BY ANDREA E. SAN JUAN – JUNE 21, 2022
The bill which covers both creative goods and services, is now up for the signature of the President, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
At the 2022 Manufacturing Summit on Tuesday, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said that the Creative Industries Development Act is only a signature away from being enacted into law.
Senate Bill No. 2455, titled “Creative Industries Charter of the Philippines”, aims to foster inclusive growth through a creative economy by developing and promoting all economic activities based on human creativity, skill, and talent related to technology, arts, and culture.
SB No. 2455 highlighted that “the State shall establish a Creative Industries Development Council mandated to implement a long-term plan for the development and promotion of the Philippine creative industries, with programs aimed at creating opportunities and employment, nurturing human resources, ensuring financial-enabling mechanisms, and providing incentives to encourage and sustain Filipino excellence in the creative industries.”
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has always vowed to support the creative industry—a sector seen generating high-value activities and job opportunities in its bid to recover post-pandemic.
In fact, last year, Trade Undersecretary Rafaelita M. Aldaba said that the DTI Competitiveness and Innovation Group had been implementing a program dedicated to shaping the creative sector.
Further, Aldaba pointed out last year that “leveraging on our cultural richness, highly skilled content artists and creators and their use of new technologies, we can transform the creative industries to thrive and fuel our economic recovery and growth.”
In 2021, she said, the Trade department worked with the Philippine Statistics Authority in coming up with the Philippine Creative Industries Satellite Account to address the lack of official industry data.
She also emphasized last year that the creative industries are at the crossroads of art,culture, business and technology.
For their part, American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (Amcham) lauded the progress of the measure. It emphasized that they are looking forward to the passage of the Creative Industries Development Act, which is seen to further expand the creative sector’s economic contribution.
In 2021, Amcham said that the passage of the legislation creating strong institutional bodies, plans and incentives at the national and local level is crucial to achieving the Philippine goal of becoming the top creative economy in the Asean region in terms of size and value by 2030.
The creative sector includes audio and audiovisual media, creative services, cultural sites, design, digital interactive media, performing arts, print and publishing, traditional cultural expressions and visual arts.