ISRAEL on Tuesday turned over a simulator training facility to the Philippines for a ground-based mobile air defense system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. with assistance from the Israel Aerospace Industries.
The Spyder Defense System is “a significant component in enhancing the protection and defense of the Philippine skies and aerial territory,” Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss said in a tweet on Tuesday.
“This is an important milestone in the defense cooperation between our two countries,” he added.
The turnover ceremony, held at the Basa Air Base in Pampanga, was attended by Philippine officials led by Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana and Philippine Air Force Commanding General Connor Anthony D. Canlas, Sr.
UN EXHIBIT Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. launched an exhibit in New York last week commemorating the 40th anniversary of the adoption of the Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes at the United Nations (UN) headquarters, according to a Department of Foreign Affairs statement on Tuesday.
The 20-foot centerpiece will be on display at the UN headquarters from April 18 to 29.
Mr. Locsin said “the exhibit is the Philippines’ contribution to the dissemination of the declaration and the commitments needed for its full observance.”
The Manila Declaration addresses both the normative and procedural aspects of the United Nations Charter, said UN Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs D. Stephen Mathias.
The Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on Nov. 15, 1982. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
THE MAKABAYAN bloc, a coalition of progressive party-lists, on Tuesday officially endorsed 10 more senatorial candidates who, they said, would expand the opposition and forge wider unity.
“We express our support to them because of their track record of working with Makabayan on several important issues and in the fight of the people,” the coalition said in Filipino via Facebook live.
Among those they endorsed are three incumbent lawmakers: Senator Leila M. de Lima for her advocacy on human rights and the country’s sovereignty; Senator Ana Theresia “Risa” N. Hontiveros-Baraquel for prioritizing women’s rights, overseas Filipino workers, the urban poor, LGBT community, and farmers, among others; and House Deputy Speaker Lorna Regina “Loren” B. Legarda for her stand on peace talks and support to the environment, women and education sectors.
Sorsogon Governor Francis Joseph “Chiz” G. Escudero was also among the endorsed candidates as he seeks to create a law to compensate human rights victims during the martial law era.
Former government officials were also included, such as Jejomar C. Binay who plans to create legislation protecting human rights and civil liberties, and Teddy B. Baguilat, Jr. who fights for environmental protection and indigenous peoples rights.
Others in the list are: human rights lawyers Jose Manuel “Chel” I. Diokno and Renecio “Luke” Espiritu; lawyer Alex L. Lacson who aims to counter corruption, and political dynasties; and Federation of Free Workers President Jose Sonny G. Matula.
Makabayan has previously announced their support for senatorial candidates Neri J. Colmenares, a human rights lawyer, and labor leader Elmer “Ka Bong” Labog. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
FARMERS in two upland areas of Davao City will be getting assistance from the Chinese Consulate General and the local government as supplemental income through banana farming.
Under the joint Banana Plantation Program, the city agriculturist’s office has identified 100 beneficiaries in the districts of Marilog and Paquibato, where indigenous peoples communities traditionally grow vegetables.
Each beneficiary family will receive 1,000 Cardava banana seedlings, fertilizers, and pesticides, with the harvest estimated to bring in an additional average monthly income of P10,000.
At the program launch last week, Chinese Consul General Li Lin said they have also partnered with Jenson Agriline Corp. to provide technical training to the farmers as well as purchase the produce.
“Our appreciation goes to Mr. Nelson Chua and his company for undertaking the program by offering to provide skills training to the farmers to grow bananas, organizing seedlings, fertilizer, pesticide,” Mr. Lin said, “especially the promise to buy back banana fruits to ensure the farmers’ profits.”
The Chinese envoy also announced that the consulate and the city government are preparing a similar program for indigenous women.
The Indigenous Women Weaving Product Development is expected to be launched soon, he said. — Maya M. Padillo
A PARTY-LIST group on Monday filed a House resolution urging the transportation committee to probe the window hour scheme imposed on provincial buses, citing the “significant delay and inconvenience” it causes to commuters.
“The window-hour scheme imposed on provincial bus operators has greatly caused undue hassle and burden to thousands of commuters relying on public transport,” Bayan Muna Party-list representatives said in House Resolution 2562.
The policy set by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) restricts provincial bus companies from using their own terminals within Metro Manila outside the window hours of 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. to help alleviate road congestion in the capital region.
