Congress urged to pass anti-piracy bill, make Filipino talents ‘global creative powerhouse’
Anti-piracy. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Filipino talents can become “a global creative powerhouse,” and Congress should help and protect them by passing the anti-piracy bill.
The consumer advocacy network CitizenWatch Philippines made the call, expressing its support for Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda’s House Bill No. 799. The proposed measure aims to revise the Intellectual Property (IP) Code of the Philippines by expanding the power of regulators to address online violations of IP rights.
“We should encourage and develop, not discourage and disincentivize, the potential of the Filipino talent toward being a global creative powerhouse,” CitizenWatch Philippines co-convenor Tim Abejo said in a statement.
According to Abejo, the bill is the first proposed legislation pushing for immediate reforms to the IP Code that institutionalizes site blocking and combats piracy.
He noted that various stakeholders in the creative industry, telecommunication companies, and internet service providers also support the bill.
“Billions of pesos are being drained from the economy because of online piracy. Thousands of creative workers and those in linked sectors are losing opportunities and getting disenfranchised when they could be part of a competitive industry of digital innovators and media creators,” Abejo pointed out.
Abejo likened the potential of the local creative industry to that of South Korea, asserting that the latter’s success in reaching the global entertainment market is likewise achievable by Filipinos.
“Our government could protect and support them so they could reach their full potential and transform our damaged creative industry into a global powerhouse of artistic geniuses,” he stressed.
According to a study by Media Partners Asia in 2020, online piracy has resulted in around P1-billion potential revenue losses to professions linked to local video production, distribution, and aggregation.
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