REVILLA TO INVESTIGATE MMFF MESS

Due to the insistent demand of major stakeholders in the local film industry, Senator Bong Revilla starts the senate inquiry on the alleged irregularities in the handling of the prestigious Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

The said public hearing to be conducted tomorrow (Tuesday, May 6) by Revilla's committee will primarily query on how the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the administrating agency of the MMFF, acquires and distributes the festival earnings.

"The MMFF, despite the benefits it gives to the local film industry and its players, is now hounded by controversies. There are questions on how the funds are being handled. There is also a concern that the distribution guidelines for the beneficiaries of the earnings are not clear, "said Revilla, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media.

Documents gathered by the lawmaker showed that there were inconsistencies in the beneficiaries' share in the MMFF. From 1986 to 2001, the percentage of amusement tax in relation to the gross of the MMFF averaged 19%. However, it slumped to 10% in 2002 and decreased further to 3% in 2006.

Expected to attend the hearing are MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) Director-General Leo Martinez, FAP Chairman Atty. Espiridion Laxa, Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) Chairman Rolando Atienza, Katipunan ng mga Artista ng Pelikulang Pilipino at Telebisyon (KAPPT) President and Pagsanjan Mayor George E.R. Ejercito, and Movie Workers Welfare Foundation Inc. (Mowelfund) Executive Director Boots Anson-Roa.

Also invited as resource persons are representatives from the Philippine Motion Pictures Directors Association (PMPDA, Philippine Motion Pictures Producers Association (PMPA), Movie Producers and Distributors Association of the Philippines (MPRAP) and National Cinema Association of the Philippines (NCAP).

In the wake of questioned legality of MMDA on handling the MMFF, Revilla filed Senate Bill No. 2218 that would transfer the organization, operation and management of the film festival to the FDCP. Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada also filed a similar bill, but it is aimed to transfer the handling of the MMFF to the Mowelfund.

"Being an artist myself, I believe that such festival can better be handled by an organization that carries the best appreciation and perception of the film industry. The FDCP, being the lead government agency that is mandated to oversee the concerns and interests of the whole film industry, comes as the most fitting and appropriate entity to take charge of the MMFF, "he pointed out.

Under SB2218, an executive committee under the FDCP shall be created to handle the MMFF and shall have as members the chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), one representative from the Department of Education (DepED) and one representative from the different guilds under the FAP- the PMPPA, MPDAP, KDPP, KAPPT, Screenwriters Guild of the Philippines (SGP), Film Editors Guild for Motion Pictures (FEGMP), Filipino Society of Cinematographers (FSC), Sound Technicians Association for Motion Pictures (STAMP), United Film Musical Directors Association (UFIMDAP) of the Philippines, Production Designers Guild of the Philippines (PDGP) and Assistant Directors and Production Managers Guild of the Philippines (ADPM).