Buses can still serve their provincial routes outside those hours but will have to use designated transport hubs such as the Araneta Bus Port, Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange, Valenzuela Gateway Complex, North Luzon Express Terminal.
Fees are charged for the use of these terminals.
Several bus companies have opted not to operate outside the window hours, limiting their trips to when they are allowed to use their own terminals.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board has said it will issue show-cause orders to the companies for failing to meet their public service obligations.
“As representatives of the people, members of Congress must ensure that government policies serve the best interest of our people, especially in this time of crisis aggravated by the pandemic gravely hit hard our already suffering people,” the solons said.
The resolution was signed by Bayan Muna Representatives Ferdinand R. Gaite, Carlos Isagani T. Zarate, and Eufemia C. Cullamat. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
MANCHESTER, England — Real Madrid is delighted to have reached the Champions League semi-finals after the criticism and lack of faith shown towards them for most of the season, said manager Carlo Ancelotti.
The thirteen-times European champion is preparing to face Manchester City in the first leg on Tuesday.
“I surely remember what all the pundits were saying at the beginning of the season,” the Italian told a news conference at the Etihad Stadium on Monday.
“There are clearly two teams in the semifinals that everyone was betting against and they are us and Villarreal.
“Two teams got here as underdogs, (Real) beating favorites like Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), the holders Chelsea, (Villarreal knocking out) Juventus and Bayern Munich. I always say that Real Madrid is going to compete no matter what against anyone.”
Villarreal faces Liverpool at Anfield in their semifinal first leg on Wednesday.
Ancelotti said there were mixed feelings in the Real dressing room — happiness at getting this far but worries about the pressure of facing difficult opponents in Premier League leaders City, the English champions.
“Our history, having won 13 titles in this competition, makes things easier for the players because they feel how heavy in a positive way the Real Madrid jersey weighs in a Champions League game,” Ancelotti said.
“They feel capable of anything, like they did fighting back to qualify against PSG and Chelsea. Real Madrid’s history means a lot to us. More than for the rivals.”
Real midfielder Federico Valverde agreed.
“When you wear this shirt you want to win it all and you feel like you are always the favorite to win it all, despite what other people think,” Valverde, 23, told a news conference.
“It’s a responsibility but it’s an advantage because your rivals will always look at you differently because you’re Real Madrid. I agree with what (City manager) Pep Guardiola said earlier (that his side have to compete with the history of Real Madrid). Our history weighs heavily.”
Ancelotti has question marks over the fitness of three players for Tuesday’s game. Left back Ferland Mendy trained well on Sunday and should be available but there are doubts about how ready left back David Alaba and midfielder Casemiro will be.
“We feel more confident and optimistic with Alaba. We’ll see how he performs in training later on Monday. But Casemiro is still recovering and if he can’t go on Tuesday, he should be available for next week no doubt about it,” he said. — Reuters
THE Philippines’ four aces in singles play suffered stinging losses in the qualifying round to bow out of the Smart Badminton Asia Championships on Tuesday at the Muntinlupa Sports Complex.
Ros Pedrosa, the reigning MVP Badminton Cup men’s champion, carried the fight for the home team and placed second in Group C, missing a ticket to the main draw by a victory.
Mr. Pedrosa started the day with a 21-19, 21-8 victory over Bahrain’s Adnan Ebrahim but stumbled to a 21-14, 21-8 setback to Kazakhstan’s Dimitriy Panarin in a virtual battle for group No. 1 and the lone ticket to the tournament proper.
Mr. Panarin, who also defeated Mr. Ebrahim, 21-12, 21-14, set up a showdown with Japanese Koki Watanabe in the Round-of-32.
Jaja Andres also split her assignments in Group B of the women’s singles qualifiers and fell short.
Ms. Andres fell to Indonesia’s Stephanie Widjaja, 21-10, 21-8, but bounced back with a 21-17, 21-7 disposal of the Maldives’ Fathimath Abdul Razzaq. Ms. Widjaja, a 21-4, 21-8 winner over Ms. Razzaq, took the solitary seat to the main draw with her sweep of pool play.
The two other Pinoy entries — men’s bet Jewel Albo and women’s competitor Mika de Guzman — absorbed a shutout in their respective groups.
