Various members of Cebu’s music community recently submitted a position paper on the proposed Bisaya Music Preservation and Promotion Ordinance, introduced by Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera earlier this month.
The ordinance aims to establish Cebu City as a creative hub in the Philippines “by promoting Bisaya songs, which embody the linguistic, artistic, and cultural heritage of the region.”
While the proposed policy aims to promote Bisaya music by mandating establishments to allocate 30% of their background music to Bisaya songs and funding promotional efforts, music community stakeholders argue that the ordinance falls short of addressing the real needs of Cebu’s growing music scene. The ordinance seeks to allocate at least five million pesos to the project.
The position paper calls for strategic, long-term investments in infrastructure and funding rather than focusing solely on awareness campaigns. The paper was submitted ahead of the public hearing on the ordinance on March 26.
“While the intent of the Bisaya Music Preservation and Promotion Ordinance is commendable, its current form does not effectively address the real needs of Cebu’s music industry,” reads a portion of the position paper.
“The proposed interventions, such as requiring businesses to play Bisaya music, organizing an entirely new festival, and conducting promotional and educational campaigns, are redundant with existing initiatives. These interventions fail to tackle the deeper structural issues limiting the growth of the local music scene.”
Moreover, the proponents of the position paper urged the local government to allocate the budget outlined in the ordinance to addressing structural issues that hamper the development of the local music scene. These proposals include the establishment of a music export office, publicly-funded or subsidized venues for live music, improved access to public funding, and calls to create a more inclusive consultative body.
The Cebu City government will be holding a series of meetings on March 26 as well as a public hearing with invited members of the local music community.
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