ANGARA LEADS SENATE EDUC AND CULTURE INITIATIVES

Senator Edgardo J. Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture, outlined at yesterday's hearing the committee's priorities from among the culture and arts bills referred to it.

Angara, a known patron of the arts, recommended the creation of a Technical Working Group to oversee the creation of a Philippine National Maritime Museum, as proposed by Senate Bill No. 315, and the implementation of S.B. No. 424, conserving underwater cultural heritage sites. Both bills were filed by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

He suggested that the said museum should be operated by naval institutions, while remaining under the supervision of the National Museum.

"Like most of the great naval museums of the world, ours ought to be run by naval agencies to highlight the rich maritime history of our country. The National Museum will then be the umbrella institution tasked to oversee the technical details," said Angara.

Likewise, a Technical Working Group was also created to look into the possible integration of Angara's S.B. No. 48, which seeks the establishment of a Philippine Sports University and Senator Pia Cayetano's S.B. No. 2620, creating a Philippine High School for Sports.

A Philippine Sports Academy was proposed, including both Secondary and Tertiary programs. The group will also look into the possibility of using the high school level as a laboratory school for the university.

"Perhaps by early next year, we can have a pilot run of this academy. The big challenge here is forming a world-class faculty to train our athletes while maintaining their academic growth. I believe we can recruit a lot of native talents for this if we widen our search to other areas in the country," advised Angara.