TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The creative industry, which is a significant part of the economy, contributes 7.1% to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a report from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) confirms.
During the Creative Industry Summit, held December 3, at Davidson Hotel, Karen Lising, chief trade and industry specialist of the DTI-Cordillera said the 7.1% contribution of creative industry to GDP is distributed in four major domains.
These are traditional cultural expressions (arts and crafts, gastronomy, culinary practices, festivals) which accounts to 35.5%; symbols and images (textiles, garments, furniture, jewelry) which accounts to 30.3%; 17.8% for advertising, research development and other artistic service activities; and 4.2% for media publishing and printing.
According to Lising, the creative industry in the Philippines employed 7.26M individuals as of present, which resulted to 6.9% increase in industry growth in 2023.
As a country is vying to be Asia’s premiere creative hub by the year 2030, she emphasized on the need to promote and preserve all activities with artistic representation.
She also mentioned how the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act (PCIDA), which aims to protect and strengthen the rights and capacities of creative workers, artists, artisans, creators, and other stakeholders, helped in boosting the artistic and creative side of Filipinos.
During the summit, several personalities were invited to deliver topics. Among them are John Christopher Mesana on cultural and creative tourism, and education and upskilling for creatives; and Jeanne Dangkeo on intellectual property rights.
The Creative Industry Summit is one of the activities in celebration of the Mangwa Festival initiated by the DTI-Kalinga in partnership with Tabuk City.
Other activities during the Mangwa Festival include Tabukantahan songwriting competition, culinary competition, table skirting, photography and a fashion show. By Darwin S. Serion
