Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda on Thursday, April 25 pushed for the integration of arts and culture into the teaching of various general education subjects to make it more engaging for learners.
In her keynote speech at the Philippine Book Festival held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, said it is imperative for the country’s creative sector to learn how to creatively integrate arts and culture in educational textbooks.
“We should creatively integrate arts and culture in our textbooks for Filipino, English, Science, and Mathematics," said Legarda.
“We can hit two birds with one stone, as they say, so why not use texts from our history as we drill students on subject-verb agreement?" she added.
Legarda pointed out there are plenty of excellent references in the country to help simplify things and for students to be able to relate to the lessons at hand.
"Why not use our heirloom ingredients, like ‘batwan’ or ‘langkawas,’ as we instruct our students on how to count, add, and subtract?” she suggested.
During the event, the lawmaker participated in a poetry reading as she recited “Dreamweaver” by Dr. Marjorie Evasco. At the same time, she also announced the representation of the Philippines as a Guest of Honour country to the 2025 Frankfurter Buchmesse.
Since 2016, Legarda has made sure there is adequate funding for Philippine participation at the Frankfurt Book Fair, providing a platform where the government can promote Filipino local authors and books.
As co-author of the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act, Legarda assured she will continue to support of the vital creative sector, linking with relevant government agencies to grow and expand initiatives that advance the industries' needs.
"I urge DepEd to prioritize the procurement of books for public school libraries and library hubs," asserted the senator.
"All students and young people deserve the same opportunity to discover new worlds, broaden their horizons, and increase curiosity through literature," she furthered.
"Let us not underestimate the value of promoting Filipino content in our libraries,” she stressed.