A LAWMAKER stressed the need for the government to establish secondary educational institutions specializing in culture and the arts.

Bataan 2nd District Representative Jose Enrique Garcia III filed House Bill 202 seeking to put up at least one high school for the arts in each region nationwide.

“This bill seeks to ensure the preservation of the Filipino heritage and identity through arts and culture education,” Garcia said in his explanatory note.

The lawmaker further explained that it is much better to inculcate arts and culture education across the country through these institutions.

“The national government agencies cannot fulfill this alone. And given the initiative of this administration to decentralize, there is no better time to commence this policy than now,” Garcia added.

The bill mandates the Department of Education to coordinate with the local government units in identifying and assigning the appropriate areas where a high school for the arts can be established.

Once enacted into law, funding for the establishment of regional high school for the arts will be sourced from available funds of DepEd.