MANILA, Philippines —Senator Robinhood Padilla on Tuesday said he wants to impose tariffs on foreign movies and TV series being shown here to encourage the local industry to generate more of the same content.
During the hearing of the 2023 budget for the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) at the Senate, Padilla said funds from the tariffs on foreign shows could assist Filipinos working in the film industry.
“Maaari po bang gawan natin ng paraan na taasan ang tax nitong mga foreign series na pumapasok sa atin? Kahit paano po ang subsidy na makukuha, bigay natin sa workers sa industry natin sa local,” the senator said.
(Can we raise the taxes on these foreign series that are being shown here? So that the funds can be used for subsidies for our workers in the local industry.)
“Sampahan natin itong mga pagpasok ng foreign dahil maraming nawawalan ng trabaho dito,” he added.
(Let’s impose a tax on foreign shows because many people in the local industry are losing jobs here.)
Padilla also expressed support for providing additional funds to the FDCP to restore old Philippine films and the FDCP’s bid to have its building with its vault to preserve old Filipino movies.
According to FDCP Chairman Tirso Cruz III, the building will last for at least 40 to 50 years, and the P500,000 monthly rent can be realigned to helping film industry workers, especially young directors and scriptwriters.
The senator also supported making tourism sites out of areas where Filipino films were made.
“Ang pelikula ‘pag tiningnan natin, investment na ito habang buhay. Kung preserved or restored, walang pagtanda dito. Kasaysayan ito, kultura. Ito masasabi na treasure natin,” Padilla said.
(Films are investments for life. If preserved or restored, they are timeless. They are also a part of our history and culture, so they can be considered our treasure.)
“Dito sa Southeast Asia, tayo unang gumawa ng pelikula at tayo po palagi ang nananalong best actor, best picture sa Asia… Lahat po ay nagmamalasakit sa pelikulang Pilipino. Siguro ito ang umpisa na makaabante tayo,” he added.
(Here in Southeast Asia, we were the first to make movies and always won awards for best film and actor… Now, so many are trying to help the film industry. So perhaps this is a good point for us to start.)
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