OPM run for artists’ rights

The Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts are mounting an advocacy run on May 18 to raise awareness on Executive Order No. 255, which requires all “radio stations with musical format programs to broadcast a minimum of four original Filipino compositions per hour.”

Dubbed “Mission: EO 255,” the run seeks to encourage radio stations to comply with the said order, which was issued by former President Corazon Aquino in 1987. The nonenforcement of the EO was one of the main issues that industry stakeholders raised and addressed at the Pinoy Music Summit last March.

“Not only are we launching the campaign to remind radio stations … but also to let the public know that they can expect four local songs to be played per hour on all radio channels so as to make the implementation of EO 255 participative,” OPM president Ogie Alcasid said of the advocacy run, which will likewise serve as a unity run for Filipino artists’ rights and welfare.

The event will kick off at 5 a.m. at the G-Strip in Greenhills, San Juan, and will be attended by the OPM board of directors including Alcasid, Dingdong Avanzado, Noel Cabangon, as well as other OPM members.

For registration info, contact the OPM secretariat at 6311022 or 6330640. Allan Policarpio