Liza Diño calls for more funding for local entertainment industry instead of K-drama ban

Image: Instagram/@lizadino

Liza Diño stressed the need of the local entertainment industry for more funding to produce “better-quality content,” as she spoke up against the idea of banning Korean dramas in the country.

The former Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) chairman voiced her take on banning foreign-made shows through her Facebook page last Sunday, Oct. 23.

“We are losing our very own audiences to Korean content because there aren’t enough local producers who produce the kind of content that Filipino audiences prefer to watch and consume,” she said. “So instead of banning their works, tingnan muna natin ang sarili nating bakuran (let us look at our own backyard) and think of ways to improve our own outputs.

“We should challenge ourselves by learning their way of doing things. Adopt their best practices,” she added.

Diño said Korean productions invest in making quality content and thrive because their government provides “substantial funding” to finance their projects.

“Ang core challenge ng (The core challenge of) local entertainment industry is FUNDING — both from the government and the private sector,” she added. “Korean Film Council’s budget is 5 billion a year. Sa (In) FDCP, I started with P76 million in 2016, after [six] years, 290 million a year. Still not enough.”

Diño also underscored the need to be “ambitious” and to have a “change of mindset” to overcome the “barriers” in elevating the ways of producing local content.

“We all know that we are better than what we produce, so let’s invest in developing better-quality content,” she stated. “The name of the game now is to innovate, collaborate, and elevate. Let’s work with them, not against them.”

The possibility of banning K-dramas was floated by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada when he said it had crossed his mind to ban foreign-made shows to possibly boost Filipino productions.

Estrada has since backpedaled on his comments on K-dramas after receiving criticisms from netizens and celebrities including Parokya ni Edgar frontman Chito Miranda, Pokwang and Bela Padilla.  /ra

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