GORGY RULA
Nakasabay ng PEP Troika si Negros Occidental Third District Representative Javi Benitez na nanood ng pelikulang 2 Valid IDs sa huling araw ng Cinemalaya 22 noong Agosto 18, 2026 sa Shangri-la Plaza, Mandaluyong City.
Sandali namin siyang nakatsikahan tungkol sa binubuo ng Kongreso na Philippine Film Commission.
Si Cong. Javi ang chairman ng House Special Committee on Creative Industry and Performing Arts. Siya ang namumuno nito kasama ang ilang mambabatas na taga-entertainment industry.
FOREIGN PRODUCERS SHOOTING FILMS IN THE PHILIPPINES
Binanggit namin kay Cong. Javi ang idinadaing ng ilang foreign film producers na nag-shooting ng pelikula sa Pilipinas.
Nahihirapan daw ang ibang foreign film production sa pag-shoot dito dahil sa hindi pakikipag-cooperate ng ibang local government units (LGUs).
Tulad nang napag-usapan namin ng producer ng Korean film na The Guardian na nag-shoot dito sa ating bansa.
Kapag alam daw ng barangay na international production ang kausap nila, pinepresyuhan daw sila ng mataas.
Mabuti at maayos daw ang mga taga-Quezon City na talagang ine-encourage nila ang film producers na mag-shoot sa naturang lungsod.
Ito ngayon ang pinag-uusapan nina Cong. Javi sa binubuo nilang Philippine Film Commission, kasama ang iba pang kongresista, Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP), at ilan pang ahensya sa industriya.
Nasa pangalawang araw na raw ang kanilang technical working group, at ang isa raw sa pinag-uusapan nila ay ang uniform na pagsingil sa permit na hinihingi ng film producers.
Ani Cong. Javi, “That’s why kasama na yung mga municipalities para ma-streamline yung mga fees. Yung magiging one-stop shop ito for lahat na gustong mag-shoot.”
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NOEL FERRER
Kung matutuloy ang pagsasabatas ng Philippine Film Industry Development Act 2026, malawak ang sasakupin ng Philippine Film Commission.
Nakausap din ng PEP Troika si Bacoor, Cavite Congresswoman Lani Mercado-Revilla, na isa sa miyembro ng committee ng Creatives sa Kongreso.
Ipinaliwanag niya sa amin kung ano itong binubuo nilang Philippine Film Commission.
“Mag-e-evolve na ang FDCP towards the Philippine Film Commission.
“Magkakaroon ng mas malaking participation ang Philippine Film Commission, lalung-lalo na sa pag-attract ng foreign film producers dito sa Pilipinas.”
Dagdag na pahayag ni Cong. Javi: “Yung FDCP kasi… yung charter nung 2002 pa. So, 24 years na hindi na-update. Mas empowered na.”
ONE-STOP SHOP FOR FILM PRODUCERS
Nabanggit din ni Cong. Lani ang gagawin nilang one-stop shop para madali sa film producers ang pag-shoot dito sa atin.
Kabilang diyan ang pagkuha ng permit at iisa lang ang presyo ng mga babayaran sa isang lugar na pagsusyutingan.
Pinag-uusapan daw nila kung kakayanin bang magkaroon ng one-stop shop para sa film producers.
Sabi niya: “We will involve local government units na may uniformity sa mga costs na binabayaran ng mga film producers.
“Hopefully both local and international film producers.
“Tapos yung rebates para may incentives ang ating mga film producers to make more film here in the Philippines.
“It’s more of marketing the Philippines into a film destination hub.”
Pagdating sa tax rebates ay hindi raw ganun kadali dahil marami pa silang iko-consult na ibang ahensya ng pamahalaan.
“Ang kagandahan nito, nagkaroon ng consultation with FDCP, with the Film Academy of the Philippines.
“Ngayon, lalapit na kami sa BIR, sa Department of Finance, para ma-consult sila on what would be legal and what would be good for the country.
“Ayun yung diniscuss namin sa dalawang araw, sa technical working group, yung composition ng Philippine Film Commission,” dagdag ni Cong. Lani.
Maganda itong ginagawa nina Cong. Javi at Cong. Lani na nagiging visible sila at nasa forefront ng pagtulong sa industriya kung saan din sila nagmula.
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JERRY OLEA
Ang isa pang tinalakay sa technical working group ay ang streaming platforms na sa ibang bansa nakabase.
Meron ba silang binabayarang tax dito sa Pilipinas? Di ba, ang Netflix ay sa Singapore pa?
“Magbibigay-importansiya din tayo sa mga streaming platforms para mas lalong ma-encourage sila na hopefully establish a branch here in the Philippines,” sabi ni Cong. Lani.
