Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) Rep. Margarita Nograles has renewed calls to create a Department of Sports, Culture, and Arts which would focus on programs aimed at improving the country’s global standing in the field of sports, culture, and arts.
In filing House Bill 03597, Nograles cited a need to “create an inclusive body that will recognize a strong nation that focuses and recognizes our Filipino Athletes and Cultural Artists.”
The lawmaker said many Filipinos have been very successful in various international sporting events and have won global recognition for their contribution to promoting Filipino culture and arts.
If passed into law, the DSCA will have administrative and operational jurisdiction over the Philippine Sports Commission, the Games and Amusement Board, and the National Commission on Culture and the Arts which are all under the Office of the President.
Through the DSCA, Nograles hopes that Filipino athletes and artists will be given more incentives and will have better economic opportunities.
“It is incumbent upon our government to establish a unified national sports, culture, and arts body to incentivize our Filipino athletes, coaches, and cultural artists to ensure and facilitate wider participation in domestic and international competitions and performances,” the bill stated.
“In order to carry out the policies and purposes of this Act, the Philippine Sports Commission, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, are hereby attached to the Department of Sports, Culture, and Arts in addition to the power and functions herein provided, “ it added.
Nograles personally went to Cambodia in the recently concluded South East Asian Games to watch the performance of Filipino athletes and lamented that they lack the necessary support which would help them perform better in international sporting competitions.
In her proposal, Nograles said the DSCA shall exercise the following powers and functions:
*Formulate, recommend, and implement national policies, plans, programs, and guidelines that will promote the development and harness the potential of all Filipino athletes, coaches, and cultural artists with due consideration to their welfare and success as national athletes and
cultural artists competing and performing locally and in the international environment;
*Plans, implement, and oversee integrated sports, culture, and arts promotion and development program for the country, in coordination with the various sector involved in sports, culture, and arts including but not limited to the national sports association, sports organization, and private corporation;
*Establish and maintain linkages with international sports federations, national sports organizations of other countries, and international non-governmental organizations.
*Establish, develop, and maintain world-class fully-equipped sports facilities and centers in strategic places in the country and, as far as practicable, include modern sports complexes adequate for major international competitions;
*Acquire, use, and control any land, buildings, facilities, equipment, instruments, tolls, and rights required or otherwise necessary for the accomplishment of the objective of the department;
*Acquire, own, possess, regulate, and dispose of any real or personal;
*Adopt, prepare, and implement comprehensive and detailed 50-year sports, culture, and arts development plan and work for its adoption and implementation;
*Establish national asset management and registry program in determining important cultural properties, historical sites, archeological sites, and national cultural treasures of the nation to safeguard their intrinsic value;
*Ensure a sustainable funding mechanism for the implementation of sports, culture, and arts policies, plans, programs, projects, and other activities.
