REVILLA SEEKS GOV'T ARCHIVING OF BEST PINOY FILMS

In a bid to preserve the historical, cultural and artistic heritage of the country, Senator Bong Revilla pushes for an efficient government archiving of all award-winning and critically acclaimed Filipino films.

According to the lawmaker, there is no central place in the country where all local films that is culturally, historically and aesthetically significant to the Filipino heritage are archived.

"Just like literature and other forms of art, cinematic films reflect the history and culture of the country. Yet, the government is not giving its due recognition through an effective archiving and restoration," said Revilla, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media.

In a public hearing conducted yesterday (September 2, Tuesday) by Revilla's committee, the senator cited the report of the Society of Filipino Archivists for Film (SOFIA) that says that many Philippine films are being archived outside the country and these include the masterpieces of renowned Pinoy directors such as Lino Brocka, Gerry de Leon, Manuel Conde and Eddie Romero.

Based on the SOFIA report, Brocka's "Insiang" and "Bona", de Leon's "48 Oras" and Conde's "Genghis Khan" are in the Cinémathèque Française  in Paris , France . The British Film Institute has copies of Brocka's "Maynila...Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag," "Bayan Ko" and "Bona," and Romero's "Ganito Kami Noon... Paano Kayo Ngayon?"

Revilla further pointed out that even third world countries like Indonesia , Vietnam , India and Cuba have national film archives. "Hobbled by Hollywood and other foreign competition, our film industry does not have sufficient long term resources to sustain a national film archive. It needs assistance of the government," he stressed.

Among the bills tackled in the public hearing is Senate Bill No. (SBN) 19, Revilla's proposed measure aimed to establish a National Film Archive to be managed by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).

Revilla explained that archiving of film negatives is already among the functions of FDCP as mandated by Republic Act (RA) 9167 but the task is not fully accomplished at present.

Under SBN19, films which have obtained a rating of "A" or "B" shall be automatically included among the films whose copy or copies shall be preserved and kept at the National Film Archive.

Film reviewers and critics, film academies, producers, directors and other interested parties may nominate for inclusion old or classic films, as well as new films, including feature films, documentaries and other types of films.

"We hope that with this measure, our filmmakers would set higher standards to equal, if not surpassed, the best films of all times to be selected and compiled by the council," Revilla added.

In the public hearing, representatives of the FDCP lamented that the agency lacks the necessary fund to build a state-of-the-art film archive. They estimated the cost for building and maintaining the facility at P300 million. This year, the FDCP was given a budget of P4.236 million plus P6.912 million that was sourced from the 30% amusement tax and other fees and collections.

For his part, Revilla instructed the FDCP to present to the committee a feasibility study, including a comprehensive breakdown of project cost, for the proposed National Film Archive.