The Cagayan Valley Regional Development Council (RDC 2) Sub-Committee on Culture, in partnership with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), conducted a three-day Culture and Governance Training from April 19-21, 2022 via video conference.

The three-day training workshop aimed at strengthening the Local Culture and Arts Councils (LCACs) in mainstreaming culture, heritage, and values in the development plans of local governments. It consisted of two sessions namely: Orientation on Heritage Law and Philippine Registry of Cultural Property (PRECUP), and Workshop In crafting the Local Cultural Development Plan (LCDP) of LCACs.

NCCA Executive Director Oscar G. Casaysay in his opening message highlighted the importance of preserving, promoting, and propagating culture, arts, heritage, and tradition in the region even in this time of health crisis.

The first day commenced with an overview of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) Chapter 7: Promoting Culture and Values, along with cultural education as tools for responding to the goals of PDP Chapter 7. Moreover, the Tourism and Cultural Officers of the LGUs were oriented on the Heritage Law and PRECUP.

The LCDP workshop began on Day 2 with presentations on planning frameworks for cultural and local development. Given that awareness of the role of culture in socio-economic development is increasing, yet the current governance framework remains inadequate, the NCCA recommended the following in the preparation of LCDP, namely (i) mainstreaming disaster risk reduction-climate change adaptation, (ii) using proven data-collection instruments and developing Cultural Indicators, and (iii) boosting awareness campaign on culture and values formation.

The three-day training concluded with crafting of draft Local Cultural Development Plan by the coordinators from PLGUs. The LCDPs are expected to mainstream cultural priorities and actions based on the different culture and development themes with the support and assistance of the RDC 2 and NCCA.

The Chair of the RDC 2 Sub-Committee on Culture and DepEd Regional Director Benjamin D. Paragas, in his closing message, expressed his gratitude to the NCCA and the resource persons for promoting culture and governance in the region. He concluded that the webinar is a concrete step towards establishing clear identity of the region by digging deeper into its roots as a nation, and appreciating and celebrating what makes it unique and culturally rich.

More than 80 representatives from 32 LGUs, members of the RDC 2, Higher Education Institutions, regional line agencies, and private sectors attended the webinar.