Loren presses for child-friendly television progra

Senate Majority Leader Loren Legarda vowed yesterday to sponsor a bill that would finally fund a 1997 law providing incentives for the production of television programs for children.

Legarda made the vow during her installation as the spokesperson of the Southeast Asian Foundation for Children’s Television (SEAFCV), an organization that advocates responsible, quality TV programming for children.

She noted that the Children’s Television Act of 1997, whose primary function is to ensure that child-friendly and positive programs are aired at designated hours, has not been funded.

The law, authored in the House by then Manila Rep. Ramon Bagatsing Jr. and in the Senate by Sen. Ramon Revilla, is one of the so-called dead laws because it has not been funded. It is supposed to provide financial and tax incentives for the production of child-friendly and positive programs.

She said that aside from seeking funding for the Children’s Television Act of 1997, she has also filed Senate Bill No. 703 which prescribes TV violence rating codes and prohibits violent TV programming during certain hours.

Legarda cited studies showing a significant connection between the amount of violence depicted on TV and increased aggression among children.

The installation of Legarda as SEAFCV spokesperson was attended by representatives from various TV networks, government agencies, diplomatic offices and private corporations.

The foundation, in existence since 1996, is an organization of all TV networks and cable operators in the country aiming to synergize resources among them to set standards of excellence in children’s television.

The event also unveiled the foundation’s first-ever informercial, which shall be aired for free throughout the various member-networks to raise the public’s awareness on the significance of family-friendly television.

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office has promised to help fund the projects of SEAFCV, while the National Council for Culture and the Arts headed by Jaime Laya has promised to sponsor informercials related to arts and culture. — Efren Danao