Apart of the Filipino left for dead for over four decades is re-emerging as a force to be reckoned with.
Philippine culture and investments have been marred by the edifice complex borne of a dark past. But years of neglect did not deter industry stalwarts from finding ways to survive.
The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) is in the middle of a much-need facelift while private theater halls such as Resorts World Manila have found new ways to cater to the Filipino’s artistic palate.
However, amid the pomp and splendor, the problems of neglect and underinvestment have crept up and the government is playing catch-up hoping that its efforts will make it before curtain call.
Culture in PDP
THE Duterte administration rode on a banner of change and one of the primary reforms it introduced, particularly in the crafting of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022, is the creation of a separate chapter for culture.
The latest PDP is the only medium-term socioeconomic blueprint—the crafting of which began after the Second World War—to include a special focus on culture. Previous PDPs, including that of the Marcos administration, included culture only as a part of social welfare and education priorities.
Part of the reason for including a focus on culture, Rosemarie G. Edillon of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said, is the findings from the “AmBisyon2040.” The survey for this government “vision statement” showed that a “high-trust society” is needed to achieve the aspirations of Filipinos for themselves and their nation.
Edillon, the Neda Undersecretary for Policy and Planning, added that creating a focus on culture allowed the government to bring together the “main actors on culture into the discussion on development planning.”
“Culture is part of development,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said. “What we’re trying to do now is make up for past neglect.”
Addressing gaps
THE Marcos administration has been known for its edifice complex that, in some way, benefitted arts and culture. However, the investments did not go beyond the infrastructure.
Pernia said this is something the current administration aims to correct. He said by creating a separate chapter on culture in the PDP, the government can closely address the gaps created by years of neglect, particularly on soft infrastructure projects.
Part of the “soft” strategies to bring culture into the foray is to liberalize access to information on Filipino culture; institutionalize and intensify heritage conservation plans and programs; and, mainstream cultural education in all levels, including technical, vocational and higher education systems.
These soft strategies will still be accompanied by infrastructure support.
Edillon said despite the impressive CCP Complex and other cultural and artistic venues, the country only has 513 libraries, 120 museums and 11 performance venues.
Based on the PDP, this will be addressed through the development of cultural assets across the country as well as the establishment of historic and cultural complexes nationwide for education, entertainment and tourism.
“Creativity needs an outlet for expression. In the PDP update, we noted the lack of venues or facilities in the country that can serve this purpose,” Edillon said. “We are also promoting ‘STEAM’, or ‘STEM’ [Science, Technology, Engineering and Math] with an A, for Arts.”
Investments, buildings
Based on the Public Investment Program (PIP), the government intends to spend a total of P16.64 billion on various culture-related projects and programs in the medium term.
Of this amount, around P3.79 billion is allocated for the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) to finance projects and programs. The largest amounts would be allocated for the rehabilitation and conservation of the Manila Metropolitan Theater (MET) worth P718 million and workshops on different art forms worth P446.94 million.
The BusinessMirror’s attempts to reach the NCCA were not reciprocated.
The amount allocated for culture also includes an investment of P2.45 billion for the CCP. The bulk of the amount will fund the construction of an Artist’s Center worth P959.5 million and a new Performing Arts Theater worth P919.6 million.
The Artist’s Center is a three-story arts building that will contain studios and rehearsal halls for the training of artists in the performing arts. The new Performing Arts Theater, meanwhile, will be a two-story medium-sized theater with a seating capacity of 1,000 people.
“Cultural structures, such as museums, cultural centers, archives, libraries, art galleries and other cultural facilities, will be made more inclusive in order to allow for dialogue and cultural exchange,” the PDP stated.
“Such facilities allow for the continuity of the intangible cultural heritage, practices as well as other creative expressions,” the document read.
Underfunded
WHILE institutions like CCP receive funding from the government, they are still required to raise funds for their other needs that the budget from the government does not cover.
In an interview, CCP Vice President for Finance and Administration Rodolfo G. del Rosario said they still need to generate money for the salaries of CCP workers. This is usually generated from the lease of its land and other properties such as the Folk Arts Theater (FAT), as well as assistance from the NCCA, either in cash or in kind.
Del Rosario said the biggest expense of the CCP, apart from capital outlay, is the maintenance of the entire complex. This means paying for security, utilities, engineering and janitorial services, theater crews and creative production.
He added that the CCP provides financial subsidies to its resident companies such as Ballet Philippines, the Philippine Ballet Theater, the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group (ROFG), among others. The total cost to CCP for this support is around P3 million a year, which has recently been raised to P6 million a year starting 2019.