Mr. Albo lost to China’s Lei Lan Xi, 21-17, 21-15, and Hong Kong’s Chan Yin Chak, 21-8, 21-10, in a 0-2 outing in Group D while Ms. De Guzman had the same fate in women’s Group B against Malaysia’s Myisha Mohd Khairul, 13-21, 21-15, 21-14, and Indonesia’s Komang Ayu Dewi, 25-23, 21-8.
With the four’s exit, the Philippines now pins its hopes on the men’s, women’s and mixed doubles.
“I still have to work on my conditioning,” rued Mr. Pedrosa, who faded in the last stretch of the first set against Mr. Panarin. “I already had a good feel of how to play him but only lost steam.”
Mr. Pedrosa trailed by only two, 16-14, before yielding five successive points to lose the opening set. They were at 2-2 early in the second before Panarin racked up nine unanswered markers to pull away.
ATHENS — Rising tennis star Carlos Alcaraz has no plans of slowing down after his victory at Barcelona at the weekend and making the top 10 for the first time on Monday but said he was surprised by his quick rise through the rankings.
The 18-year-old captured the fourth title of his young career by beating eighth seed Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-2 in the Barcelona Open final on Sunday, hours after winning a gruelling semi-final that was postponed due to rain.
“I did not think I would reach this stage at 18 years old,” he told a news conference at a junior event. “It is for the first time for me in the top ten. It means a lot.
“For me, it’s a dream come true and I have been fighting for this since I was a child. I work every day, work hard to be here to have chance to get titles to beat the top players in the world but not at this age.”
He featured at ninth when the world rankings were released on Monday, entering the top 10 at the same age, on the same date and after a triumph in the same tournament as compatriot and 21-times major winner Rafa Nadal did in 2005.
“It is just a coincidence that it’s the same with Rafa. I just focus on my game,” he added.
His singles tally stands at four titles following triumphs at Miami and Rio de Janeiro this year and a victory at Umag last July, when he became the youngest tour-level champion since Kei Nishikori claimed the title at Delray Beach in 2008.
The Spaniard is now seen as one of the favourites for the French Open starting next month behind record winner Nadal.
“I am playing well, with a lot of confidence for myself. I am going to have chances to get results in Roland Garros, to be in the last rounds,” he said at the IMG Future Stars Under-12 tournament.
“I reached my goal to be (in the) top 10. I want to keep growing as a player, improving every day, trying to keep claiming titles, trying to climb up the rankings.” — Reuters
JAYSON Tatum scored 29 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter as the Boston Celtics never trailed and completed a four-game sweep of the Brooklyn Nets in their Eastern Conference first-round series by holding on for a 116-112 victory Monday night in New York.
The second-seeded Celtics, who lost to the Nets in five games in this round last season, await the winner of the Milwaukee-Chicago series. The Bucks lead the Bulls three games to one.
In front of a number of Boston fans who made the trip to New York, the Celtics led by as many as 15 before sweating out the final minutes after Tatum was called for a pair of offensive fouls.
Tatum, who hit the buzzer-beating layup in the series opener and scored 39 points in Game 3, made 9 of 16 shots, including the tiebreaking 3-pointer early in the second quarter that gave Boston the lead for good.
Jaylen Brown added 22 points for the Celtics, who shot 47.2% and won each game in the series by single digits. Marcus Smart added 20 points and 11 assists, Grant Williams hit four 3-pointers and contributed 14 points and Al Horford chipped in 13.
Kevin Durant scored 39 for his best game of the series but missed two 3-pointers in the final minute as Brooklyn ended a season it had entered as an NBA title favorite. Seth Curry added 23 points, Kyrie Irving finished with 20 and the Nets shot 50.6%.
Despite never trailing, the Celtics sweated out some dicey moments in the fourth after Tatum picked up his fifth foul when he charged into Blake Griffin with 8:17 left. After Tatum went to the bench, the Nets cut the deficit to 102-99 when Goran Dragic hit a 3-pointer with 5:24 left.
The Celtics held a 109-103 lead when Tatum fouled out with 2:49 remaining and the Nets drew within 109-108 on Durant’s 14-footer with 1:28 left.
On the next possession, Brown hit a layup to make it 111-108 with 62 seconds left and Durant missed a tying 3-pointer seven seconds later.
After Brown missed a jumper with 29.6 seconds to go, Durant split two free throws with 22.2 seconds to make it 111-109. Smart missed a layup, but Horford swooped in for the putback with 13.7 seconds left and a 113-109 lead.
