Proposed BTA bill aims to support Bangsamoro artists

COTABATO CITY — By establishing programs and grants of financial assistance, a recently introduced measure in the Bangsamoro Transition Authority seeks to expand opportunities for Bangsamoro artists.

Member of Parliament Amilbahar Mawallil, the main author of BTA Bill No. 198, or the Bangsamoro Endowment Fund for Culture and the Arts Act of 2022, noted that the country’s 13 Islamized ethnolinguistic groups have distinct cultures and practices that can serve as inspiration for Bangsamoro artists and writers.

Moro artists are “exceptionally talented,” according to MP Mawallil, and he believes that the Bangsamoro government can help them by improving their skills, gaining exposure, and elevating Bangsamoro culture and the arts to the national and international scene.

The Bangsamoro government is mandated to preserve the history, culture, arts, traditions, and rich cultural heritage of the Bangsamoro people by encouraging and supporting their people in their artistic expressions reflective of the Bangsamoro culture.

Arts such as music, dance, drama, folk art, creative writing, architecture and allied fields, painting, sculpture, photography, graphic and craft arts, industrial design, costume and fashion design, motion pictures, television, radio, film, video, tape, and sound recording, the arts related to the presentation, performance, execution, and exhibition of major art forms, traditional art practices by diverse people of the Bangsamoro region, and the study and application of the arts to the human environment, are covered by the proposed legislative measure.

Once approved, the fund necessary to carry out the provisions of the said bill will be included in the annual General Appropriations Act of the Bangsamoro.

A BEFCA Council will also be established to administer the fund and grant financial assistance exclusively for the implementation of the culture and arts program of the Bangsamoro Government.

The Council is authorized to establish programs and provide financial assistance to Bangsamoro groups and individuals engaged in the arts and culture, such as projects and productions that have substantial artistic and cultural significance and reflect the Bangsamoro culture; projects and productions that will encourage and assist artists and enable them to achieve wider distribution of their works and achieve standards of professional excellence; and projects and productions that will encourage and develop the appreciation and enjoyment of the arts by the Bangsamoro. (LTAIS-Public Information, Publication, and Media Relations Division)