The Baguio City Council has approved on first reading the One Percent Art Ordinance.
Authored by Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan and councilors Leandro Yangot, Jr. and Vladmir Cayabas, the proposed ordinance sought to mandate the integration of “Baguio Crafts and Folk Arts” into the facade of public structures such as city buildings, libra-ries, recreation buildings, fire stations, and other city-owned infrastructures.
Under the ordinance, one percent of the approved budget of government projects and privately-owned infrastructures within the city would be used for site-specific public art.
The Creative Baguio City Council (CBCC) shall implement the ordinance and establish other policies and guidelines.
It shall choose the appropriate crafts and folk arts to be integrated into the infrastructure projects. It has the authority to exclude certain projects from consideration as an eligible project or to limit the percentage of construction costs appropriated for artwork on a case-to-case basis.
The CBCC shall also monitor ongoing projects with the assistance of the concerned office or persons with regard the implementation of the ordinance.
Likewise, it shall conduct researches in relation to the design of the site-specific art to be integrated with the assistance of the craftsmen and artists in the city.
In the event the ordinance is deemed inapplicable to an infrastructure project due to its conflict with a law or ordinance, structural restrictions of the infrastructure project, or any circumstance that makes the application of the ordinance impractical, the allocated one percent of the approved budget of the infrastructure project shall be deposited to an escrow account. The escrowed amount shall be spent for projects related to crafts and folk arts as determined by the CBCC with the approval of the mayor and the city council.
The proposed ordinance was referred to the committee on appropriations and finance for review. – Jordan G. Habbiling
April 20, 2024
