Press Release
December 7, 2011

SENATOR TG GUINGONA
Sponsorship Speech

Design Competitiveness Act of the Philippines

Friends, ladies and gentlemen:

It is said that the hand of the Filipino is one of the most skilled, the most gifted in the world.

Ang kamay daw ng Pilipino ang isa sa pinakamagaling sa buong mundo.

Palagay ko, ang madalas na tinutukoy nila ay ang kamay ni Sarangani Congressman Manny Pacquiao - ang kamay ... ang kamao na nagpapahirap, nagpapatumba at nagpapatulog ng kalaban sa boxing ring.

But the giftedness of the hand of the Filipino is not limited to its ability to stop his foe with a knock-out punch. It goes beyond that - beyond that and into the limitless realm of the imagination, of innovation and creativity.

After all, the hand of the Filipino is said to be merely the tool for expression and an extension of something more powerful - the Filipino mind and the Filipino character. And, judging by the work of the Filipino hand, from a Luna "Spoliarium", to an Amorsolo mural, to a Castrillo sculpture, to a million-peso Kenneth Cobonpue-designed furniture ... the only conclusion one can make is ... what a beautiful mind and character the Filipino has.

Today, I rise to pay tribute once more to the skill, talent and giftedness of the Filipino.

But more than that, I rise to underscore a missed opportunity: the opportunity for the entire Nation to benefit from shared and collective ingenuity of the community of Filipinos with gifted hands - the Design community.

And so today, I stand up before you to ask you for your support for the passage of Senate Bill ___ otherwise known as the "Design Competitiveness Act of the Philippines".

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