The NCCA logo is the Alab ng Haraya, (The Flame of Imagination), which symbolizes the wellspring of Filipino art and culture. It is composed of two basic elements – the fire and the censer. The fire is a stylized letter K of Philippine indigenous script that stands for kadakilaan or greatness. The fire represents the highest level of imagination and emanates from a three-tiered censer. The three tiers stand for organization, economic support, and an orientation rooted on a thorough grasp of tradition and history, which the NCCA provides. Done in gold to symbolize the immense wealth of Philippine culture, it was designed by the late Romeo “Boy” Togonon.
In 1987, then President Corazon C. Aquino penned Executive Order No. 118 creating the Presidential Commission on Culture and Arts. Five years later, in 1992, this presidential directive was enacted into law– Republic Act 7356, creating the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). The original bill was jointly authored by Senators Edgardo Angara, Heherson Alvarez, Leticia Ramos Shahani, and Congressman Carlos Padilla.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Philippines is the overall policy making body, coordinating, and grants giving agency for the preservation, development and promotion of Philippine arts and culture; an executing agency for the policies it formulates; and task to administering the National Endowment Fund for Culture and the Arts (NEFCA) — fund exclusively for the implementation of culture and arts programs and projects.
The government’s support for cultural development is particularly highlighted by the passage of R.A. 7356 that created the NCCA. The coordination among the cultural agencies was strengthened by the virtue of Executive Order No. 80, which placed the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the National Historical Institute (now, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines), the National Museum, The National Library (now, The National Library of the Philippines), and the Records, Management, and Archives Office (now, the National Archives of the Philippines) under the NCCA umbrella. Further, through Republic Act No. 9155, administratively attached the earlier aforementioned five cultural agencies to the NCCA, including now the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino / Commission on the Filipino Language. Thus, the NCCA is responsible for culture and the arts in the Philippines — and, if not in the name, the de facto Ministry of Culture.
The Commission together with the six cultural agencies works with the principle of partnership, collaboration and shared responsibility in achieving effectively and efficiently the implementation of cultural programs as well as maximizing of resources. The NCCA was created to serve as the presidential inter-agency commission to coordinate cultural policies and programs. Republic Act No. 7356 (April 3, 1992), An Act Creating the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Establishing a National Endowment Fund for Culture and the Arts (NEFCA), and for Other Purposes.
Contact Information:
Phone: (02) 85272192
Email: info@ncca.gov.ph
Website: www.ncca.gov.ph/