Digong in dreamland

Liza Diño

(Editor’s Note: What has President Duterte accomplished for the local entertainment industry one year after his ascent to the country’s highest office? Does he get a passing or failing grade? Inquirer Entertainment lets Tinseltown’s movers, shakers and insiders do the talking—and assessing.)
The film industry has many factions, so “to be able to get the support of all the stakeholders, from the film workers and producers to the theater exhibitors and our audience, is a huge accomplishment [under the Duterte administration],” according to Liza Diño, chair of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).

For Diño, everything she has been doing so far as a presidential appointee is “inspired by his (Duterte’s) directives, like empowering the regions and creating platforms to give equity to our local industry.”

Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP)

Aside from its two most highly publicized projects (Cine Lokal and Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino), Diño said some of the agencies’ other noteworthy accomplishments include:

Support given to over 15 local film festivals under its Festival Development Assistance Program, which provides financial aid to regional and Manila-based film festivals.

Support given to eight film festivals under its International Film Development Assistance Program, which provides financial aid to international festivals that feature or focus on the Philippines.

Plane fare and/or hotel accommodations provided to more than 20 filmmakers in seven film festivals under its International Travel Assistance Program.

A P25,000 stipend granted to 15 recipients under its International Film Studies Assistance Program, which provides aid to filmmakers accepted in accredited film labs, talent academies or project labs.

Activated the Philippine Film Export Services Office (PFeso) “with the aim of turning our country into a film hub and a one-stop shop for foreign production in the Philippines.”

New cinematheques built all over the country, specifically in Antique City; Bacolod City; Nabunturan, Compostela Valley; Burauen, Leyte; and San Fernando, Pampanga.

National Cinema Association of the Philippines (NCAP)
A local film producer loses 50 percent of his expected earnings if his movie falls prey to pirates between the first and second day of its nationwide screening, according to NCAP president Dominic Du.

“If you could see the movie online, for free, why would you go to the cineplex to pay P200-plus for it? For an ordinary working guy, that is a big amount,” he pointed out.

Curbing piracy is what the NCAP hopes President Duterte would look into as he commemorates his first year in office.

“Although we now have the Anti-Camcording Act (of 2010), we lack the resources to fight piracy, and we need the support of the government,” Du said.

He said that while he saw the President’s sincerity in instilling change, “we cannot expect big changes to happen in one year. That’s a miracle!”

He pointed out that Duterte has been extending help to the entertainment industry through the FDCP.

In May, the NCAP signed an agreement with the FDCP to be one of its partners in its program “Pista,” which runs from Aug. 16 to 22.

Aside from allowing the screenings of only locally produced films in all NCAP-member cinemas during the festival’s weeklong run, the agency has also pledged to help participating producers in marketing their films through regular screenings of their trailers.

Optical Media Board (OMB)
For OMB chair Anselmo Adriano, “there was a clear indication that good governance and transparency were of utmost importance” to the Duterte administration.

He cited the creation of the 888 Citizens Complaints hotline, currently handled by the Civil Service Commission. “Through this, piracy was easily reported by members of the community,” Adriano pointed out.

The OMB is the agency responsible for regulating the production, use and distribution of recording media in the country.

Adriano said immense support from various agencies was also felt by the OMB, “especially in the conduct of our cinema monitoring during the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).”

Partnerships with other agencies such as the FDCP and the Department of Trade and Industry were also forged “to support legitimate businesses,” he said.

“International relations and cooperation are also being felt,” said Adriano, adding that a forum jointly organized by the Philippines and the Korea Copyright Commission is underway. “[But] the evolution in information technology is radically threatening intellectual property in fundamental ways.”

He also said that the amendment of the Optical Media Act is something that the President should consider, “[especially] with the advent of peer-to-peer sharing and transfer of media through nonphysical medium.”

Movie Workers Welfare Foundation (Mowelfund)

Boots Anson-Roa

“President Duterte has sustained ongoing programs in the various agencies that shape and shake the Philippine entertainment industry,” said actress Boots Anson-Rodrigo, Mowelfund president.

“We understand the changes in the leadership of these agencies that are under the jurisdiction of the Office of the President; that it is his responsibility and prerogative,” she added.

“We hope that his appointees will continue to be industry mainstreamers with the knowledge, experience, passion, integrity and genuine concern for their mandate and their constituents,” Rodrigo said.

She also thanked the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), “which is directly under the Office of the President, for its continuous patronage of our needy film constituents. Its subsidy provides a strong base for Mowelfund’s existence.”

Mowelfund, a 40-year-old private, nonstock and nonprofit organization, is one of the recipients of tax-exempt proceeds of the annual MMFF, which is run by the MMDA.

As such, Mowelfund sits in the executive committee of the MMFF, represented either by its chair or president.

“Fifty percent of the net of tax-exempt proceeds go to Mowelfund. This annual subsidy provides for about 60 to 70 percent of the foundation’s operational cost,” explained actress Rodrigo, who is its president.

Mowelfund provides health and welfare benefits for marginalized film workers. It also subsidizes in part the education of the beneficiaries’ dependents.