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

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 4576

Introduced by Kabataan Party-List Representative Raymond V. Palatino

EXPLANATORY NOTE

‘The promotion of Filipino culture is an integral pert 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 a people in their political, social and cultura 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 nution's cinema. A “national
cinema,” loosely defined, is a country's body of films that embodies the social and cultural identity
of its peopte. 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 beritage 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 cast of
Production, and the lack of govemment 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 onslaught and 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 lo 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.

‘The same way Philippine literature, through classics such as Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterisno, among others, is taught, in schools as a means of promoting and preserving one
aspect of Filipino cultural heritage and history, Philippine cinema should likewise be given the
opporumity 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 funure.
Adopted,
HON.
Rep

ie
i. RAYPIPND V. PALATINO:
ive, Kabataan Party-fist


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

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 4576

Introduced by Kabataan Party-List Representative Raymond V. Palatino

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 l. 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 fulfill this mandate. ft shall, in particular, provide sufficient support for
the promotion of Philippine cinema through the instruction in secondary schools.

SECTION 3. The Department of Education, in consultation and in close coordination with the
National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the University of the Philippines Film
Instinte (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 UPEI, in the writing, printing and publication of textbooks, manuals and other reading materials,
and in the aequisition of film and other audio-visual materials, to be used in the Phili
appreciation courses.



SECTION 5. Appropriations. — The amount necessary for the policy formulation, program
plmning, standards development and instructional materials development, and the general
implementation of this Act shall be incorporated in the annual budget of the Deparment 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 regulations within thiry (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 proceeding the effectivity of this
Act.