Support the Film Industry in the Philippines

With the pandemic closing off cinemas for a good amount of time, the film industry of the Philippines was among the hardest hit.

In a Senate plenary session back in November 2022, Senator Jinggoy Estrada made mention of the issues that are “plaguing the barely surviving” film industry in the Philippines.

By then, only nine local movies had been released by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) since January of the same year. This is only nine out of 20 local films reviewed by the MTRCB.

According to Estrada, this sector employing over 760,000 is “on the verge of collapse even during the pre-pandemic period.”

Now this year, Pangasinan 4th District Representative Christopher De Venecia who also sits as the Chair of the House Special Committee on Creative Industry and Performing Arts has expressed his plans to refiling a measure that would help the event and film industries recover from losses in revenue caused by the pandemic with tax exemptions and subsidies.

He has specifically noted the proposed “Film and Live Events Recovery Act,” which would give an added two years of tax reduction and holiday of amusement tax from 10 to 5%.

“In terms of the amusement tax, right now it is at 10 percent. It is not being charged by all of the LGUs (local government units). Thankfully, that is a prerogative. So we are refiling the bill for a tax holiday for additional two years and reducing it to 5 percent,” added De Venecia.

Meanwhile, Leyte 4th District Representative and Committee Vice-Chair Richard Gomez have mentioned that the industry is “burdened with so much taxes”.

“The basic gist is to make it cheaper and more affordable for film producers to make more films,”  he adds.

With the local film industry struggling to find funding and support, the government should push through with plans to subsidize and incentivize this industry.

Sources: Manila Bulletin, Philippine News Agency, Inquirer, CNN Philippines,