Creating, not solving problems

Under Republic Act (RA) 8492, or the National Museum Act of 1998, Pagcor is mandated to allocate a certain amount of its earnings to the National Museum. But somehow, former Pagcor officials and previous administrations conveniently forgot all about this

It is said that arts and culture constitute the “soul of a nation.” In this regard, how we value the arts and artifacts that showcase our culture shows much how we Filipinos regard our identity, pride of race and “soul” as a nation.

Unfortunately, if we go by how past governments have treated our museums – more so the National Museum of the Philippines – we can say that we have not given much importance to the repositories of our identity, culture, arts and history through these years.

The good news is the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) recently released the mandated assistance of P178 million for the development and upkeep of the National Museum. This news comes like a breath of fresh air for our country’s long neglected Museum.

That this is all happening after 13 years of delay in the release of the funds bodes well for the Aquino administration and Pagcor headed by chairman Cristino “Bong” Naguiat Jr. At least, there is still the consciousness of those in government to invest money in the national patrimony.

It is reassuring to note that the government is finally giving its due share to make our National Museum relevant, worthwhile and interesting to our people, especially to the Filipino youth. This should set a good direction in the continuing efforts to preserve ethnic Filipino arts and culture.

Under Republic Act (RA) 8492, or the National Museum Act of 1998, Pagcor is mandated to allocate a certain amount of its earnings to the National Museum. But somehow, former Pagcor officials and previous administrations conveniently forgot all about this for the past 13 years!

Naguiat recently found out about this very serious lapse after P-Noy appointed him to head Pagcor. He turned over this amount to National Museum director Jeremy Barns and witnessed by Senate committee on Education, Arts and Culture chaired by Senator Edgardo Angara. Naguiat correctly pointed out how the funds will go a long way in preserving the national identity of Filipinos.

Angara, a known advocate of the promotion of Philippine culture and arts, lauded Pagcor’s remittance, describing it as a milestone because it is “the first biggest amount turned over by Pagcor to the National Museum.”

“This is a very big gesture of the state to show its support to culture and arts, and that agency in particular is Pagcor ...This move will help foster cultural and artistic literacy, which is obviously lacking among Filipinos,” Angara cited.

Barns is elated along with other National Museum officials about Pagcor’s contributions. With the biggest windfall of funds to date, they can now proceed with the much-needed renovations of the country’s premier museum. I knew Barns way back then when he did some innovations at the Malacañang Palace Museum during ex-President Gloria Arroyo’s term.

Through Pagcor’s financial contribution, Barns was quoted saying they can now also purchase some multimedia equipment so the public can better appreciate what they see in the museum. “Instead of the usual lectures, we can now use projectors and other equipment that will make every visitor’s experience more interactive,” he enthused.

Pagcor is obviously able to make good its obligations to the national patrimony due to the record-breaking income it has been making since Naguiat took the helm of the gaming agency. Pagcor reported hitting P3.56 billion gross income in February; P3.67 billion in March; and P3.71 billion in May. Per reckoning of financial reports, this was the 11th time under its new management that Pagcor posted its highest earnings for a single month.

Having instituted reforms, accountability and good management system in place, Naguiat is optimistic that Pagcor can reach a record-breaking targeted P45-billion year-end gross income.

If “Matuwid na Daan” is about reforms, good management and high revenue generation in order to allow a cash-strapped government to pour money even in nonpriority expenditures like investing in culture and arts to define and reinforce our proud national identity, then there is a glimmer of hope the Aquino administration can deliver it.

On this note, I could not understand where Senator Ralph Recto is coming from in his bill seeking to abolish Pagcor and privatizing it instead. In his bill, Recto justified his proposal, citing Pagcor has become a milking cow for unscrupulous administration.

To stop this practice, Recto’s bright idea is to sell Pagcor to the private sector instead of government running it and impose a significant gaming revenue tax hike on casinos. Recto’s bill on Pagcor reflects the tendency of our lawmakers to reinvent the wheel when there is no need for it. If it ain’t broke, why fix it?

It is a fact Pagcor is a veritable source of non-tax revenues from where the government draws funds for public services and state institutions like the Museum. Hence, Recto’s bill on Pagcor would be like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Incidentally, Recto is the principal author and sponsor of the law that raised the expanded value added tax from ten to 12 percent and removed the previous VAT exemptions on electricity and fuel consumption. It was his VAT law that sent Recto’s re-election bid in 2007 to the gutter.

It was when he ran under P-Noy’s Senate ticket in the May 2010 elections that Recto’s comeback bid succeeded. By the way, Recto now chairs the Senate ways and means committee where new tax bills are pending like the proposed increase of taxes on motor vehicles and imposition of higher tax rates on “sin” products.

There are also quite a number of other bills filed in the 15th Congress in various stages of the legislative mill similarly seeking the abolition of this and that agency of government or proposals to create new ones.

There is a bill seeking to create again a Department of Housing; another bill seeks to create a Department of Sports; then another bill seeks to create a Department of Information and Communication Technology, just to name some.

Some legislators have the mistaken notion they are God’s gift to Filipinos to solve the country’s ills and problems. There are much pertinent remedial legislation measures that they could come up with. Sadly, some of them think these problems could be solved through legislation. Alas, they only create new problems for us in our country.