Foreign endorsers eyed to contribute to fund

Rizal Rep. Emigdio Tanjuatco III has sought a measure that would mandate private firms hiring foreign artists as product endorsers to contribute a percentage of their contract amount to the national endowment fund for culture and the arts. Tanjuatco maintained that his House Bill No. 6692 was not aimed at discouraging the hiring of foreign artists but at giving priority to Filipino talents in making product endorsements and advertising. The bill seeks to amend Republic Act No. 7356, or an Act Creating the National Commission on Culture and the Arts, which establishes an endowment fund for Philippine art and cultural programs, projects and activities. HB 6692 will require mandatory contributions from private corporations, entering into endorsement deals with foreign personalities, equivalent to 5 percent of the contract price. —Jeannette I. Andrade