Ban on Korean TV drama bucked
ORMOC City – Leyte Representative Richard Gomez is not in favor of totally banning the hit Korean drama (Kdrama) in the Philippines as this is curtailing the freedom of choice of the Filipinos.
Instead, Gomez, a multi-awarded actor before entering politics, suggests that it could be limited to give more airtime to locally-produced telenovelas.
In an interview at the sidelines of the city’s Diamond Jubilee (75 years) celebration, Gomez said he will pursue his bills proposed in the House of Representatives which provide incentives to the local artists as well as producers of local movies and dramas for them to be able to create quality shows.
“Para sa akin, limit na lang siguro ang pagpapalabas ng mga foreign shows to give more time to local shows. Mahirap kasing mag ban, mawawala ang freedom of choice ng mga tao,” Gomez said.
However, he admitted that it is also impossible to control the showing of these foreign dramas, particularly the Kdrama since there are thousands of Filipinos subscribed to Netflix and other platforms.
“Mahirap talagang control. On the other hand, it is about time for the Filipino teledramas na taasan ang quality ng kanilang product para they can compete internationally,” Gomez added.
When it comes to local artists, Gomez said Filipinos are competitive as shown by the awards won by some in the international competition.
In a related story, Gomez has filed a measure that seeks to preserve the country’s film heritage for future reference in schools and other occasions was filed in the House of Representatives.
House Bill 936 aims at helping the entertainment industry to preserve Filipino films.
Gomez wants these Filipino films to be readily available for educational, historical and cultural purposes to all segments of Philippine society, as well as the international community.
The measure, Gomez said, shall lead to the creation of the National Film Archive of the Philippines to be managed by the Film Development Council.
The former Ormoc City Mayor added that the measure will “give life, infuse meaning, and flesh out the intent of constitutional provisions” with the end in view of promoting our cinematographic arts and building and conserving our Filipino film heritage.
