Sen. Jinggoy Estrada: Banning K-dramas and other foreign shows has crossed my mind
Senator Jinggoy Estrada disclosed on Tuesday that it would sometimes cross his mind to ban Korean dramas and other foreign-produced movies and TV shows in the Philippine in an effort to promote Filipino-produced content.
During Tuesday’s hearing on the proposed 2023 budget of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), Estrada lamented that by continuing to show Korean telenovelas, the country losses out because it’s the Koreans that the Filipinos admire, and consequently, Filipino artists lose their jobs
“Ang aking obserbasyon pagpatuloy tayo nagpapalabas ng Korean telenovela, ang hinahangaan ng ating mga kababayan ay itong mga Koreano at nawawalan ng trabaho at kita yung ating mga artistang Pilipino,” said Estrada, who also happens to be an actor and producer.
“Kaya minsan pumapasok sa aking isipan na i-ban na itong mga telenovela ng mga foreigners at dapat ang mga artista nating Pilipino talagang may angking galing sa pag-arte ay ‘yun naman dapat ang ipalabas natin sa sariling bansa natin,” he added.
“Kung ang pino-promote natin ay mga produkto ng Koreano, kaya nagkakaroon tayo ng halos maraming produktong Korean dito sa atin imbis na i-promote natin yung sarili natin ang napro-promote natin yung mga banyaga,” he reasoned.
At the same hearing, Senator Robin Padilla, who is also an actor and producer, proposed raising the tax on foreign series to help bolster the local film industry.
“Maari po bang taasan natin itong tax ng mga foreign series na pumapasok sa atin para kahit papaano po yung subsidiya nito bigay natin sa mga workers sa industriya natin, sa local, kung papaano po ginawa natin diyan sa rice tariffication, gawin nating foreign teleserye tariffication dahil marami pong nawawalan ng trabaho dito,” Padilla said.
Ang hirap naman pong i-ban natin sila pero dapat po siguro maging patas lang po tayo kawawa po ang ating industriya,” he added.
Social media did not take Senator Estrada’s suggestion lying down. The Philippine entertainment industry, netizens claimed, is in the dumps because of the pathetic quality of TV shows and films produced locally. The solution, netizens offered, was not to ban world-class foreign programs and films but to incentivize the local entertainment industry to raise its standards and produce quality content that is able to compete in the global stage. Others even sought to remind Estrada that the Philippine government itself, during the term of President Rodrigo Duterte, killed the franchise of ABS-CBN Network, whose content has won accolades around the world.
