Give Heart for Art: VM Bebot puts Local Film Industry in the Limelight

FEBRUARY is love month and national arts month! And what better way to celebrate love than to embrace the creative genius of Filipinos and the vibrant culture of the Philippines?

With this year’s theme, “Ani ng Sining, Bayang Malikhain”, the Philippines takes pride in recognizing the bountiful harvest of an art-loving Filipino nation, valuing imagination, innovation, and artistic expression as essential components of our identity and national development.

Although our country is known for grand festivities and colorful celebrations, it is crucial to acknowledge the existence of constraints and barriers that impede the growth of our creative industries. Hence, Vice Mayor Bebot Rodriguez has submitted the proposed ordinance institutionalizing the establishment of the Tsada Oro Film Academy (TOFA) and the holding of the annual Tsada Oro Film Festival (TOFF).

The TOFA, once established, will play a pivotal role in organizing the annual film festival, preferably scheduled for August to coincide with the city fiesta, preserving films which depict the city’s notable places and people as well as cultural, historical, and socio-political realities, and providing full support to the local film industry, facilitating its participation in regional, national, and international competitions and conferences.

Through this initiative, VM Bebot hopes that Cagayan de Oro City will become a melting pot of filmmaking industry in the country, thereby fostering its growth to contribute to the city’s economy and create job opportunities for people who wish to be in the creative industry.

In a committee hearing conducted by the Committee on Tourism, the city council heard the plea of creative artists, filmmakers, and other cultural practitioners in the city who have brought pride to the city and helped boost our local economy.

VM Bebot, in her dedication to inclusive governance, personally conducted a public meeting and consultation with local artists to better understand their hopes and challenges.

By bridging the gap between celebration and action, this aspiration of the good Vice Mayor places Cagayan de Oro on the pedestal of artistic excellence, not only during the arts month or the love month but for the years to come.