TACLOBAN CITY (PIA)—Local artists from Eastern Visayas have expressed support to a five-day festival here that espouses peace initiatives and environmental protection.
Called the Peace and Quiet Culture and Arts Exhibit, the event showcased environmental protection programs of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). It was launched on June 5 and will run until June 9.
It also featured various art activities, such as a canvas bag painting competition, live sketching, poster-making contest, a dance contest called sayaw kalikasan, an acoustic band competition, siday making and siday performing competition, a theater arts workshop, and a performance by the Philippine Army live band.
Lormelyn E. Claudio, DENR regional executive director, emphasized the event’s significance as a platform for showcasing the culture and arts talents in Eastern Visayas, with a particular focus on environmental protection and advocacy.
“Why are we having the arts and culture? Because you know yung mga artists, kayo yung nag-iisip, conscious and passionate about everything, and while you have that passion, you have to focus it on environmental protection and management,” Claudio said.
(Why do we have arts and culture? Because, you know, artists, you are the ones who think, who are conscious and passionate about everything, and while you have that passion, you have to focus it on environmental protection and management.)
She encouraged them to write poems about hazardous wastes, single-use plastics, or paint recycled items to bring the concept of sustainable development into practice.
Retired Lt. Col. Mario Jose M. Chico mentioned that culture and arts play a significant role as a catalyst for reconciliation, unity, environmental care, and nation-building.
“Through our shared appreciation of diverse expressions of culture and the transformative power of artistic endeavors, we embark on a journey towards fostering mutual respect and empathy,” Chico said.
The peace and quiet platform was conceptualized through a comprehensive approach involving government agencies, the private sector, the culture and arts sector, civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations, people’s organizations, and private individuals.
The collaboration aims to support the development of local art talents in the region, as well as promote peace, environmental protection, and nation-building.
The 5th series of the ‘Peace and Quiet Culture and Arts Caravan’ received support from partner agencies, including the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, the 8th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, Tacloban City Police Office, the Situational Awareness and Knowledge Management (SAKM) Cluster of the Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF8-ELCAC), Hands-off our children movement, and others. (CBA, PIA-8)
