AmCham backs bill seeking to promote creative industries

MANILA, Philippines — The American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham) has welcomed a proposal in Congress to promote the growth of the country’s creative industries.

In a statement, AmCham lauded the proposed Creative Industries Development Act which seeks to form a council to be composed of government agencies and private sector representatives to implement a plan to encourage the growth of the creative industries covering audio and audiovisual media, creative services, cultural sites, design, digital interactive media, performing arts, print and publishing, traditional cultural expressions, and visual arts.

AmCham said the bill, when approved, would spur the growth of the sector which is already contributing over seven percent to the country’s gross domestic product.

“Passage of the legislation creating strong institutional bodies, plans, and incentives at the national and local level is crucial to achieving the Philippine goal of becoming the top creative economy in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region in terms of size and value by 2030,” AmCham said.

The bill has been approved by the House of Representatives’ creative industry committee and appropriations committee.

“With inclusion of the bill in the House list of priorities, we are optimistic that the bill will be reported out to plenary and approved soon,” AmCham Philippines executive director Ebb Hinchliffe said.

Meanwhile, deliberations on the bill have started at the Senate.

As part of the push for creative industries as a key growth sector for the Philippines, the AmCham recently formed a creative industries committee.

Through this initiative, there would be meetings focused on creative industry sectors which include advertising, animation, design, film and software.

AmCham and other groups have been pushing for the passage of a bill for the development of the creative industries sector.

In 2018, AmCham, along with Animation Council of the Philippines, Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, The British Council, Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Creative Economy Council of the Philippines, European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Game Developers Association of the Philippines, Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines, Korean Chamber of Commerce Philippines, Makati Business Club, Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and US-ASEAN Business Council issued a policy brief on the Philippine creatives industry with the passage of the Creative Industries Act as one of the recommendations.