A party-list lawmaker has said “bringing ticket prices down by cutting down all local and national taxes on productions, both local and foreign, would be a step in the right direction.”
“Watching movies and stage plays should be valued more for their economic impact and be considered necessities that benefit families and promote mental and public health, not luxury activities,” Rep. Angelica Natasha Co, vice chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations, said.
Co made the suggestion amid calls to ban K-dramas in the Philippines.
She said Filipino producers have yet to fully harness the power of online platforms and online access to the masses is limited because internet speeds and coverage are still slow and low for most Filipinos. “Therefore, in-person viewing of movies in theaters and plays on stage is still the main mode available to them. But current ticket prices are prohibitive and Filipinos are price-sensitive,” Co said.
Co is also a member of the House Committees on Economic Affairs and the special committee on creative industry and performing arts. She also had a cameo role in a Filipino movie, “Ikaw”, which was shown on Netflix.
“Getting our people out of their homes and returning to what they did before the pandemic, including watching movies, will revive the entertainment industry and the economy. If there are no audiences, producers will not make those movies and stage plays,” Co added.
“Banning or taxing foreign films, TV series, and other creative media outputs are not the strategies that will create opportunities for Filipino creative talents and entrepreneurs. Rather, building upon and supporting the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act (RA 11904) will get a significant part of that challenge done,” the congresswoman said.
She added that the strong following of Korean artists among Filipinos “should be taken as a set of signs of what Filipinos want to see in any kind of creative output, whether by Filipinos, Koreans, or any other nationalities. The South Korean strategies are among our benchmarks actually to strengthen the Filipino creative industries. The South Koreans are our friends, not our enemies.”
Co said, “to address the immediate urgent problem of unemployment and underemployment among performing artists, we must swiftly transition out of the pandemic and reopen the economy. Reopening businesses and school campuses which shut down during the pandemic is crucial to getting our economy working again at full power.”
The congresswoman said Republic Act 11904 “quietly lapsed into law last July 28, so many Filipinos are still unaware of this new law that embodies the sets of strategies designed to give jobs, opportunities, and benefits to performing artists and other creative talents.”
“The Pinoy audience is telling all of us the kind of quality they want in movies, TV series, and music. They have also been clamoring for strong support for Filipino creatives, support from the government, the private sector, and civil society, but often their clamor falls on deaf ears and blind vision,” the ranking House lawmaker said.
“But RA 11904 is proof that the 18th Congress was actively listening and had a clear vision of what was needed. This new law address the needs of all the sectors of creatives in our country. It is a new solution, so I ask that we all give it time to work. Let us support the DTI, the lead implementing agency,” Co said.