Palace says DTI or DepEd should issue film production guidelines – not FDCP

MANILA, Philippines – The Palace on Wednesday, July 1, said that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) or the Department of Education (DepEd) should be issuing guidelines for the film industry to resume work during eased coronavirus quarantines – and not the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP). 

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque made the statement in an interview on ANC’s Headstart, after he was asked about statements issued by film and entertainment workers against the FDCP’s latest guidelines for shoots.  

“I know that the DTI may, in fact, sponsor guidelines, supported by the film industry itself. So, let’s await for that opportunity. But I have brought this up in one IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force ) meeting, because the Film Development Council made a request to approve the filming of some TV series in Caramoan,” Roque said.

“And although, I said I have no objection about the Film Council sponsoring that motion, I had questions about the alleged guidelines that they have issued to govern the resumption of work in the film industry noting that the statute and the executive orders that created the council did not give it regulatory powers,” he said. 

According to its own website, the FDCP “is the government-backed lead agency for film in the Philippines ensuring that the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad.”

“It should probably be the DTI or the Department of Education, believe it or not, because the statutory basis points to overall supervision by the Department of Education, that should sponsor any guidelines that would govern the film industry under quarantine,” added Roque. 

On June 27, the FDCP released Advisory 6 or the “Clarificatory Guidelines on the FDCP-DOH-DOLE Joint Administrative Order No. 2020-001 on the Health and Safety Protocols on the Conduct of Film and AV Production Shoots.” According to the new advisory, productions companies must register their scheduled production with the FDCP and Deparment of Labor and Employment (DOLE) ahead of time. 

The said advisory also covers advertising content production, live productions, and television – which groups have said is overreach on the council’s mandate. 

Film workers led by Members of the Inter-Guild Alliance (IGA), a community of various guilds from the entertainment industry, called on the FDCP to come to “its senses.” IGA earlier drafted a set of proposed guidelines, which the Philippine Motion Picture Producers Association (PMPPA) approved to use. 

The IGA is composed of several organizations, including the Director’s Guild of the Philippines, Ang Lupon ng Pilipinong Sinematograpo, Production Designer Technical Working Group, Assembly of Assistant Directors and Script Supervisors, TV and Film Screenwriters Collective, Alliance of Producers, Line Producers and Production Managers, Sound Speed Philippines, and Filipino Film Editors. (READ: ‘Slippery slope’: PH directors’ guild rejects new FDCP guidelines for shoots)

This is not the first time the FDCP has been at odds with members of the film industry. In May, members of the Philippine Motion Picture Producers Association (PMPPA) questioned the draft guidelines on film and audiovisual production safety protocols, which the FDCP issued. – Rappler.com