies

• Organisations in the Philippines, such as the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), operate in between the explicit and implicit realms, created by law but not explicitly part of the country's cultural and film policies.
• Non-profit and non-government organisations, on the other hand, fall under implicit policies, operating outside of formal state programmes, but still seeking assistance from state institutions.

Government Structure and Culture

• The placement of culture within the government's structural system indicates the role society gives to culture and the role the state wants it to have.
• In the Philippines, having a ministry or department dedicated to culture implies a stronger commitment to decentralisation and higher fund allocation.
• The first culture department in the Philippines was established in July 1947, but it existed only within the Department of Education.

Evolution of Culture Departments

• Between 1975 and 2001, there were five name changes where culture became a department but only in a shared status with Education and Sports.
• From 2001, culture is back to being an adjunct agency of education or part of the school curriculum, as provided for by Republic Act No. 9155 or the Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001.
• Under Corazon Aquino's leadership, culture was given attention equal to that of other sectors, with the establishment of the Presidential Commission on Culture and the Arts (PCCA) in 1987, later renamed as the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in 1992.

National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA)

• The NCCA is the strongest and most successful initiative to create a Ministry or Commission on Culture separate from Education and Sports.
• The NCCA website claims that it may not have the name, but it is the "de facto Ministry of Culture."
• The NCCA structure works from the bottom-up, with elected committee members based on their sectoral representation, in contrast to the Cultural Center of the Philippines that operates top-down.

Film Industry and Policies

• There is a need for a cultural or film policy in the Philippines, despite the existence of institutions such as the NCCA.
• The absence of a written policy or legal basis allows exhibitors to pull out underperforming festival films in the box office and replace them with revenue-generating ones.
• The government's role is crucial in supporting the industry, with the appointment of Diño as the new FDCP chair, who comes from the industry and realises that government support is available but needs a proactive stance.

Leadership and Industry Development

• Leadership is as important as government resources in developing a sound policy that covers both cultural and economic values.
• The state and the industry need to work together in developing a policy that achieves industry growth and sustainability.
• Initiatives should come from both directions—top-down and bottom-up—through dialogue.