sent to me by Dinah Remolacio of OPM (the org): Office of Rep. Teddy Brawner Baguilat Lone District, Ifugao Baguilat calls on musicians to participate in OPM bill hearings IFUGAO Representative Teddy Brawner Baguilat has called on all stakeholders in the music industry, from record company executives to station managers, songwriters and musicians from all music genres, to take part in the deliberations on the proposed OPM Development Act of 2014. According to Baguilat, the filing of the bill on the OPM Development Act and the recently concluded Pinoy Music Summit had generated great interest in the country’s diverse music scene and issues faced by musicians and the recording industry. That energy should be harnessed to immediately pass a law that will promote, protect and develop the Philippine music industry, said Baguilat. The proposed bill seeks to institutionalize Executive Order 255, which requires the playing of at least four OPM songs an hour by broadcast organizations. The executive order was issued by the late President Corazon Aquino and Baguilat seeks to convert the order into a law to ensure consistent compliance. Baguilat said increasing the airtime of Filipino music was crucial as radio remains one of the best avenues for Filipinos to discover music. Radio play is envisioned to be open to all kinds of music so that Filipinos will discover more of the rich talent that is available but not heard. The bill also wants to institutionalize the Performers’ Equity Program, a body of rules applied to foreign entertainers seeking to work in the Philippines. The program was started back in 1987 upon the initiative of then Immigration Commissioner Miriam Defensor-Santiago. The government-private program was crafted to ensure that the rights, privileges and welfare of Filipino performers are protected in spite of the presence of foreign acts. Under the existing memorandum of agreement among the Bureau of Immigration, the Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit and the Asosasyon ng Musikong Pilipino, foreign performers are required to pay P5,000 per show while foreign musicians, instrumentalists and back-up vocalists pay P4,000 a show. OPM collects the equity fees for the singers doing live musical acts and concerts while AMP gets the equity payments for the displaced musicians and back-up singers. The equity payment is supposed to be paid and assessed before working visas are issued to the performers. From 2010 to 2013, OPM has collected close to P8.5 million from equity fee payments of producers who bring in foreign performers, and part of the proceeds went to launch and maintain the Philippine Music Registry, the Legal Assistance Program for artists, as well as medical, burial and insurance benefits for members and workshops to help members in their creative pursuits. Baguilat stressed that converting the MOA into a law was not meant to drive away foreign artists. On the contrary, they are more than welcome to perform in the country to delight the Filipino audience, but it would also be just fair for the local musicians, vocalists and instrumentalists to be compensated and have a better working environment in their own place of work. Such an equity system is recognized around the world, such that producers bringing Filipino performers abroad are likewise levied a fee, which also goes to help their colleagues in other countries. “This bill is about aiding struggling Pinoy artists who might be disadvantaged from foreign competition. It is also about giving a lift to OPM through more airtime. This will mean greater exposure to all kinds of Filipino music, whether mainstream or from those not signed by major record labels,” said Baguilat. Baguilat had said that the OPM bill needs to be passed as popularization of OPM among Filipinos “remains a colossal challenge” given such factors as the proliferation of foreign music. “The Philippines should take measures to protect its local artists and further promote Filipino music,” said Baguilat. There are many ways of addressing concerns but I believe that everyone is united in the objective to promote Filipino music.” Baguilat, who has long been a supporter of the arts given the cultural heritage of Ifugao, said he was pushing for the bill, which was crafted in consultation with OPM and the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, as Filipinos should embrace their own music and other forms of art as they comprise the Filipino culture and identity.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 14:33:48 +0000
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