Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday expressed support for phasing out the operations of the Optical Media Board (OMB), citing the obsolescence of the industry it was created to regulate.
Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, also said he is willing to recommend to the executive department a transfer of the OMB’s functions to another agency, such as the Film Development Council, to prevent worker displacement.
“We can provide the agency with a winding-down budget good for three to six months, and then we can put that budget to another agency that has a similar function,” he said.
“Times today have rendered the OMB totally obsolete. People do not watch CDs anymore. Everything is now on live streaming platforms. We just have to find the proper transition for the employees,” Gatchalian added.
The OMB is tasked with licensing and registering legal optical media businesses, as well as investigating and shutting down illegal operations.
Last month, he questioned the justification for allocating P66 million to the OMB in 2026, citing a Commission on Audit report that showed the board had zero accomplishments in physical inspections of optical media establishments from July to September 2024.
The OMB admitted it only conducted pre-inspections, attributing the gap to limited authority granted to its former officer-in-charge, James Macasero.
Dennis Pinlac, the current officer-in-charge, said Macasero focused on administrative functions such as employee salaries and office utilities because his mandate did not clearly authorize inspections.
Gatchalian said the lack of clear executive directives contributed to the OMB’s poor performance in 2024, both in inspections and in overall budget utilization.
The final decision on the board’s fate will depend on further review and recommendations to the executive branch.
