In the rolling hills, woven fibers, painted canvases, and spirited festivals of Catanduanes lies an economic force long overlooked: culture and the arts.
While roads and buildings signal visible development, it is the less tangible treasures—our songs, crafts, rituals, and performances—that hold the power to generate sustainable livelihood, deepen community pride, and uplift the province. Thanks to new national policy anchored in RA 11904, the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act, our cultural expressions are no longer seen as luxuries—but as pillars of the economy.
RA 11904, Section 2 affirms this shift:
“It is the policy of the State to promote and support the development of Philippine creative industries… aimed at creating opportunities and employment, nurturing human resources, ensuring financial-enabling mechanisms, and providing incentives to encourage and sustain Filipino excellence.”
What does this mean for Catanduanes?
It means that our musicians, weavers, dancers, playwrights, filmmakers, and visual artists are now part of a recognized economic sector—the creative industries—defined in Section 3 as those that “have a potential to create wealth and livelihood through the generation and utilization of intellectual property.”
The law goes further by mandating the creation of Local Culture and Arts Councils (LCACs) in every LGU. As stated in Section 22, these councils are tasked to:
“Formulate, plan, coordinate, implement, and assess policies, programs, activities, and projects that promote and develop the locality’s creative industries.”
This is where Catanduanes takes center stage.
The province, through a viable Catanduanes Creative Industries Development Plan (CCIDP), shall spearhead institutionalizing this vision—mapping local talents, organizing cultural councils, offering creative enterprise training, and preparing the legal infrastructure for sustainable support. In fact, through the Creative Voucher System (RA 11904, Sec. 14) and Creative Industry Development Fund (Sec. 19), even our smallest cultural endeavors can access aid, infrastructure, and market access.
Equally crucial is the foundational law of the NCCA, RA 7356, which mandates the preservation, development, and promotion of Filipino culture. Section 7 states:
“Culture shall be a human right. The State shall give equal importance to the preservation and development of culture as it gives to the economy.”
This powerful line reminds us that the arts are not peripheral—they are central. Every performance on a school stage, every festival celebrated in our barangays, every poem or painting that tells our story—is an investment in both cultural integrity and economic resilience.
In a time when many local economies are searching for identity and inclusivity, culture and arts offer a unique advantage: they are inherently local, rooted in heritage, but with universal appeal. They create jobs, empower youth, strengthen tourism, and reinforce a sense of belonging.
So, to the people and leaders of Catanduanes, this is a call not just to celebrate our culture—but to invest in it.
Let us build a province where art is not just performed—but protected. Where tradition is not just remembered—but reimagined. Where creativity is not just admired—but economically empowered.
Culture is not just who we are. It is how we move forward.