Two legislators from Mindanao have pushed for the protection, preservation and promotion of traditional arts in Southern Philippines through the creation of the Institute of Sulu and Mindanao Traditional Arts, or INSUMINTRA.
Deputy Speaker Mujiv Hataman of of Basilan and Anak Mindanao Rep. Amihilda Sangcopan sought the creation of the arts institute through House Bill1580, the island’s cultural diversity.
Hataman, a former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said: “Mindanao’s arts such as hand weaving, metallurgy, architecture, music and epic chanting have gained prominence and recognition from government agencies as well as in the private sector.
“And this holds true especially in the academe. But the chance of these arts surviving popular recognition under an environment of fast-changing technological advances is in question,” Hataman added.
For these reasons, Sangcopan stressed the need for a distinct government agency that would conserve, appreciate and protect Mindanao’s arts and treasures, and that it is an urgent measure that Filipinos should support.
“Traditional arts in Mindanao and Sulu must be kept alive not only because they provide income for the artisans and their communities, but more importantly because they are the remaining proof of the pre-colonial identity of the people of Mindanao and Sulu, and of all Filipinos,” Hataman and Sangcopan said in the bill’s explanatory note.
The bill provides that INSUMINTRA would be an independent government agency but it will be actively coordinating with other agencies engaged in similar functions and activities such as the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
The institute, under the bill, will operate through a Board of Trustees reporting to the President and to Congress. The Board would also have governance and policymaking powers, and will have the following composition:
• Secretary of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos;
• Chairpersons of the Mindanao Development Authority, the National Council on Indigenous Peoples, and the NCCA;
• A representative from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao;
• The executive director of the INSUMINTRA; and
• Five members appointed by the President from the private sector who have significant backgrounds on Mindanao’s traditional arts and who are graduates of related fields specifically anthropology, education or social science.
INSUMINTRA’s secretariat will be led by an executive director that would be selected by the Board. The principal offices of the institute will be located in Zamboanga City and in Maramag, Bukidnon. However, the Board could establish field offices in other areas on the island to ensure that its objectives are met.
“The creation of INSUMINTRA is long overdue. Kailangan na natin ng isang institusyon na magbibigay ng ayuda sa ating mga tradisyunal na sining at mga likha. This is why we are pushing for this bill and asking our colleagues to support Mindanao’s traditional arts,” Hataman said.
