Piolo Pascual on the OMB’s MMFF antipiracy poster
Being the face and voice of the Optical Media Board (OMB), actor Piolo Pascual has been effective in helping promote awareness of intellectual property and piracy.
“Piolo has aided in delivering our message to the entertainment industry that we have to reinforce the protection and promotion of intellectual property rights,” OMB Chair Anselmo Adriano told the Inquirer in a recent interview.
“He was very vocal about encouraging [people] to support Filipino movies in cinemas during his press conferences and posts in his social media account,” Adriano reported.
Because of Pascual’s contributions to the OMB, the agency hopes to continue engaging the actor’s services as its ambassador.
The OMB chair added, “[Our] Memorandum of Agreement is due for renewal in June, but we are positive that he will still continue to support the OMB.”
The actor was on the OMB’s latest Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) anticamcording posters, which were prominently displayed in cinemas during the fest’s run.
There was one man who tried to illegally record “Ang Panday” in Tagaytay, but was apprehended, the chair added.
Adriano noted that there was no illegal streaming of any of the films on social media during the festival season.
The agency’s theater monitoring activities are aimed at strengthening the OMB’s duty to fight piracy of Filipino movies all over the Philippines, according to Adriano.
“It wouldn’t have been successful without the full support of the Metro Manila Development Authority’s MMFF committees,” he said. “The utmost cooperation of more than 300 cinemas, mall management, and their security teams are significant in this endeavor.”
He also commended his team: “The OMB workforce was proactive … in our monitoring activities, even during the holidays.”
The agency hopes that changes to an existing law will help curb intellectual property theft further.
“The OMB has already created a technical working group tasked to research the current technological trends to aid in the amendment of the OMB Act to make sure that our economy is free from … media piracy. I am hoping that these amendments will include online piracy, as this has been hurting the film, music and software industry the most,” he said.
Two years into his three-year term, Adriano said that he is looking forward to the agency “moving forward to greater heights.”
He elaborated: “We are expecting sustained partnerships with LGUs and NGOs, active participation of our stakeholders, and more programs directed towards creating awareness … about the Optical Media Act.”