ARTISTS in Baguio City demand to have a say in the proposed busking law.
In a letter to councilor Leandro Yangot artists have enumerated requests on how to conduct the consultation with regards to the proposed busking ordinance.
The letter suggested public consultation should be conducted under the Baguio Creative City Council.
“While we welcome your invitation to a public hearing as per regular legislation procedures, we believe our concerns can be articulated most effectively in the Creative City Council, which we expect to be fairly representative of Baguio’s creative communities. We therefore move to defer the public hearing pending final approval of the ordinance creating the Baguio Creative City Council,” reads the letter.
The ordinance is set to be passed on its first reading which will prepare for a public consultation.
“We suggest the public hearing be held on a neutral ground, such as UP Baguio. Our own hope and belief is that artists and practitioners from arts and cultural groups should have an extensive, not just a token, presence and voice in legislating any policy that affects us. We recognize that spaces shape the distribution and exercise of power, and we believe that UP Baguio will facilitate a truly impartial, democratic and participatory consultation,” added the letter.
The Yangot Ordinance aims to regulate “busking” or the act of performing in public places for gratuities.
Once the law is passed, artist are required to secure a permit with a corresponding fee of P35o a year.
Yangot said busking is a hugely overlooked art form.
“From it you can gain exposure, a surprisingly diverse fan base, other paid performance opportunities, paid practice time in front of a live audience, and make enough to live on. Many benefits can be gained from an underrated thing such as street performance if you really work at it. It is definitely something that every artist should take advantage of especially in Baguio City where it is open for anyone and everyone,” added Yangot.
But artists say they fear governing artistic expression would curtail rather than encourage creativity, and screening out non-artistic activities based on some bureaucratically contrived criteria would discriminate against certain individuals.
“We hope to clarify this issue during the meeting, among other provisions of the proposed ordinance that we deem inimical to creative work,” added the letter.
The artists called on Raymundo Rovillos, Chancellor of the University of the Philippines-Baguio, to host a meeting on January 20 and has invited Yangot to be part of the gathering to further discuss the matter.