Following a timeout, Durant’s 3-pointer was long with 10.3 seconds remaining and Smart iced the game by hitting three free throws over the final 7.1 seconds left. — Reuters
HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE — The National Basketball Association (NBA) yesterday announced that the league will expand its presence in Asia-Pacific by opening an office in Singapore.
The Singapore office joins the league’s Manila and Mumbai offices in reporting into NBA Asia Managing Director Scott Levy based in Hong Kong and will expand the league’s existing efforts in the region, which include live game distribution, youth development programming, interactive fan events, merchandise sales and social responsibility efforts.
“Over the past two decades, Asia-Pacific has proven to be a major growth region for the NBA,” said Levy. “Opening an office in Singapore reflects the enormous opportunities to build on that positive momentum by working more closely with our valued partners and bringing our passionate fans in the region closer to their favorite NBA teams and players.”
NBA games and programming reach fans in the region through the league’s 20 media partners that span 11 countries and territories and eight languages. NBA League Pass — the league’s premium live game subscription service – has recorded double-digit subscriber growth in the region over the last three seasons. The league also has more than 35 million followers on social media across the region.
The NBA has staged 17 preseason and regular-season games in the region, most recently in 2019 when the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors played two preseason games in Tokyo, Japan, and the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings played two preseason games in Mumbai, India, which marked the first games that teams from a North American sports league played in India.In 2013, the Rockets and Indiana Pacers played a preseason game in Manila, Philippines.
Since 2007, the NBA has engaged more than 40 million boys and girls across the region through the Jr. NBA, the league’s global youth basketball program. The Jr. NBA Coaches Academy — the NBA’s train-the-trainers initiative that aims to further local development by establishing standards for how the sport should be coached – has reached more than 88,000 teachers across seven countries regionwide.
With the opening of the Singapore office, the NBA now has offices in 15 markets worldwide: Beijing, Dakar, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Lagos, London, Madrid, Manila, Mexico City, Mumbai, New York/New Jersey, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Singapore and Toronto.
Considering the names on the Nets’ marquee, it was only proper for them to get top billing heading into the 2021-22 season of the National Basketball Association. Unfortunately, they then went through a tumultuous campaign that all but negated their seeming talent advantage. From the injury to vital cog Joe Harris to COVID-19 protocols decommissioning All-Star Kyrie Irving to the departure of disgruntled star James Harden to the issues surrounding new acquisition Ben Simmons, they found themselves needing to hurdle one obstacle after another. All the same, respect for the otherworldly skills of Kevin Durant had pundits deeming them the opponents nobody wanted to face in the first round.
Not the Celtics, though. From the outset, head coach Ime Udoka made clear that the green and white would not be “running from anybody.” And taking off from his pronouncements, his charges made sure they walked the talk. Against their impressive chemistry and steely determination, the Nets wound up buckling under pressure — not just bowing out of the first round, but getting swept. The supposedly unstoppable force that was Durant proved eminently vulnerable, making only 32 of 83 field-goal attempts in the four-game series. Meanwhile, Irving was marginally better with a 28-of-63 clip, but just six of 13 in the clincher.
To be sure, the Celtics’ suffocating defense caused the Nets’ ostensibly passive output. As good as Durant and Irving may be in isolation, the extremely coordinated coverage limited their effectiveness off the dribble. And they certainly weren’t helped by their coaches, who had them operating out of predictable sets. As good a playmaker Nash was in his heyday, he appeared overwhelmed by the moment. Given the unceremonious exit of the black and white, it’s fair to argue that his job is on the line; he was middling at best in his second year with a clipboard in hand, all the factors beyond his control notwithstanding.
True, the set-to ended with the third-lowest point differential for a sweep in league history. Then again, even casual observers who managed to see each game would not be hard-pressed to conclude that the Celtics were superior in every aspect. There’s a reason the Nets were blanked despite the opportunities that came their way. And as they take stock of their future, they would do well to acknowledge their frailties. Great players on a team do not always a great team make, and they just showed why.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
Pope Francis once wrote: “Inequality is the root of social evil.”
Life on the ground is a paradox. While global attention revolves around economic growth, there are also serious contradictions like income and wealth gaps among people, exploitation, unemployment, and social tensions stemming from excesses and deprivation, corruption and plunder.