On top of this support, the CCP is also mandated to extend P5 million a year to the Bayanihan Dance Troupe by virtue of Republic Act 8626, which designated Bayanihan as the country’s National Folk Dance Company.
Under Section 7 of the law, the amount of P5 million will be automatically included in the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA), or the National Budget, for the Bayanihan Dance Troupe.
Outlays, overhead
DATA provided by the CCP showed that its budget has been increasing but the actual amount of what is granted is always lower than what was approved, at least for the past five years.
For example, in 2018, the budget of CCP was around P543.45 million but the actual amount that was spent was P473.02 million. In 2017, there was a significant reduction in its budget given that the approved amount was P1.09 billion; but the actual amount only reached P407.84 million.
Del Rosario explained this was largely due to the inability of the CCP to undertake a major project: that of building the Artist’s Center. This resulted from the government’s shift to a cash-based budget system where all the funds need to be used for projects within the year, otherwise agencies risk losing their allocation.
Del Rosario said the system is the main challenge but he said it was the way it should be given the financial requirements of the government. He said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) assured them that should they ask for the P500-million capital outlay for the Artist’s Center, the request would be granted.
In an ideal world where CCP gets what it wants, Del Rosario said the institution would have an annual budget from the government of around P450 million, including all repair works. This would cover for the maintenance and operating expenses worth P300 million; equipment upgrade, P30 million; and repairs of buildings, P100 million annually for five years.
Raising cash
DEL Rosario explained that the CCP just completed a building audit and, based on the findings, the institution would require P500 million to do all building repairs. He, however, knows the government will not be able to give that amount immediately in one calendar year.
This amount does not yet include the need for CCP to raise an additional P300 million for the salaries of its employees annually from its revenue-generating activities. This means to be able to run the entire institution for a year, it will require a budget of P730 million.
Del Rosario said the plans laid out under the PIP for the CCP will give the institution the financial freedom that has evaded it for decades. He said the CCP has not really been able to support itself. It is no secret that ticket sales have not been able to sustain the beloved institution.
“It’s a given that you cannot earn from arts and culture; I think that’s the biggest challenge,” De Rosario said. “You don’t earn from ticket sales; never, never.”
A BusinessMirror estimate of a private company’s ticket sales, however, may prove Del Rosario wrong.
Indeed, the Resorts World Manila (RWM) may have finally found a way to make ticket sales matter.
Doing musicals
THE RWM found the secret in Filipino culture itself.
Chief of RWM’s performing arts company Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo told this newspaper that the mandate of Alliance Global Group Inc. Chairman Andrew L. Tan is to showcase Filipino culture in everything that the company does. This changed the direction of RWM from performing foreign musicals to creating their own brand of theater productions.
The first time they noticed they decided rightly to take this direction, Lauchengco-Yulo said, was when they did the musical Bituing Walang Ningning. Adapted from the movie of the same title, Bituing Walang Ningning was one of the first Filipino musicals that RWM invested in.
“We noticed that the musical was able to attract a different market composed of theater goers who were not really patrons of musical theater but were fans of the movie,” according to Lauchengco-Yulo. She added theater goers also included those who were fans of Willy Cruz, composer of the song of the musical’s eponymous title.
Lauchengco-Yulo said what the musical taught them was majority of Filipinos had a difficulty connecting with a foreign production.
It wasn’t until RWM did Ang Huling El Bimbo: The Musical that opened the floodgates for more Filipino musicals in the repertoire of RWM, Lauchengco-Yulo told the BusinessMirror.
Initiation
Lauchengco-Yulo said staging the Ang Huling El Bimbo: The Musical was their own initiation into mounting an original production using only songs that were familiar to all Filipinos.
She said production meetings would usually involve a dance with Post-It notes while placing songs to parts of the storyline they created. “It made us realize the beauty within an original piece and how connected Filipinos were to stories and songs they could relate to,” Lauchengco-Yulo said.
“It was a massive hit, so much so that we almost ran for two years, off and on,” she told the BusinessMirror. “It was interesting because we would have a meet-and-greet after and people come up onstage, they would tell us: ‘You know we came here because we’re fans of the Eraserheads. We had no idea that it would be like this.’”
“They had no idea; they were first timers in the theater. And some people came back three times, some people flew from abroad. We were overwhelmed. We had no idea of the impact that Huling El Bimbo had,” Lauchengco-Yulo added.
She said she was surprised of the fame showered upon her by the hoi polloi.
