The local government units (LGUs) of Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, and Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte, have been recognized with the 2024 Lunsod Lunsad Award from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The award honors cities that use the arts as a tool for urban development.
In an interview during the DILG sa DZRH Breaktime on Wednesday, September 4, Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. shared the success of their program, "Kadisnon Lunsod Lunsad Year 2: Elevating Creative Excellence." This project showcases Cadiz City's artistic potential, focusing on both creative excellence and innovation, contributing to the cultural and economic growth of the region.
Mayor Escalante proudly shared that Cadiz had received the same award in 2023, with only 3-4 days of preparation. Due to the program’s success, the city has allocated an additional budget to further expand its scope. The program now includes visual arts, theater, and support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), particularly benefiting local entrepreneurs.
Escalante proudly shared that they received the same award in 2023 just within 3-4 days of preparation.
Due to the success of the program, Escalante said they added some additional budget to fully expand the program which now has visual arts, the theater, the SMEs, lalo na sa mga small entrepreneurs.
In Cadiz, some residents were tought in coffee shop business and making coffees, supported by artists in Cadiz which attracted around 400 artists.
"In other words, we teach our young entrepreneurs how to prepare coffee and not just to prepare coffee but we teach them, we educate them on where coffee came from," said the mayor.
The mayor emphasized that the arts have given local artists the opportunity to showcase their talents, contributing not only to their personal growth but also to the city's development.
Meanwhile, Dipolog City Mayor Darel Dexter Uy proudly shared their program, "Lunsod Lunsad Kuyog 'Ta: The First Dipolog Competitive and Creative City (C3) Summit and Related Activities." He explained that the city had already been implementing programs aimed at promoting students' skills even before Lunsod Lunsad was introduced.
"Before na-introduce sa aminb itong Lungsod Lunsad ginagawa na po namin yung mga programa namin para makatulong sa mga students ro promote their skills to improvce their talensta nd also one of our goals is to promote activities especially students because our goal is to divert them sa mga bisyo at para malayo sila sa ilegal drugs," Uy said.
"Happy na introduce para makatulong sa pag improve pa ng program"
The city’s activities include paintings, exhibits, musical events such as Broadway shows, and rondalla performances, among others. Uy explained that the program’s name, "Kuyog 'Ta," was chosen to invite everyone to participate.
Uy also highlighted the program’s socio-economic impact.
"Kung maimprove yung mga talents nila makakatulong sa ekonoliya lalo na pag sumikat sila at maromote rin ang aming city na Dipolog, move, tourism promotion at the same time makatulong sakanilang pamumuhay," said Uy.
These initiatives align with Republic Act No. 11904, also known as the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act, which was enacted to promote and support the growth of the country's creative industries.