Amid this reality, 193 members of the United Nations, including the Philippines, adopted the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, building on the principle of “leaving no one behind.” Goal No. 10 is “Reduced Inequality.”
In the Philippine context, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed and even exacerbated the country’s long-standing socio-economic inequality. Prolonged government lockdowns, while intended to curb the spread of the virus, led to an economic recession, record-high unemployment rates, and more people falling into poverty. Unfortunately, not everyone had the capacity and resources to get by in the midst of a crisis as enormous and unexpected as the pandemic that broke out in early 2020. Worse, the most vulnerable segments in society became the collateral damage of the government’s knee-jerk measures in responding to the emergency.
In fact, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported in December 2021 that the poverty incidence in the country in the first half of 2021 jumped to 23.7% — translating to 26.14 million Filipinos — from 21.1%, or 22.26 million Filipinos in the same period in 2018. This indicates that 3.88 million more Filipinos became poor, therefore reversing the downward trend in poverty incidence before the pandemic hit.
Recently, the think tank Stratbase ADR Institute organized a virtual town hall discussion (vTHD) entitled, “Bridging the Gap: Reducing Inequality in the Philippines for Inclusive Growth.” During the virtual forum, members of the academe and the business community presented several solutions that may help address the complex issue of inequality in the country.
Dr. Ronald Mendoza, dean of the Ateneo School of Government (ASOG) observed the weak upward mobility among people due to the unavailability of decent jobs as well as the calamity-prone nature of the Philippine landscape, which affects the health and economic well-being of most Filipinos. He also noted that there has been a concentration of power among political families. Empirically, this power inequality results in partisan or parochial governance that conflicts with the expectations and interests of their respective constituents.
Dr. Mendoza said that inequality is self-reinforcing. “We need to break free from this anti-democratic, anti-inclusive growth trap,” he emphasized.
“We failed to build a more inclusive democracy. In a nutshell, we managed to liberalize the economy but we failed miserably to liberalize our politics. Eventually, even if you liberalize your economy, you will still hit a ceiling due to bad governance and because of that, failure to liberalize politics,” Dr. Mendoza further stressed.
Indeed, prohibiting political dynasties is a good first step in flattening the social inequality curve. When political power is not concentrated in a few families, the incumbent leaders have less reason to protect self-interest. Public office should not be turned into a family business; this contradicts the intent of the fundamental law of the land.
Beyond political reform, much also needs to be done simultaneously in other areas, such as in public finance, education, agriculture, and law enforcement, among others.
Dr. Charlotte Justine Diokno-Sicat, Research Fellow in the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) called for the need for improved and innovative public sector governance, such as through strategic investments in both physical and human capital in both the national and local governments. “In bridging the gap and reducing inequality in the Philippines for inclusive growth, every single Filipino has a role to play,” she further emphasized.
Meanwhile, Dr. Carlos Primo “CP” David of the National Institute of Geological Sciences at the University of the Philippines Diliman recommended the creation of self-contained food production areas in order to improve the country’s agriculture sector and ensure food security.
In the same forum, Prof. Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit, president of Stratbase ADR Institute, highlighted the critical role that the government plays in addressing inequality and national development. “The government should provide a conducive environment for the private sector to thrive as an effective partner to government in making public services available, especially to those who need help the most,” he said.
Hence, a collective effort is needed to reduce persistent inequalities in Philippine society. In certain countries, this is done through the development of a strong middle class that has access to more equitably distributed wealth, availability of jobs through a sustainable economy, good social security, and corruption-free governance, among others.
Amid these circumstances, however, all hope is not yet lost. A turnaround can still happen if voters elect servant-leaders who champion the rule of law and bring out the best in people.
Indeed, the paradox on the ground can still take a dramatic turn from self-enforcing social miseries when people realize how much power they actually have in their hands.
We should use the power of the ballot in the May 2022 elections to make the forthright decision to finally break free from the clutches of social inequality.
Venice Isabelle Rañosa is a research manager at the think tank Stratbase ADR Institute.
