THE Regional Development Council (RDC) in Western Visayas, through the Regional Culture, Heritage and the Arts Committee (RCHAC), has initiated activities leading to the establishment of cultural statistics and database system in the region.
The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), in a statement, said the regional technical working group (TWG) created for the purpose held an online meeting recently.
Pursuant to RDC-Western Visayas Resolution 50 series of 2020, the RCHAC-TWG will facilitate and ensure the implementation of the Philippine Framework for Cultural Statistics (PFCS) in the generation and measurement of cultural data in the region, which will be in accordance with national and international standards set by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).
Neda-Western Visayas said the PFCS serves as a guideline on the basic concepts of cultural indicators to be gathered and the methodology of generating the data.
"The establishment of the regional statistics for culture, heritage and the arts will improve data reporting that will aid the RCHAC in the preparation of the regional cultural situationer and the formulation of the 10-year Western Visayas Culture, Heritage and the Arts Agenda," it added.
The RCHAC-TWG is composed of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Neda, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Commission on Higher Education (Ched), and the Provincial Government of Capiz for the government along with Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation Inc. and The Negros Museum representing the private sector groups.
Alphonsus Tesoro, Provincial Culture and Tourism officer of Capiz, urged the members to relentlessly pursue the endeavor positioned to further enrich the culture of the region and promote heritage preservation.
Arli Joshua Atienza, NCCA's Culture and Arts officer, presented the salient features of the PFCS, including its six cultural domains.
These are cultural and natural heritage; performance and celebration; visual arts and artisan's products; books and press; audio, visual, broadcast and interactive media; and creative services.
During the meeting, the group agreed for the conduct of an orientation on PFCS among regional line agencies, local government units (LGUs) and higher education institutions.
Also, it recognized the need for the identification of regional cultural indicators and the creation of the Western Visayas Cultural Statistics Portal, gathering of cultural data by the LGUs, and the crafting of the Western Visayas Regional Situationer on Culture, Heritage and the Arts.