Tax cut on movies instead of K-drama ban, says solon – Manila Bulletin

Instead of banning Korean and other foreign films and TV series, a lawmaker is pushing for the slashing of all local and national taxes on movies and stage plays to boost local movie productions, and to encourage moviegoers to patronize them.

Barangay Health Workers (BHW) Party-list Rep. Angelica Natasha Co said that “bringing ticket prices down by cutting down all local and national taxes on productions, both local and foreign, would be a step in the right direction.”

“Watching movies and stage plays should be valued more for their economic impact and be considered necessities that benefit families and promote mental and public health, not luxury activities,” the lawmaker, a vice chairperson of the House committee on appropriations, added.

Co, who is also a member of the House committees on economic affairs and the special committee on creative industry and performing arts, suggested this amid calls by former actors and now-Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Robin Padilla to look into the possibility of banning Korean dramas and movies because Filipinos prefer them over local productions.

“Banning or taxing foreign films, tv series, and other creative media output are not the strategies that will create opportunities for Filipino creative talents and entrepreneurs. Rather, building upon and supporting the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act (RA 11904) will get a significant part of that challenge done,” she explained.

READ: Netizens score Sen. Jinggoy for suggesting ban on Korean dramas in PH

The lawmaker was referring to RA 11904, or the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act, that passed into law on July 28 to promote and develop the Philippine creative industries by protecting and strengthening the rights and capacities of creative firms, artists, artisans, creators, workers, indigenous cultural communities, content providers, and other stakeholders in the creative industries.

While there are concerns among the viewing public that clamor to support the local entertainment and creative industries fall on deaf ears, Co said that “RA 11904 is proof that the 18th Congress was actively listening and had a clear vision of what was needed.”

She doesn’t see banning Korean and other foreign productions as the answer to the woes of the local entertainment industry.

Instead, she said the strong following of Korean artists among Filipinos “should be taken as a set of signs of what Filipinos want to see in any kind of creative output, whether by Filipinos, Koreans, or any other nationalities.”

The South Korean strategies in promoting its creative industries should be one of the country’s “benchmarks,” Co added, emphasizing that the “South Koreans are our friends, not our enemies,”

READ: ‘Frustrated’ Estrada clarifies he doesn’t want to ban K-Dramas

Co is also saddened by the fact that Filipino productions “have yet to fully harness the power of online platforms” while “online access to the masses is limited because internet speeds and coverage are still slow and low for most Filipinos.”

“Therefore, in-person viewing of movies in theaters and plays on stage is still the main mode available to them. But current ticket prices are prohibitive and Filipinos are price-sensitive,” she explained.

“Getting our people out of their homes and returning to what they did before the pandemic, including watching movies, will revive the entertainment industry and the economy. If there are no audiences, producers will not make those movies and stage plays,” the lawmaker furthered.