In the midst of an otherwise bleak environment for the Philippine entertainment industry during the two-year COVID-19 pandemic, one bright spot was the June 10, 2021 release of the Netflix exclusive, anime-influenced series entitled Trese that put the spotlight on Filipino talents in animation, acting, creative writing and directing. Trese was directed by Filipino-American Jay Oliva, CEO of Lex & Otis: Tiger Animation, and produced by Base Entertainment, a film company based out of Jakarta and Singapore that finances content for the Indonesian and international market. The crew members in production and voice casts of the English and Filipino dubs were predominantly Filipinos, with some help from foreign actors and actresses such as Canadian Shay Mitchell and Fil-American Nicole Scherzinger. This animated TV series was based on a Filipino comics series written by Budjette Tan and illustrated by Kajo Baldisimo. The scriptwriters were all Filipinos, i.e., Zig Marasigan, Mihk Vergara, and Tanya Yuson. Three days after its release, the six-episode animated series managed to enter the top TV shows list on Netflix in 19 countries. It ranked first in the Philippines and landed a spot in the top 10 lists of Netflix Canada and Netflix UAE.
It was easy for me to identify with the plot of Trese because it featured Balete Drive in Quezon City as the location of a crime scene. In the decade of the 1970s during the Martial Law years, I was residing on N. Domingo St., Quezon City, very close to the supposedly dangerous street where a “kaperosa” (white lady) was allegedly haunting taxi drivers. I had some friends who lived on Balete Drive whom I visited from time and time, during which I had a first-hand experience of the eerie feeling of passing under huge and leafy balete trees, notorious among superstitious Filipinos for harboring all types of spirits, both good and bad. I never expected that this widespread ghost story during those troubled times would become the subject of a TV series that would put Filipino creative artists on the global scene.
The success of Trese gives hope to the proponents of the Philippines as a film industry hub in Asia. It also gives a clue on how this seemingly overambitious goal can be achieved. We can be a film hub of Asia, or for that matter the creative industry center of Asia, only if — as in the case of Trese — we are able to leverage our abundant talents in the creative industries by partnering with other countries that can provide the funding, the technology, and the market access. This strategic approach will parallel what we have done in the BPO-IT sector in which we are already an important hub — competing with India — because we have learned how to attract multinational companies from all over the world to make full of use of our digital and other talents. This is one sector where we should never replicate our disastrous mistakes in adopting a “Filipino First” and “Self-Sufficiency” policies that accounted for our being left behind by our Asian neighbors in economic development.
One bleak view of the future of the Philippine film industry was expressed by film buff and ANIMA (Kroma Entertainment) consultant Joe Caliro in a talk he gave in a webinar sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines entitled “Is the Philippines the next global film production hub?” Caliro bluntly stated that cinemas are dead in the Philippine entertainment world. As a result of the long lockdowns occasioned by the pandemic, people’s viewing habits have drastically shifted away from going to movie houses to watching TV film series. In his words, “The only films that are actually getting attention are these big blockbusters. The smaller films just cannot make it in the cinemas… I am a film buff so I continue to go to the cinemas. The irony is, I saw Unchartered this weekend and I paid P900 to see a film. Now you want to kill the industry? The cinemas should better figure out that you can’t be charging P900 for a single ticket to see a movie.”
These comments may miss the point about the future of the film industry in the Philippines. The important question is not whether people will continue to watch their favorite films in the movie houses. Movie houses may or may not survive the change in consumer behavior. As the Philippines transitions towards becoming an upper-middle-income economy in the coming years, we can be certain that Filipinos will spend a bigger percentage of their incomes on entertainment, which will always include watching films, if not in movie houses then in their homes through all forms of streaming like those offered by Netflix and many other streaming alternatives such as Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Hulu, Crackle, YouTube, Paramount Plus, Disney Plus, Discovery Plus and many more which can keep one entertained on one’s smartphone, tablet, or smart TV. The future of film in the Philippines or anywhere else has little to do with the survival of the movie house business!
As Charmie Joy Pagulong wrote in The Philippine Star (March 10), the key question is whether or not the Philippine film industry can, as was demonstrated by Trese, produce more content for the world. She quotes Joe Caliro who attributed the success of international series like the Squid Game and Money Heist to content that is “complex,” replete with multiple story lines and characters.
In contrast, the Philippines is “stuck with the traditional window of theater, Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD), free to air, etc.” If the Philippines would like to be at the same level as South Korea as a global film hub, the Government has to give substantial support to the industry, combining direct funding with substantial incentives. The South Koreans do not follow the traditional window and they start and build networks.
