24 JUL 2014

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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES. l fi
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

4756

House Bill No.

Introduced by Kabataan’Party-list Representative Terry L. Ridon

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The promotion of Filipino culture is an integral part of nation building. National
development cannot merely be measured through the quantification of material and
economic gains, but in the overall and holistic development of the people in their political,
social and cultural life as a nation. The 1987 Philippine Constitution even devotes several
provisions on the promotion and preservation of Philippine arts and culture as an
indispensable aspect of national development. Sec. 16, Art. XIV, for example, provides that
“The State shall conserve, promote, and popularize the nation’s historical and cultural
heritage and resources, as well as artistic creations.”

‘An important aspect of any national heritage and culture is a nation’s cinema. A
“national cinema,” loosely defined, is a country’s body of films that embodies the social and
cultural identity of its people. The film medium has, throughout this century, been an
important means of reflecting the life of our nation through various genres that depict the
lives of Filipinos. A genuine national policy on the promotion of Filipino cultural heritage
cannot therefore exist without the inclusion of Philippine cinema development and
appreciation as an integral part thereof.

During these times when economic conditions, like market forces and the cost of
production, and the lack of government support have hampered and limited the full
development of a truly vibrant Philippine cinema and the preservation of its history, and at a
time when our youth are increasingly being bombarded by the influence of foreign films, it
becomes more imperative and urgent to introduce our youth to Philippine cinema through
series of lectures, or through an entire subject taught in secondary schools with regard to
Filipino films with a focus on its appreciation as a collective body of artistic creations that
enhance and reflect the cultural and social identity of our nation.

In the same way Philippine literature, through classics such as Noli Me Tangere and
El Filibusterismo, among others, is taught in schools as a means of promoting and

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preserving one aspect of Filipino cultural heritage and history, Philippine cinema should
likewise be given the opportunity to be appreciated by our youth, with the hope not only of
providing them a picture of our identity and our history as a people, but also with the hope of
inspiring them to take advantage of the medium, in its traditional and its digital variations, in
order to showcase and express their aspirations as the bearers of our nation's future.

This bill - which was first filed in the 15th Congress by former Kabataan Party-list
Rep. Raymond Palatino ~ seeks to institute the mandatory instruction of Philippine cinema
appreciation courses formulated by the Department of Education, in consultation with the
National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA) and the University of the Philippines Film
Institute (UPFI), in secondary schools across the country as separate subjects or
incorporated in existing subjects now being taught, whichever is more practicable.

In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

‘erry L. Ridon
resentative, Kabataan Party-list


Noauseon

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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
‘Quezon City, Metro Manila

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

4758

House Bill No.

Introduced by Kabataan Party-list Representative Terry L. Ridon

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR THE MANDATORY INSTRUCTION OF PHILIPPINE CINEMA
APPRECIATION IN SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE COUNTRY,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title—This Act shall be known as the “Philippine Cinema
Appreciation Act for High School Students.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy.-It shall be the policy of the State to promote the
development of and the appreciation of culture and the arts as an integral part of nation
building. It shall take appropriate steps in order to fulfil this mandate. It shall, in particular,
provide sufficient support for the promotion of Philippine cinema through instruction in
secondary schools.

SECTION 3. The Department of Education, in consultation and in close coordination
with the National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA) and the University of the
Philippines Film Institute (UPFI), shall formulate courses, and special lectures on Philippine
Cinema to be taught in secondary schools across the country as separate subjects or
incorporated in existing subjects now being taught, whichever is more practicable.

SECTION 4. The Department of Education shall also consult and coordinate with the
NCCA and the UPFI, in the writing, printing and publication of textbooks, manuals and other
reading materials, and in the acquisition of film and other audio-visual materials, to be used


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ine cinema appreciation courses.

SECTION §. Appropriations. - The amount necessary for the policy formulation,
program planning, standards development and instructional materials development, and the
general implementation of this Act shall be incorporated in the annual budget of the
Department of Education under the General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 6, implementing Rules and Regulations - The Department of Education
shall promulgate and issue the necessary implementing rules and regulation within thirty (30)
days after the effectivity of this Act.

SECTION 7. Effectivity — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.
The instruction of Philippine cinema appreciation shall be taught on the academic year
succeeding the effectivity of this Act.

Approved,