Tatalakayin din daw ng technical working group ang archiving para mabigyang halaga ang mga classic films natin.
“Especially on archiving,” pakli ng actress-politician.
“Mahalagang ma-preserve natin yung mga lumang pelikula, yung mga quality films na ginagawa noon at ngayon.
“Mahal kasi mag-archive, mag-restore ng pelikula, at kailangan na ma-archive ang mga restored films.”
Nabanggit ni Cong. Lani ang ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project na isa raw sa kinokonsulta nila.
ASEAN FILM AND TV SUMMIT 2026
Ginanap ang ASEAN Film and TV Summit 2026 noong Agosto 12-14, 2026 sa Seda Manila Bay, Aseana City, Parañaque.
Host ang Pilipinas, kaya punong-abala rito ang Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) na ang Chairman at CEO ay si Jose Javier Reyes o Direk Joey.
Ang tema ng nasabing summit ay “Navigating our Future, Together,” kung saan nagkasama-sama ang industry leaders, producers, archivists, educators, policymakers, and cultural institutions from across the region.
Ang unang forum na ginanap noong Agosto 13 ay naka-focus sa Asian Film Archiving, na ang moderator ay ang journalist at TV host na si Patricia Daza.
Panelists sa forum na iyon sina Chalida Uabumrungjit (Director of Thai Film Archive), Sopheap Chea (Executive Director of Bophana Center Cambodia), Julita Pratiwi (Head of Archive of Badan Perfilman Indonesia - Indonesian Film Board), at Leo Katigbak (Consultant of Philippine Film Archive).
Ang sumunod na forum ay tungkol naman sa Film Education, kung saan moderator ang Secretary General ng Asian Film Alliance Network (AFAN) na si Lorna Tee.
FILM ARCHIVING AND FILM EDUCATION
Matapos ang dalawang forum ay nagkaroon ng mediacon kung saan tinalakay ang kahalagahan ng Film Archiving at Film Education.
Pahayag ni FDCP Chairperson Jose Javier Reyes sa mediacon: “There are two very important aspects in this ASEAN Film and Television Summit. First is Archiving, and second is Education.
“Why Archiving? Mainly because it is giving importance and reverence to the past. And why Education? Because it is preparing for the future.
“We are looking at the development of Asian cinema by a process of cooperation with these countries, not only the members of AFAN, but also the other Asian countries which include Laos and Cambodia and Japan et cetera, et cetera.
“So in other words, the whole point of this summit is, let me break it down to three points.
“Number one is for us to get together. For us to get together, and by getting together, it will lead to number two.
“For us to get to know each other better. And by knowing each other better, it leads to number three.
“For us to understand and cooperate and collaborate. It is with the hope that with the various opportunities for conversation and discussion, these countries in terms of their cinematic projects will get together.
“In terms of the policies of the various councils will get together and create a more solid, more sustainable but moreso, an impressive Asian bloc. An Asian bloc of creatives dedicated to film.
“One of our more important with AFAN is the boot camp that we are holding, which is in progress. “This is comprised of young filmmakers from the Philippines, Mongolia, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, you know, getting together, OK. Japan, South Korea.
“You know, they’re getting together, and knowing each other. And hopefully by knowing each other, they network and create an artistic community.
“I think that is very important, and that has always been a dream of AFAN — to bring the future of Asian cinema together by paving the way of understanding and inclusiveness.”
Sa nasabing summit ay napag-usapan siyempre ang estado ng Film Archiving sa kani-kanyang bansa.
Dagdan ni Lorna Tee ng AFAN: “What AFAN aims to do is, we’re looking at Asia as the biggest film market in the world now, and the most dynamic.
“Where also the talents and stories are the most exciting ones. And for us to take ownership and leadership in driving our stories forward, in looking at areas of exchanges of data, policy studies, and to collaborate in any way possible in all the different areas of our film ecosystem.
“Including at looking at co-production, looking at education and training, looking at shared screening programs.
“Looking at being able to exchange data bases, data of production, data of crew, data about the films, data about archiving.”
Pagdidiin ni Lorna Tee, lumutang sa forum tungkol sa Film Archiving ang “urgency of preserving the stories and the history and the memory that has been made.
“And in Asia, unfortunately, is a little bit behind in terms of the European because we do not have enough resources to do the work related to Archiving.
“But everybody in the room, I think, agree in tge urgency and how vital it is for us to preserve — not just for the sake of preserving — but it is to ensure that our histories are not forgotten, our identity are forged.
“We need to know where we came from, as they say, to know where we’ll gonna go as people, as communities, as nations, as a region, and as humans moving forward.
“We don’t seem to really learn from the history but you know… hopefully the younger generation with the new technological advances and everything will be able to use our archives and our histories to be better than what we are doing into the world now.”
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