Banning K-dramas sometimes crosses my mind – Estrada

To help promote Filipino-made shows, Sen. Robinhood Padilla proposes imposing higher taxes on foreign-made ones while Sen. Jinggoy Estrada says he has been thinking about K-dramas. (File photos from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Jinggoy Estrada said on Tuesday that it would sometime cross his mind to have Korean dramas and other foreign-made films and TV shows banned in the Philippines in a bid to boost Filipino-made shows.

Estrada shared his idea during the hearing of the 2023 budget of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).

“In my observation, if we continue to show Korean telenovelas, it’s the Koreans that our countrymen admire, and our Filipino artists lose their jobs,” Estrada, who was himself an actor, said in Filipino.

“That’s why sometimes it crosses my mind to have these foreign-made telenovelas banned and that our Filipino artists, who have the innate skill in acting, should be the ones shown here in our country.”

Filipinos patronize Korean products, instead of  Filipino ones, because of these K-dramas, he said.

“What we are promoting are these products of the Koreans. That’s why we have so many Korean products here. Instead of promoting our own products, what we are promoting are foreign ones,” he added.

In response, actor Tirso Cruz III said one of the primary programs of the FDCP, which he chairs, is focusing on the creation and promotion of local films.

“It’s just that we can’t help ourselves because this is a worldwide business. We can’t stop streaming [foreign films] because it’s accepted by the world already,” Cruz said.

“Maybe, to counter it, as far as we are concerned, Filipino first for the Filipino. Our focus now really is to help Filiino producers and promote our local films.”

In the same hearing, Sen. Robinhood Padilla, another actor, also proposed imposing higher taxes on foreign-made shows to help pool up funds for the local film industry.

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