Atinitonews.com : Philippine News Feature - Movie people want to run Metro filmfest

The movie industry now wants to take-charge of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) after noting the continuing decrease in the amount given by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to its beneficiaries.

“The gross income of the film festival has been increasing, but the share of beneficiaries has been increasing. From 1986 to 2000, MMDA gave beneficiaries 9 to 11 percent of the gross but in 2005, the beneficiaries got only 4 percent and in 2006, 3 percent,” movie director Leo Martinez said during the public hearing conducted by the Senate committee on Mass Media headed by Sen. Bong Revilla.

Film Development Council of the Philippines chairman Rolando Atienza and actor Rez Cortez said that he favors the Mowelfund to handle the MMFF. Revilla also wants the management of film festival to be taken away from MMDA, but he wants it transferred to the Film Development Council instead.

“I prefer the Mowelfund to handle the film festival because it is the only remaining welfare program in the industry, which is urgently needed at this time,” Cortez said. “The film festival was conceived to benefit the movie people through the Mowelfund.”

Mowelfund Executive Director Boots Anson Roa said that the Film Festival has been helping the fund by giving it the proceeds from the entertainment tax, and that Mowelfund is now considering the increase in the benefits to the movie industry.

“The share of beneficiaries could have been reduced because of their increased number. Noting that while only Mowelfund was the only beneficiary of the film festival in 1986, its share went down with the entry of the Film Academy of the Philippines, the Anti-Piracy Council, the President’s Social Fund, the Optical Money Board and the Film Development Council in later years,” Roa said.

The MMDA sent representatives but turned out to be unprepared to answer questions and did not have any stand on the proposed transfer of the MMFF to the movie industry. The MMDA representatives also knew nothing about the presidential decree authorizing the then Metro Manila Commission to undertake the annual film festival.