A group of visual artists and poets who gathered under the cultural initiative Kislap Diwa have announced they are severing their association with Senator Loren Legarda, citing her participation in the Senate’s new majority bloc as incompatible with the values their work represents.
The statement, signed by 10 artists and 14 poets and released Wednesday, May 20, drew a direct line between Legarda’s acceptance of the Senate President Pro Tempore post on May 11 and what the group described as a collective failure of conscience — one they said they could not allow their names to be attached to.
“Championship of the arts is not measured by past patronage. It is measured by the courage to stand against political convenience when it is costly to do so. On this, the Senator has failed,” the group said.
Kislap Diwa was established in 2023 under the joint vision of Legarda and National Artist Virgilio Almario as a platform for Filipino cultural advocacy, drawing together poets, visual artists, and heritage advocates. The signatories said they had taken Legarda’s self-presentation as a cultural champion at face value — until now.
“For years, the Senator has presented herself as a defender of culture and the creative life. Many of us believed her. Our gathering was made possible by that belief. But her recent actions have put this belief in serious doubt,” the group said.
At the center of their grievance is the Senate’s May 11 vote, which installed new leadership 13-9-2 and, in the same session, extended what was described as “protective custody” to a colleague facing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for crimes against humanity. The group said Legarda’s silence in the days that followed compounded the concern.
“She has lent her name and through her, a portion of ours, to a Senate that has chosen to be a refuge rather than a forum,” they said.
The artists and poets were explicit that they were not rendering a legal opinion on the ICC warrant, framing their objection instead in terms of artistic tradition and accountability.
“This severance is offered without theatrics. It is a fulfillment of the artist’s obligation to the Republic: to speak plainly when power falters and to refuse the use of our names in the service of what we cannot defend,” the statement read.
Their disassociation means they will decline future invitations to appear, read, or be honored in any capacity linked to Legarda’s office, and they are withdrawing consent for their participation in Kislap Diwa to be cited as part of her cultural record.
The Kislap Diwa statement was not the only institutional rebuke Legarda faced this week. The TOWNS Foundation — The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service, which previously recognized Legarda as an honoree — also issued a public statement urging her to reconsider her recent political alignment. “History will remember not those who remained comfortable with power, but those who chose integrity when it mattered most,” TOWNS said, calling on Legarda to choose “constitutional fidelity, justice, and moral leadership.” Her alma maters have also voiced criticism.
