Developing the Philippine Creative Economy: a Chat with Philippine Congressman Kiko Benitez

The City of San Diego Filipino American Employees' Association and San Diego Public Library proudly present the Honorable, Congressman Kiko Benitez Congressman Kiko Benitez of the Philippines for a stimulating presentation on the state of the creative industries and the performing arts in the Philippines. Congressman Benitez played a pivotal role in passing the Creative Industries Development Act of 2022 in the Philippine Congress, a significant law for the creative sector in the Philippines. 

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Designed to help the creative sector to recover from the pandemic, the law aims to help grow the creative industries through better planning and collaboration. Congressman Benitez will discuss how this comprehensive legislation will provide  job opportunities and govern the employment, working conditions, and workplaces in the creative economy in the Philippines.

Congressman Benitez is the Representative of the Third District of Negros Occidental in the Philippines. He is the Chairperson of the Committee on Housing and Urban Development, and Vice Chairperson of the Committee on Creative Industry and Performing Arts. In the Philippine Congress, Congressman Benitez has championed bills that promote social equity, ecology, and a sustainable economy. He’s authored bills to address the country’s housing needs, accelerate the digital transformation of the economy and bureaucracy, adapt the education system to the changing world, and strengthen the creative industries. Congressman Benitez earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of Wisconsin. A former professor of comparative literature at the University of Washington, he is a scholar and expert in the literature and film cultures of insular Southeast Asia.  Visit HERE for more information about the Congressman and his office.