THE House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a bill that seeks to grant incentives to Filipino filmmakers who were granted honors in notable international film festivals.
House Bill 7823 or the “Film Industry Incentives Act” passed the third reading on Monday’s plenary session. 160 lawmakers voted for the bill’s approval.
According to the bill, Filipino filmmakers and production entities, whose films have won the highest recognition for technical or artistic excellence in notable international film festivals, shall enjoy the following incentives:
1) P5 million for an international award-winning full-length feature or documentary film;
2) P3 million for an international award- winning short feature or documentary film;
3) P2 million for a film director, main artist, screenplay, or for technical support filmmaker personnel including scriptwriter, cinematographer, editor, production designer, musical scorer, sound director, audio or video technician category who received the highest international awards in their respective categories. This reward shall be equally divided among the awardees, should there be more than one winner; and
4) P1 million for supporting artists or technicians who garnered the highest award in their respective categories.
The bill mandates the Film Development Council of the Philippines, in coordination with the Film Academy of the Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and Arts to promulgate the implementing rules and regulations in relation to the said act.
House representatives Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr., Alfred Vargas and newly appointed Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles are among the authors of the bill. (Keith A. Calayag/SunStar Philippines)