ShareThisSenator Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr. has a new baby – a National Film Archive.
The actor-senator wants the creation of the archive through Senate Bill 2634 which he filed in the Senate to preserve “movie prints” made before World War II and those that won awards in international film festivals.
Senator Revilla
“There is great urgency in cultural heritage preservation, in view of the fact that it is historically and culturally important to us especially the younger generation,” said Revilla, star of the top grossing Metro Film Festival movies “Si Agimat at ang Panday” and “Ang Panday” series.
If approved, SB 2634 will amend Republic Act 9167 which created the Film Development Council of the Philippines.
“Any interested person may submit or nominate a film for inclusion (in the conservation list) provided that those films have been accorded Grade “A” or “B” classification. Likewise, films acclaimed and awarded best film prize in international film festivals will be ‘automatically’ included in the preservation list,” Revilla said.
He proposed a P50 million initial budget for the creation of the NFA. Revilla also wants to increase cinema rates for foreign movies by 50 centavos.
“It may also be imposed on performances of foreign artists staged in the Philippines, including and not limited to concerts, musicals, stage plays and other similar events. A system of transparent accounting on the collection of such fees and how to utilize it should be established,” he said.
The NFA will also be responsible for film preservation, rescuing of decaying film stocks and preserving the images they containing, handling, duplication, storage and access of the same with the public.
“It should coordinate with the Film Academy of the Philippines, the Film Development Council of the Philippines, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, historians, academe, and film critics in preparing a list of films that may be preserved..” Revilla said.