The idea is not even new to the Philippines. In early 2022, BusinessWorld documented that a Clark Creative Zone was to be priority executed come 2023. Now in 2024, BusinessWorld remains the only publication to report on the project.
It is then fairly ambitious for Acting Cebu City Mayor Raymund Garcia to introduce the idea of a creative district in Cebu during the two-day Waterfront Development Summit. With the Cebu International Port transferring outside the city, Cebu City’s waterfront development body sees the potential to build a creative district on the vacant shoreline.
The government has allocated a PHP 10 billion budget for a 150-hectare build. Various investment schemes and incentives to attract businesses in creative fields such as filmmaking, entertainment, cultural arts, and design architecture have been proposed to concentrate these sectors within the district.
While the news is fairly recent, the plan for a creative district has been in the works for years now. At the helm of this project are movers from the Cebu Entertainment Creative Council (CECC), veterans of the scene who view this creative district as the strongest and most viable way to boost Filipino creativity on the international front.
Unprecedented heights
“The Cebuano creative industry is not there yet in growth and unity, but we are getting there,” says David Anthony Chan, the CECC Vice President.
It is through this council that the creative district was pushed to the government. The CECC is an intersectoral entertainment body composed of various sectors, including animation, theater, music, film, new media, and original content.
The CECC’s goal is to push the growth of Cebu’s creative entertainment industry on the business front. By harnessing the under-tapped potential of this industry, they hope to unlock additional income and opportunities for Cebuano creatives in the aforementioned fields.
“In a city with no creative district, you have to jump from one place to another to get jobs done. It’s tiring and costly,” Chan says. “Why invest in a district-less city when you can just go to one with a district and get everything done in one place?”
Chan credits Lawrence Panganiban, the CECC Executive Director, and his father for bringing the word of a creative district to the local government. Panganiban was among the project’s loudest champions, believing it to be the necessary next step in elevating the country’s creative industry to unprecedented heights.
“This creative district will create a nexus point in the entertainment industry that we have not seen in Cebu, dare I say, the entire nation,” Panganiban says.
Panganiban and Chan agree that the creative entertainment industry in Cebu suffers from tribalism. This pertains to the observation that one creative sector is unwilling to collaborate with others. The council is firm in its belief that creativity is interconnected. They are aiming with this district to consolidate the creative industry so one sector can easily benefit from the creativity of another.
“Because of this, people are starting to see the bigger picture,” Chan says. “This council is focused on industry building, lifting all the boats.”
The bigger picture
Their vision of growth, however, is not confined to Cebu. To focus solely on the province feeds into what Panganiban calls the “parochial, mainland mindset” in which the island’s creative industry finds itself today.
“I’m very allergic to the phrase, ‘support local,’” Chan says. “I want people to say instead, ‘support quality.’”
Chan states that the phrase “support local” does not work for Filipinos because Filipinos simply do not do it. The masses, Chan believes, adhere to international standards to test the quality of a Filipino piece of media. Only when the Filipino is recognized internationally do they feel a sense of pride in their nationality. Otherwise, they disregard local work.
Panganiban suggests that the Filipino creative industry can then only grow once we cater our media to international standards.
“There is no innovation in our entertainment; it’s nothing new,” he says. He cites Japanese anime as an example of creating work for the locals but with international-level quality. According to Panganiban, the quality of anime was too excellent to simply live within Japanese borders. Japan did not sell their anime to the Americans; the Americans bought it from them, he posits.
Panganiban adds: “Our nation only supports things that they know are good outside. If they think it’s Filipino-made, it’s bad unless it succeeds abroad.”
A vast number of the CECC’s intellectual property is catered to international standards, given the mindset that if it takes off abroad, it takes off in the Philippines.
Panganiban himself is developing a 13-episode fantasy anime series called Solemn Vow. They are backed by Japanese anime studio Toei Animation which produced well-renowned shows like Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z. Even with international backing, Solemn Vow is still deeply Filipino with its setting reminiscent of ancient Cebuano architecture and its characters inspired by Filipino folklore and mythology.
“If Americans can create stories about Big Foot, why can’t we make stories about kapres?” Panganiban says. “It’s endless what stories we can sell. Bottomline is we just have to do it.”
Chan finds our greatest asset to be in our values. A handful of great Japanese anime are merely philosophical ponderings of life, particularly set in high school where the whimsy is abundant and the responsibilities scarce. Western films focus on individualism where desires and motivations are prioritized over the dismay of parents, friends, and society at large.
Filipinos have the exact opposite value, Chan notes. Etched into the fabric of the Filipino is the family. It is not uncommon for Filipinos to endure, experience, undergo, and bear hardships for their loved ones. Whereas Japanese and American media see the family as an extension of or even a distraction from the individual’s desires, the Filipino’s desire is for the family.
