Albay Representative Joey Salceda introduced Bill 10613 or the “Build, Build, Build for Creative Industries” measure, stating that “the future of Philippine exports rests on the service industries, including culture ”.
As early as February 2020, he proposed the creation of the House panel on creative industries in a cheat sheet to House leadership, citing the Philippines must invest in its cultural industries “similar to what Korea has done in the United States. following the Asian financial crisis of 1997 Crisis, as a means of diversifying their economy then dependent on manufacturing.
“Culture is resilient. It is crisis proof. When one aspect of it, such as tourism, suffers, other alternatives such as art and digital content may emerge. This is why the creative industries are an excellent protection against economic crises, ”he stressed.
He cited successes in Europe and South Korea in promoting the creative sector.
“In the European Union, the creative sector represents 4.4% of the GDP. In South Korea, the creative sector contributes around 2% of the economy and also stimulates Korean tourism, with around 55.3% of all inbound tourism linked to its creative sector, as evidenced by the Hallyu wave or culture K. It is useful to note that these countries are also highly industrialized, where high value-added manufacturing and services are dominant, ”he said.
“In fact, K-Pop was one of the most resilient sectors of the Korean economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Only one group, BTS, contributed $ 4.9 billion to the Korean economy during the pandemic.
As a perspective, this is half of the entire Philippine pre-pandemic tourism economy, ”he added.
He noted, however, that “in the Philippines, the lack of a framework to support creatives has resulted in a sector that can sometimes be a significant contributor to the economy, but whose revenues can suddenly collapse in the event of a problem. crisis “.
“Although it is estimated that creatives contribute, directly or indirectly, between 4 and 7% of the GDP, the Creative Economy Council of the Philippines estimates that the sector lost 90% of its income during the COVID-19 pandemic. This, if ever, would make the sector one of the hardest hit sectors of the economy, ”he said.
He said that in the Korean model, “resilience seems to be due to large public investment.”
According to Salceda, a whole ecosystem of public support has been built to strengthen K-culture.
A division of the Korean Ministry of Culture, the Popular Culture Industry Division, focuses on Korean pop music, fashion, mass entertainment, comics, cartoons and other key products.
“Its budget is $ 5.5 billion, with the aim of stimulating economic growth, in particular by developing the country’s cultural industry export industry,” he noted.
According to Salceda’s proposal, a National Creative Industries Investment Program, or Build, Build, Build for the Creative Industries, would be created as a roadmap for public support in the sector.
“A model of excellent restoration of cultural infrastructure is the Metropolitan Theater or the MET, which has regained its former glory. Once people get more comfortable with the crowds, I expect this to be the country’s premier venue for avant-garde art and culture. It will be a success, ”he said.
