MANILA — Senator Loren Legarda, Vice Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, secured the committee’s endorsement for the proposed 2026 budgets of the country’s major cultural institutions during the plenary deliberations on the General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

Sponsoring the spending plans of agencies leading the country’s heritage preservation and creative development efforts, Legarda stressed the importance of investing in culture, saying it is central to national identity.

“Karangalan ko pong i-sponsor ang panukalang badyet para sa taong 2026 ng ating mga pangunahing ahensyang pangkultura. Hindi luho ang kultura—ito ang kaluluwa ng ating sambayanan,” she said.

Legarda, who chairs the Senate Committee on Culture and the Arts and is the principal author of the National Cultural Heritage Act, underscored the mandates of cultural agencies in language preservation, education, artistic development, and the protection of historical assets. She said the proposed allocations would sustain essential programs that support national development.

For fiscal year 2026, Legarda recommended approving the proposed budgets for the National Commission for Culture and the Arts Proper, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the National Library of the Philippines, the National Archives of the Philippines, the Commission on the Filipino Language (CFL), and the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

The chamber subsequently deemed the budgets of the cultural agencies submitted without objection.

During deliberations, the budget of the CFL was immediately approved without interpellation. Legarda expressed disappointment, noting that the country’s linguistic diversity warranted deeper discussion.

“I’m disappointed that nobody is interested to ask me about languages because there are 135 languages in the Philippines,” she said. “If nobody wants to ask me, then I can probably just deliver a privilege speech someday.”

Senate President Vicente Sotto III responded that the absence of questions reflected confidence in her handling of the committee hearings.

“Well, the way I take it… is that you handled it perfectly during the hearing of the committee,” Sotto said.

Senator Robinhood Padilla also expressed full support, praising Legarda for championing Philippine culture and languages.

“Ang kultura po at ang ating wika, ‘yan po ang ugat ng ating pagka-Pilipino,” Padilla said, thanking Legarda on behalf of Muslim and Indigenous communities.

Legarda concluded her sponsorship by emphasizing the long-term value of cultural investment: “Ang pamumuhunan sa kultura ay pamumuhunan sa pambansang identidad, pagkamalikhain, at kinabukasan ng ating mga kababayan.”