For the regular Filipino, this quality is innate. For a foreigner, it is an astute observation. Chan sees it as a selling point. “I’m of the opinion that what the West sees is not what we see,” he says.
What do we see?
The biggest enemy of the Filipino creative industry is the Filipino creatives, Chan and Panganiban propose.
“There is a criminally severe lack of understanding of what is needed in this industry,” Panganiban cries.
Chan believes that the biggest threat to the creative district at the moment is the Filipino crab mentality, especially across regions.
“We already expect the ruckus: ‘Ah, why should we help Cebu and not Manila? How about Iloilo? Bacolod?’” Chan says.
Technically speaking, Chan and Panganiban say it has to be Cebu simply because Cebu is the perfect spot for a creative district to be built. With the transfer of the Cebu International Port, the land is available. The council merely had the opportune time and chance to pitch the idea to the government—which they took.
“We can serve as a test bed,” Panganiban interjects. “We don’t want to be the only ones being creative. We can be that one proof of concept, that tangible example, so that it will jumpstart something for the rest of the nation.”
Aside from that, the creative district will crumble at the hands of a weak marketing plan. As much as the creatives in the industry will impassionately spread the word, the local government will have to push the most weight on the marketing boulder.
Chan remarks: “The government has to spend money to market. They have to send delegates out as ambassadors of the district, to bring them to Cebu and to give them a tour of what we are trying to build.”
There are even plans to have an area for local government within the creative district.
Chan states: “You need to go through this and that for BIR, DTI, etc. It’s so exhausting with all the buildings
everywhere. If it’s all in one place, there has to be a liaison that knows all the different benefits the government is willing to give.”
For creative work to have even a grain of life in the nation, it has to undergo these government protocols and permits. Thus, it is more than essential to involve them and convince them that creative work is important in elevating the country’s status. It is the pivotal move the creative industry has to take, to allow the government to see their worth.
“We have to be clear to tell government what we need from them,” Chan calls. “They shouldn’t focus on buyouts or tax exemptions. We need practical government support to upgrade our skills to produce quality content. Once we do that, we can get our industry built.”
If the creative industry can get support from the government and investors, then maybe creatives won’t need to work a day job to financially support their sideline. Possibly, creatives can exert all their day’s effort into creating quality works that will fuel the national artistic tank.
Panganiban states: “This district will certainly make an impact. It will make a massive shockwave and move the industry in a way we haven’t seen before.”
These are the threats that Chan and Panganiban worry about. They are less concerned about more popular threats like artificial intelligence (AI).
“AI is a tool. It’s going to stay,” Chan says. “AI is also more nuanced than people realize. There are different kinds of engines that can be useful for creatives.”
Freelance work will also have a home in the district. Any type of creative person is welcome within the district. In fact, even if you are not a creative, Chan and Panganiban are confident you can become one in a space like that.
“Creatives like to sit in the park and look at the sun. They eat together. They talk. They do business. This is where an industry is built,” Chan muses. “If our problem is everything is disjointed, having a district takes down those walls overnight.”
A long time coming
The change within the industry did not happen overnight, however. It’s been a long time coming.
“If you wanted to be a creative ten years ago, your parents were probably right: there’s no future in it,” Chan says with a bittersweet smile. “But there is a career in it now.”
Having the animation studio for Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z work on a Filipino anime wasn’t accomplished with one phone call. Panganiban calls himself a “random schmo” and a “no one” when he recalls how he made it happen.
“I know that I’m a no-name guy who has zero track record, so I intentionally partnered with people with name value,” he says. He didn’t allow his lack of professional experience to stop him from pursuing an idea he knew was good. All he needed to do was walk the roads that were already paved for him.
Panganiban says: “Creatives need to humble themselves and learn things. Then, they can truly grasp that there’s a much bigger world out there.”
As much as Panganiban’s heart is in Cebu (if he had to choose one place to live in forever, it would be here), he does recognize the need for aspiring creatives to look outwards.
“If you have the means, do not hesitate to go out of where you are,” Panganiban advises. “Some of the best animators here in Cebu previously worked for Cartoon Network and Disney. They went out, came back, and brought richness to the locality.”
To master your skill to perfection is one thing, but Chan cannot underscore further how important it is for young creatives to build their networks while in the process.
“A lot of the time the problem with creatives is that they want to belong but don’t want to talk to people,” Chan says. “If you’re a writer, talk to authors and publishers. If you’re a musician, attend gigs. You know what? If you’re a writer, attend gigs; a musician, talk to authors. Go intersectoral!”
With the upcoming creative district, this advice has some legs. In a time where humanity is compromised in the pursuit of wealth and power, creativity has to charge forward, full speed ahead, so we don’t forget just how irreplaceable the very creativity we are trying so desperately to replace is.
A 10 billion peso creative district is ambitious, but what is ambition if not creativity in motion?
“It is possible,” Panganiban says, a smile forming on his face as he says the next part. “And it is coming.”
