Citing South Korea’s huge gains from its popular entertainment industry, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano has sought the creation of a Department of Arts and Culture to support the country’s creative and performing arts industries.

In a press conference on Monday, Cayetano said he wants to establish a separate department that will focus on the development, marketing, and promotion of Philippine arts and culture abroad.

The proposed department will unite the various agencies tasked by the government to address the various performing arts and creative industries in the country.

Cayetano noted that South Korea has been reaping huge profits from its internationally popular Korean Wave, K-Pop, and K-Drama.

“May mga mawawalan ng trabaho sa ABS-CBN, pero walang dahilan na hindi magkaroon ng golden age of Philippine cinema and of Philippine performing arts,” he said. (People at ABS-CBN will be losing their jobs, but there is no reason for us not to have a golden age of Philippine cinema and of Philippine performing arts.)

Cayetano takes pride in the country’s talented artists, singers, painters, sculptors, and other artists who have already been recognized worldwide but are not getting enough support from the government.

“I think lamang na lamang ang Pilipinas (I think the Philippines is way ahead) not only because we’re English-speaking but also because of the quality of the entertainment that we can offer, very adaptable ang Pilipino,” he said.

The House leader noted that despite these advantages of Filipino artists and performers, the country’s culture and arts remain in the background for a long time now.

“But as I said, like ‘yung sa K-Pop at K-Drama, hindi aksidente ‘yun. Pinlano iyon ng private sector, gobyerno, ‘yung mga performing artists nag-aral talaga para mahasa. (But as I said, in the case of K-Pop and K-Drama, that wasn’t an accident. It was planned by the private sector and the government. The performing artists really underwent training to sharpen their talents.),” he said.

The speaker also underscored the need to develop a comprehensive plan to promote Filipino talents globally.

Cayetano said he hopes to collaborate with the stakeholders in the culture and arts sector as well as the entire creative industry to craft a plan that will help their sector harness new markets and opportunities locally and globally.