Our ‘A’ teams

It’s great that our athletes are finally getting the recognition they so deserve, and with it hopefully the support that they need in order to train and further develop their skills to reach their full, podium- and medal-worthy potentials.

There are many more like them in other sports just waiting for the opportunity to be trained, to be challenged and then to shine. It is hoped their successes will make this happen.

And now, hopefully, our other A team, our artists, will tread the same path. As it is, even with hardly any support, our creatives in different fields have been reaping international acclaim. Our filmmakers have been making waves in festivals all over the world, as our directors and actors have been winning raves all around.

Our musicians, singers, musical theater artists, dancers and choreographers are time and again recognized for their outstanding work, sharing the stage with the best of the best. And just like the athletes, there are so many, many budding talents all over the country – in all the arts – waiting to be given the chance to be discovered, to be trained and to be presented on the world stage.

Thus the passage by both houses of Congress of the Creative Industries Development bill is surely a long overdue but most welcome development (kudos to Rep. Toff de Venecia!). The creative industries are a potent force in national development, in job creation, in the growth of our economy. The creative industries are not just entertainment or frivolity; they are job- and income-generating and, more importantly, they articulate who we are as a people. Everyone talks about the success of South Korea – how K-Pop and Hallyu have swept the world. We should look at how it happened, and take lessons – it didn’t just happen, there was a plan. It is hoped that the Creative Industries Development bill will get this plan going and be the start of the climb to the top of our A team of artists. – Michael R. Garcia, Mandaluyong City