“Literally, when you walk down the street, and this has never happened before, I go to a parlor and it’s the hairdresser cutting my hair saying ‘I saw you in Huling El Bimbo’ or I go to a medical center in the mall and the secretary said [the same thing]. This is a crowd that would never watch Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang or Annie. So we realized: ‘Wow, we found this niche in the market,’” Lauchengco-Yulo continued.
Numbers
ACCORDING to Lauchengco-Yulo, the production ran 113 shows and every single one of these shows was a full house.
The RWM Newport Performing Arts Theater has a seating capacity of 1,500. Based on BusinessMirror’s research, the ticket prices reached P1,000 for Bronze; P1,800 for Silver; P2,500 for Gold; P3,000 for VIP; and, P3,500 for SVIP. This means the average ticket price is around P2,360; a figure the RWM didn’t provide.
The BusinessMirror estimated that at the lowest ticket price of around P1,000, this translates to ticket sales worth P169.5 million. But, at the average ticket price, BusinessMirror estimates that ticket sales would reach P400.02 million—certainly no small change for the performing arts.
RWM didn’t comment on the figures and BusinessMirror’s calculation.
With the enormous success of Huling El Bimbo: The Musical, Lauchengco-Yulo said RWM will be staying in this direction for now.
She added that the Philippines has a very rich culture offering a wealth of material such as stories and songs that RWM can use in future productions. The company is already in the thick of preparing its next major production titled Bongga Ka ’Day.
Bongga Ka ’Day would also use Original Pilipino Music (OPM) and an original storyline, similar to Huling El Bimbo. This will likely be followed by other similar productions, four of which are already in consideration, Lauchengco-Yulo said.
Artistry, talent
But Filipino culture expressed through storylines and songs is not the only ingredient that makes these types of production a success; there’s also Filipino talent.
Lauchengco-Yulo said the artistry of Filipinos was never an issue because they have exceptional talent. What is lacking is the technique, which is a product of good training, she explained.
Thus, RWM created the Original Pilipino Performing Arts (OPPA) Foundation, an organization that sponsors around 50 students enrolled in performing arts courses. Some of the partner institutions of the foundation include Meridian International (MINT) College, University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas, the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, and Saint Scholastica’s College.
RWM explained in a recent statement that the OPPA “aims to cultivate Filipino talent by supporting the local industry through grants and scholarships, providing artists with avenues and opportunities for development and elevating standards and capabilities by providing global expertise and resources.”
Lauchengco-Yulo said the OPPA can also pave the way to create “triple threats” in the performing arts. She explained these triple threats are hard to come by and many artists in the country are good singers, good dancers or good actors; but one is never as good in all three. Triple threats will allow future Filipino productions to prosper since it will open the doors to greater fusion in art forms in theater productions.
One of the things that allow RWM to mount unique productions and support students is being primarily an entertainment destination in itself. The company has a casino as well as shopping and dining options in just one location.
Right investment
RWM Director for Corporate Communications Jose Edwiniel Guilas said that despite the success of Huling El Bimbo, the company still does not rely on ticket sales alone to support its theater productions. Guilas said corporate sponsorships and partnerships also allow the company to support these kinds of productions.
In terms of challenges, Guilas said this differs from one production to another. Each production has its own budget and this is based on expenses that are production-specific.
In some instances, the company mounts a foreign production, which is still done by RWM to cater to the international palate of theater goers. Guilas said this will, of course, include costs such as rights to mount the production and, in some cases, inviting foreign artists to grace the Newport Performing Arts Theater stage.
“I believe that it’s still the local productions that we spend the most on,” Guilas said. “[Having said] that, you actually put your money on the things that you value more.”
Apart from the annual budget set aside to mount world-class productions, Guilas said another thing that is going for the company is the growing theater market in the Philippines. This has allowed RWM to invest not only in its own productions but to finance the OPPA.
Ensuring the artistic side of each production is an investment on its own. Guilas said mounting world-class productions entail cost and these investments will pay off, similar to what happened to Huling El Bimbo.
If anything, Guilas said mounting Huling El Bimbo was an affirmation that RWM made the right investment to gamble on an original production.
“It’s an affirmation that this can be done. Mounting world-class musicals, performances, can actually be done,” Guilas said. “Our vision to bring both Broadway and Las Vegas to the Philippines via Resorts World via this parcel of land in Pasay can actually be done. It’s not just an impossible dream.”
Integration
In August last year, President Duterte signed into law Republic Act 11392 or the National Performing Arts Companies (NPAC) Act, which aims to provide guaranteed funding for national performing arts companies.
