Rep. Jose Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) assured on Thursday, September 28, that with the “creative” economic development mandated by law there will be an acceleration of digitalization and upskilling to help the creative sector in Negros Occidental.
In his speech during the kick-off ceremony of the Philippine Creative Industries Month at the University of Saint La Salle in Bacolod City, Thursday, September 28, he said that Republic Act No. 11904 or the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act (PCIDA) will help the Negrense creative sector.
“PCIDA creates the Philippine Creative Industries Development Council precisely to analyze market, cultural and demographic trends and changes, and adapt policies and programs to be able to address the varying and evolving needs of creative industries,” he said.
The lead agencies of the council are the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Science and Technology.
He added that the council is mandated “to accelerate digitalization in the creative sector, provide access to digital technologies, and promote digital upskilling to catalyze innovation in creative production and diversify creative expression”.
The celebration of the creative industries month in Western Visayas kicked off in Negros Occidental and the congressman said it is fitting for the province as it is home to artist and artisans and a “source of talent and a bellwether of style and taste.”
“We Negrenses have been weaving and trading fabrics, cooking and eating rice cakes, painting and selling portraits, composing and singing songs and poems long before “creative economy” was invented,” he said.
There is no creative economy without the “creatives” – the artists, artisans, content creators, curators, design professionals, production crew, and creative entrepreneurs, he added.*