MANILA – The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) has refused to comment on reports that “Anak” hitmaker Freddie Aguilar will soon head the agency.

ABS-CBN sources said the NCCA is still waiting for the official announcement regarding Aguilar’s appointment, noting that chairman Felipe de Leon and the board commissioners will end their term on December 31.

Aguilar earlier told ABS-CBN News' Mario Dumaual that the camp of President Rodrigo Duterte has asked him to head the NCCA.

Duterte wants Freddie Aguilar to head NCCA

He said Duterte's special assistant, Christopher "Bong" Go, offered him the post after he requested the president to create a Department of Culture and the Arts.

"Tinawagan ako ni Bong Go at sabi sa akin, 'Sir Freddie, hangga't wala pa po iyong department of culture and the arts na hinihingi po ninyo sa presidente ay puwede po bang kayo po muna ang mamahala sa NCCA?" Aguilar said last Monday.

"Sabi ko, 'Sige, kung iyong ang ia-assign sa akin ng presidente, gagawin ko iyon muna."

A staunch supporter of Duterte, Aguilar explained that he wants to establish a Department of Culture and the Arts so that he can advance his advocacy of starting a “cultural revolution.”

He said the goal of this cultural revolution is to strengthen Filipino culture and values which foreign colonizers suppressed.

"Sabi ko, ito lang po iyong revolution na walang mamamatay. Ang ibig sabihin ko po sa cultural revolution ay pinapangarap ko po na ibalik ‘yung mga talagang Pilipino na pag-uugali natin, pati sining natin, pati panulat natin, ibalik sa atin ‘yun tinanggal sa atin ng mga banyaga," he said.

The cultural revolution also seeks to unite a diverse people by affirming their national identity, Aguilar added.

"Pag tinanong mo ang mga tao balang araw, hindi na po nila iisipin na taga-Luzon ako, wala akong pakialam sa Visayas. Taga-Visayas ako, wala akong pakialam sa Mindanao.

"Pag nagkaroon po tayo ng cultural revolution, pag sinabi po nating Ilokano, Kapampangan, Bisaya, lahat po iyan maninindigan na siya ay Pilipino," the musician concluded.

Aguilar is one of Duterte’s favorite local singers. He performed his composition "Para Sa Tunay Na Pagbabago" at the inauguration of Duterte in Malacanang Palace on June 30.

-- report from Mario Dumaual, ABS-CBN News