Mr. Caliro insists that our film industry should not produce films for Filipinos. Instead, they should produce Filipino films for the world. He gave as examples ANIMA executive Quark Henares and Reality Entertainment’s Erik Matti and Dondon Monteverde for being at the forefront in pushing Filipino content onto the global scene, such as the first Filipino original series on HBO and now on HBO Max, On the Job: The Missing Eight (OTJ). OTJ was originally a movie that took over $2 million to produce. “You need that kind of budget to get the attention of an international audience. It was complex. It had a great character build. The soundtrack of that movie alone was the cost of an average of two Filipino films. It takes that kind of bravery to go out there and make that kind of content.”
The big funding that is needed to support the growth of the Philippine film industry can be reasonably expected from foreign sources, as in the case of the successful animated film Trese as well as from a more enlightened Philippine Government that can follow the example of its South Korean counterpart. As Mary Liza B. Diño, Chairperson and CEO of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), reported in the webinar sponsored by the American Chamber, there are a significant number of Philippine government programs for the film industry in the Philippines. Pursuant to RA 9167, the FDCP was instituted as the national agency under the Office of the President responsible for film policies and programs to ensure the economic, cultural, and educational development of the Philippine film industry. The FDCP is charged with encouraging and assisting the local film industry to create quality films —from development to production, to distribution and exhibition — and to conduct film-related events that enhance the skills of the Filipino creative talents. Instead of leaving the various stakeholders of the industry to their individual initiatives and devices, the Government will take a lead role in the Philippine film industry’s participation in domestic and foreign film markets and local and international film festivals to promote and position Philippine cinema to be globally competitive. It is also tasked to preserve and protect films as part of the country’s national cultural heritage through the appropriate archiving.
There are other State-sponsored programs that can help the private sector to be globally competitive in the international market. Pursuant to Presidential Executive Order 674, Series of 2007, the Philippine Film Export Service Office (PFESO) was created to promote the country as a viable and effective location site and post-production service provider in the Indo-Pacific region. Through its banner program, FilmPhilippines, the Film Philippines Office (FPO) offers location incentive programs to attract a range of international film and audiovisual projects for full-on production and post-production in the Philippines, as well as foreign producers looking to do international co-production with Filipino producers. We have some of the most attractive location sites with our 7,100 islands that are getting more and more accessible through the Build, Build, Build program given the greatest push during the Duterte Administration. In fact, an international Travel and Leisure magazine rated Palawan as the best island resort in the world (note that Palawan is made up of 2,000 islands). We also have a predominantly English-speaking population that will facilitate the communication of the film crews of foreign productions with the local population. In addition, FPO has the UniPhilippines Program that will implement several programs and assistance mechanisms to support Filipino films and filmmakers to participate in international film festivals and films markets to continuously expose Filipino films to the global arena, both culturally and commercially.
It is also notable how Filipino-made teleseryes (TV series) are gaining global following, as reported by Michelle Anne Soliman in this paper on April 11. ABS-CBN has sold more than 50,000 hours of TV content in more than 50 countries. For example, the ABS-CBN romance drama Bagong Umaga, known globally as New Beginnings, is aired in more than 41 countries, including Kenya, Ghana, and Madagascar. Its action-drama series Asintado is aired with a French dub in Africa’s French-speaking region including the Ivory Coast, while La Vida Lena is airing in Myanmar under the Burmese title Maya Galeisar. GMA is not far behind. Its Spanish-dubbed versions of Little Mommy, For Love or Money, and A Place in Your Heart also debuted in Ecuador. Early GMA dramas syndicated in Southeast Asia in the past 15 years included Marimar, Dyesebel, Encantada, and Mulawin.
Having been significantly influenced by both Spanish and American culture, but still retaining a distinctly Asian flavor, plots of Philippine films can have a universal appeal. It is also a distinct advantage that in the United States, Fil-American singers are very well known. In the last Grammy Awards for outstanding singers in the US, among the nominees there was a preponderance of Fil-Americans. Among the well-known Fil-American artists are Bruno Mars and Olivia Rodrigo.
Our film industry can strengthen its global following as long as we help it flourish with both generous state support and a great deal of foreign funding and technology transfer. It is hoped that the next President will give the greatest attention to the Film Development Council of the Philippines, which is directly under the Office of the President.
(To be continued.)
Bernardo M. Villegas has a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard, is professor emeritus at the University of Asia and the Pacific, and a visiting professor at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. He was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission.
