Arts & International Affairs Volume 5, Number 1, Summer 2020 | Page 57

ARTS & INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Second is the Subcommission on Cultural Dissemination (SCD), which is tasked with
ensuring the widest dissemination of artistic and cultural works and products among
the greatest number of people across the country and overseas for their appreciation
and enjoyment (Flores 2010). It is important to highlight that the SCD is responsible
for the establishment and development of culture and arts education programs at all
levels of the educational system. It is equally important to note that culture and arts
education programs can be done formally through the curriculum established by the
Department of Education and informally through alternative settings, such as by having
a cultural master to teach traditional skills or pass down intangible cultural heritage
through the Schools of Living Traditions. Although the Schools of Living Traditions is a
flagship initiative under the Subcommission on Cultural Communities and Traditional
Arts (SCCTA), through informal or alternative dissemination of cultural information
and education, the subcommissions collaborate or assist each other in the fulfillment of
the mandate.
Third, the SCCTA is composed of three main cultural communities: The Northern cultural
communities (Luzon islands), the Central cultural communities (Visayan islands),
and the Southern cultural communities (island of Mindanao). The primary concern
of the SCCTA is to address the needs of Indigenous communities all over the country,
which is very challenging. Ma. Criselda Magsumbol (2010), the Culture and Arts Officer
of the SCCTA, shares that the difficulty lies in the fact that most of these communities
are scattered all over the archipelago, some communities belong to two groups, and
several communities have been displaced because of natural and man-made calamities.
Fourth, the Subcommission on Cultural Heritage (SCH) is responsible for overseeing
libraries and information services, archives, museums, galleries, monuments, and cultural
sites. Together with the National Museum, the National Library, and the National
Archives, the SCH conducts historical and scholarly research work, anthropological
and archaeological studies, and produces publications to promote historical and cultural
heritage.
Moreover, the NCCA continues to create local and provincial or regional councils as an
additional structure in the implementation of national cultural policies. Rico Pableo Jr.,
the current Executive Director of the NCCA, shares that in order to further promote,
develop, and protect the arts and culture in the Local Government Units, the Commission
is working diligently to establish arts and cultural offices in municipalities (NCCA
2019).
In this hybrid model, one can see that there is an attempt to incorporate both “top-down”
and “grassroots” approaches to cultural governance. Arguably, although final decisions
on where and to whom funding and other support go lies ultimately with the NCCA,
the platforms for public debates, conversations, consultations, and presentations to the
NCCA and the recognition of various entities as active actors in the cultural policy system
create a pluralistic approach to cultural governance; thus, there is a democratic ap-
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