Poe vows to fight film piracy

MANILA, Philippines - As the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) begins today, presidential aspirant Sen. Grace Poe vowed to initiate policy reforms and technical support for agencies protecting intellectual property rights.

Poe said the jurisdiction of the Optical Media Board (OMB), in particular, has to be expanded to include other forms of piracy such as software, Internet and mobile device piracy.

“The OMB has to be able to ride the waves of technology. It is so much easier and faster to illegally duplicate different forms of media now, and the OMB must be equipped to fight all forms of piracy,” said Poe, who chairs the Senate committee on public information and mass media.  

Poe noted that the government and the creative industries are losing billions due to piracy.

As an adopted daughter of the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. and actress Susan Roces, Poe said she understands the hardships and challenges in making, producing and distributing movies.

“It’s no joke making and selling films. It’s not easy being part of creative industries such as movies and music, which have to constantly compete with counterfeiters,” said Poe, who also served as chairman of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).

“I ask everyone to support Filipino creativity by not patronizing pirated products,” she said.

Software piracy continues to cause major revenue losses globally. In 2011, the Philippines lost tax revenues amounting to P14.6 billion due to software piracy alone, according to the latest available report from the International Intellectual Property Alliance. 

In 2014, the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights confiscated P13.3 billion worth of pirated products and accessories. This includes P831 million worth of pirated products seized during the 2,192 raids and inspections of the OMB. 

However, the OMB does not have a disposal facility for the seized items and is only using the facilities of the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Immigration for storage. 

Poe proposes building a facility within the OMB or Philippine National Police compound for proper auditing and accounting of all confiscated items.