Based on the law, a National Ballet/Contemporary Dance Company, a National Theater Company and a National Orchestra will receive P10-million worth as annual budget for five years. This means a chosen company will receive a total of P50 million each for five years.
Further, a National Choral Company and National Indigenous Performing Ensemble will each receive P5 million per year for five years.
The law also states that a maximum of three applicants from each of the performing arts companies shall qualify for an annual P1-million subsidy, renewable upon evaluation of their performance, research, documentation and commissioned work.
Guilas said the government’s investment in the performing arts is a step toward the right direction. Becoming an NPAC is a major boost to these companies’ finances. If one of the CCP’s resident companies becomes an NPAC in its field, it will receive P10 million annually compared to only P1 million per year under the existing arrangement.
“It’s going to be a boost on the kind of theater that the public is going to get. If you are not yet an established PAC [and] you’re a small group, then it could actually encourage you to make yourself an accredited or established performing arts company,” Guilas said. “It would encourage greater competition in the industry, which will redound to the benefit of the viewing public.”
Organizational matters
HOWEVER, some in the artistic community and academe have reservations on the kind of impact this new law will have on the local theater scene.
Professor at the University of the Philippines Asian Center Matthew Constancio M. Santamaria said the law merely focuses on financing but does not address other pertinent issues in the performing arts, particularly within the parameters of defining what these NPACs are.
One example would be in naming an NPAC for a National Indigenous Performing Ensemble.
Santamaria said this could be a Rondalla ensemble. He explained that if this, however, were to be interpreted in Southern Philippines parlance this would be a Kulintangan ensemble, which will likely not be named. One of the reasons for this is that a Kulintangan ensemble comes in many different forms, making it difficult to choose, he told the BusinessMirror.
Santamaria said another question is who will name these companies. Without a proper structure in place, the choice may be marred by controversy. Some groups may get the upper hand because of their proximity to the capital or the powers that be.
“The dancers of Pangalay or Igal will also not benefit from this law. So what am I saying? Perhaps it is time to think in terms of structures; instead of budgets. And the structure may be is to make sure that the regions should have its own cultural policymaking bodies. But at the same time, the region should be given the power to name their regional artists who later on perhaps can be ushered to the national limelight and become national artists and national companies,” Santamaria explained.
“In other words, maybe it’s time to move away from governance through committee work which is NCCA and CCP. Maybe it is time to think very, very seriously about a Department of Culture with regional branches that have regional mandates,” he added.
Bills filed
BASED on the PDP 2017-2022, one of the legislative agenda of the Duterte administration is to establish the Department of Culture.
With this, the government aims to reorganize the NCCA into a Department of Culture and the Arts (DCA). The proposed law will also define its power and functions and strengthen the National Endowment for Culture and the Arts.
There is one such bill filed at the Philippine Senate, Senate Bill 833 introduced by Sen. Juan Edgardo M. Angara. The bill includes Santamaria’s recommendations as well as the supervision of a dozen attached agencies, including the CCP, the National Museum of the Philippines, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, and other similar bodies.
Under the proposed law, the DCA will receive no less than P2 billion from the GAA in the next fiscal year succeeding the passage of the law. The bill is still pending at the committee level at the Senate.
At the House of Representatives there are currently four bills filed to create the Department of Culture: House Bill (HB) 00021, HB00634, HB01078,and HB05436. These bills are still pending at the committee level and were referred to the Committee on Government Reorganization and secondarily referred to the Committees on Basic Education and Culture.
“There is a lot to think of in terms of structure,” Santamaria said. “[The Philippines is] a culturally diverse country with more than 70 major languages. How come everything is centralized? How come we are governing through committee work?”
Money last
While some may view the creation of a Department of Culture as an additional expense or another layer in the bureaucracy, Santamaria said the primary loss that the State should focus on is the slow but sure withering away of cultures and traditions.
He added that another danger that could befall the country is that “cultural homogeneity” will reign simply because the views of only a few will be heard. Santamaria said regions must have a voice and that Manila should only be “a venue of regional competition.”
Clearly, financing is important for many performing arts groups or other culture-oriented groups to take their work further and to preserve what is existing.
But in a culturally diverse country such as the Philippines, not all the problems and gaps can be resolved by paying for solutions.
In a country whose economy thrives on consumption, some would still like to believe that Filipino artistry and culture is not for sale; and should remain that way forever.
Image credits: Jon Bilous | Dreamstime.com