President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos has reorganized the 43-year-old Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) and placed it under the supervision of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to “maximize” the potential of the local movie industry.
The President also changed the composition of the FAP to strengthen the body and complement the government’s programs for the film industry.
“To maximize the full potential of the Philippine film industry, it is imperative to ensure that world-class Filipino talents in the field of motion picture arts and sciences are given due recognition and assistance by the national government,” he said in his Oct. 2 Executive Order No. 70 (EO 70).
Marcos added that it was necessary to further define the FAP’s “duties and functions to complement the programs, activities and projects of existing government bodies involved in the promotion and development of the Philippine film industry.”
The FAP was created in 1981 by the President’s father and namesake. It is touted as the Philippine counterpart of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a private group which stages the annual Oscar Awards.
In January 1982, a year after the FAP was established, the Philippines staged the first Manila International Film Festival spearheaded by then first lady Imelda Marcos in hopes of making the country “the Cannes of the East,” according to news reports at the time.
Scholarships, grants
Under EO 70, the refurbished FAP is tasked with giving recognition, awards distinction, appreciation, rewards, scholarships, grants and other forms of assistance for the film industry.
The Philippine government had established two other agencies involved with the industry—the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB)— both under the Office of the President.
According to EO 70, the FAP’s primary function is to give recognition to outstanding films, artists and stakeholders through the yearly National Film Awards to revitalize and further promote the film industry.
These awards will “recognize, promote and celebrate world-class talents and outputs of Filipinos in motion picture arts and sciences.”
Assisting guilds
The FAP will create an independent committee which will select official nominees for the annual awards according to the categories, criteria, mechanics and prizes that it will establish, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Cultural Center of the Philippines and other relevant government agencies.
The FAP’s mandate also includes guiding and assisting guilds, organizations or associations in various creative and technical sectors toward the professionalization of the film industry.
To professionalize and promote the film industry, it will also collaborate with international organizations and other government agencies like the FDCP, MTRCB, National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Department of Tourism, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines and local government units.
The education secretary used to exercise oversight over the FAP. EO 70 created a governing Board of Trustees that is chaired by a director general and the DTI secretary.
Board composition
The board includes a representative from the Office of the President, labor secretary, director general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), chair of the NCCA, chair of the FDCP, and two representatives from the private sector.
The private sector representatives should come from reputable guilds, organizations, or associations in the film industry.
The FAP will also collaborate with the Department of Education, Tesda, FDCP, Commission on Higher Education, Philippine Creative Industries Development Council, the private sector, academe, etc. in providing programs, training, and other forms of support for the welfare and professionalization of workers in the film industry. —WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH INQ