RP is Asean’s cultural capital for 2010-2011; PGMA to speak at Clark Gab
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President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will be the keynote speaker Thursday during the joint 4th Meeting of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Ministers Responsible for Culture and Arts (AMCA) and the 7th
Senior Officials Meeting for Culture and Arts (SOMCA) to be held in Clark Education City in Pampanga.
The Philippines has been designated the cultural capital for 2010 and 2011 by the 10 member-countries of
Asean.
Patterned after the European Capital of Culture program started in 1985, the designation of the Philippines as
Asean’s designated cultural capital enables the country to showcase not only its cultural life and development
over the next two years but also to help use culture as a key element in the development of the country.
Singapore will be the next Asean culture capital for 2012 and 2013.
Along with the official meetings this week in Clark, the Philippines will also host the 4th Asean Festival of Arts
(AFA), which aims to promote Asean’s common identity and cultural diversity.
The successful projection of the Philippines in the Asean culturescape was made possible through the National
Commission for Arts and Culture (NCCA) headed by Executive Director Cecile Guidote-alvarez.
“It is also in conjunction with the twin observance of International Women and World Theatre Month coordinated
through the UNESCO-ITI. This is institutionalized under Presidential Proclamation No. 1262 by President Arroyo
to showcase the vigor of Philippine theatre as a meeting ground of all the arts dynamically applied to promote a
culture of peace, social justice and sustainable development as well as a radar screen to demonstrate our
wealth of heritage, history, habitat and indigenous traditions,” remarked Guidote-Alvarez, the 1972 Ramon
Magsaysay awardee for public service through the arts.
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Over 436,000 land jobs in gov’t Emergency Employment Programs
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The Arroyo administration has so far provided gainful employment to 436,322 Filipino workers under three
emergency programs created to cushion the impact of the global financial crisis on the people.
The figure represented 88.43 percent of the targeted 493,388 people to be given jobs under the government’s
Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (CLEEP) created under Memorandum
Circular 168.
In its latest accomplishment report to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the National Anti-Poverty Commission
(NAPC) said P10.32 billion, or 75.12 percent of the P13.74 billion allocation have been spent for the three
CLEEP employment programs as of last March 12.
Contributory factors to CLEEP’s success are the issuance of Executive Order (EO) No. 782 by the President last
year which enjoined government agencies to institute measures to assist workers affected by the global
financial crisis and temporary filling up of vacant government positions, as well as EO No. 783 which provided
for government interventions “to save and create jobs” as part of the Economic Resiliency Plan.
“In crisis situations, government intervention to extend relief and comfort to the people, particularly those most
vulnerable to hostile economic forces, can never be overemphasized,” Press Secretary Crispulo Icban Jr. said.
At least 32,410 workers landed jobs, courtesy of the two EOs, NAPC Secretary and lead convenor Domingo
Panganiban reported to President Arroyo.
On the other hand, the Youth National Service program created by EO 788 has recruited a total of 16,546
persons, aged 18 to 24, to undertake a two-year national service commitment with modest stipends through the
National Service Corps or the Youth Conservation Corps.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) turned out to be the biggest achiever in this department with 5,293 recruits,
about 4,000 of them coming from Metro Manila; followed by the Department of Public Works and Highways
(DPWH) with 4,495; the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DNR) with 4,390; and the
Department of Social Welfare an Development (DSWD) with 850.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) accounted for 1,498, while the Department of Education
(DepEd) reported only 20 recruits.
Icban said the three major job generation programs instituted by the President “were extremely relevant
considering the fact that not a few multinationals in the country collapsed under the sheer pressure of the global
economic meltdown.”
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