“Our ultimate goal is to have one of the cities in BARMM – Marawi, Lamitan, or Cotabato City – be declared a UNESCO creative city. It is not far from reality, as our region has been known to be rich in history, arts, culture, and traditions,” Mawalili said.
“We hope to develop the creative industry in BARMM and make it a potent force in the country’s creative economy. I know we can contribute more given the right and adequate support for our creative industry,” he added.
"One reason why the private sector tries to shy away from the creative undertaking is because they do not find it lucrative. But the Baguio experience proved otherwise by creating extra jobs and venues and allowing for a creative economy to grow," he said.