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Leah C. Salterio - The Philippine Star
March 4, 2025 | 12:00am
Stronger government support is needed for the local film industry, says Sen. Bong Revilla. He also says there’s a need to revisit the Eddie Garcia Law and have a dialogue with producers and actors.
Photo from official Facebook page
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Bong Revilla Jr. is aware of the state of local films at the box office. Most releases do not fare well at the tills. Theatrical films do not make money and fail to recoup their expenses.
The government has apparently not listed particularly strong support for the film industry. A film commission is needed to subsidize making good films to help the industry.
“Actually, gumagawa naman ng measures ang government natin to help the film industry,” Sen. Bong informed. “Nakapag-pasa tayo ng Eddie Garcia Law. There were producers who reacted and said, they got affected after the law was passed.
“Dapat talaga, we should be more aware of the working hours of the people in the TV and film industry. I think we have to revisit the law and have a dialogue with the producers and actors.
“The senior stars are hardly getting more projects lately. Even the child stars, nawawala na rin. Does that mean we will never have another Niño Muhlach in the industry?
“Niño started as a child actor and really became very popular. We do not normally see children on TV or the movies now. The child stars are allowed to shoot for four hours and then they pack up.
“How can we develop another child star like Niño Muhlach again? We have to revisit the law and study it again carefully. We need the support of the government or the film commission in the Eddie Garcia Law.”
Bong said that the government needs to augment funding for our film and TV industry. “Ang dami na namin sa senate to assist our film and TV industry,” the senator said. “That’s one of our purposes — to help the industry para maibangon natin dahil dying industry na ‘yan. Lahat nasa Netflix na.
“But if we can resurrect the industry, well and good. I remember there was a time, nawala ang action (and) nauso ang bold, but thankfully, bumalik ulit ang action. Nabuhay ang industriya.”
Bong insisted that the experience of watching a film on the big screen is really different from watching it inside your homes.
“Iba ang experience inside the movie houses,” he maintained. “Gagawa kami ng batas para ibaba ang bayad sa sinehan. To watch a movie these days, mahina ang P1,000, especially if your whole family will go. Not all families can afford. Only the rich ones.”
He is also amenable to designating a venue for rated-R films, like the Experimental Cinema of the Philippine (ECP) before.
The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) can also extend its focus and classify the films in streaming platforms, not just on TV and the movies.
In 2019, when Bong launched his senatorial campaign anew, he did the popular “budots” dance that became viral and was copied by other candidates until now.
He got this remark, “Nag-budots lang si Bong Revilla, nanalo na.” Yet, Sen. Bong said he did not take that sitting down.
“Nag-trabaho ako,” he insisted. “Nag-perform ako. Ipinakita ko sa tao na hindi lang budots ‘yun. Hindi naman ako magaling mag-budots.
“Ang nag-boost lang sa akin nyan (ay) si Jolo (Revilla), who urged, ‘Papa, sayaw ka.’ When we previously came out with my other TV ads, wala kaming masyadong reactions. When they made me dance the budots, nag-viral siya. All over the world, with billion views.
“Ang daming senatorial candidates ngayon. Ang daming kandidato. Puro superstars ang mga kasama ko ngayon. I don’t have to be complacent,” the reelectionist senator said of his campaign.
But he did not campaign all the way to Baguio last February after he went to Pampanga. Politicians were told not to show up in the Panagbenga Festival to avoid getting bashed.
