Emotional si FDCP Chair Liza Diño Seguerra sa kanyang Facebook post kahapon kaugnay sa Eddie Garcia Act.
Aniya, “I never thought this day would come. But it’s finally happening.
“I said to myself before; if there’s only ONE thing na magagawa ko para sa industriya ng pelikulang Pilipino as head of FDCP, it would be to push for a law that would set standards on the working conditions of our workers — from working hours to occupational safety and health guidelines on the set, to social benefits, tenure and a minimum wage table for all sectors. As an actress myself, I’ve experienced first hand these struggles plaguing the industry, which has been around for a hundred years.
“But this proved to be one of the HARDEST to accomplish.
“Marami nang naumpisahang programs ang FDCP that address the many needs of our sectors, the lack of standards in the working conditions was still a glaring issue that we have been trying to address since 2017.
“FDCP may be the national film agency in the country, but when it comes to labor laws, there are more appropriate agencies (and legislators) that are empowered to create and implement these standards/whether as a policy or a law. We could only urge, engage, and cooperate in the process and be delegated to implement the policies.
“But we never stopped. Every little step counted.
“For the last three years, we have been quietly but diligently doing the groundwork starting with the Film Workers Summit in 2017 and then conducting ten consultative meetings with the workers from various sectors — from the technical crew to creative and technical workers, directors, producers, and actors so that we can propose policies and guidelines to the Department of Labor and Employment on the working conditions and safety of our film workers in the audiovisual industry. This hard work and dedication gave birth to a draft joint memorandum circular already in its final stages to protect our workers. DOLE, in partnership with FDCP, will now have a POLICY to set standards and for the working condition of our workers as well as safety guidelines during production.
“FDCP has also reached out to counterpart agencies in Canada, US, and South Korea to consult with them and to provide technical support sa mga batas at sistema na meron sila to protect the film workers of their respective industries.
“But we had a breakthrough last year when a bill was filed by Cong. Michael Romero called the Eddie Garcia Act to protect our Audiovisual Workers. When FDCP was informed about this, we reached out, and he sent his legislative team during our consultations to make sure na naririnig nila ang hinaing ng ating mga mangagawa.
“The bill was filed last year, together with other related bills from various representatives addressing the same concern. And ito na nga, for the past two weeks, we have been attending the Congress Committee Hearings to support our legislators in the crafting of this law.
“Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala. Marami sa ating mga worker ang nawalan na ng pag-asa. We hear it during our consultations, and we felt their frustrations. Some would say, nag-aaksaya lang kami ng panahon, marami nang gumawa nito pero wala namang nag-succeed.
“This fight for worker’s rights has been clamored for from the time of the great Lino Brocka up to now pero wala pa ring results.
“But we never lost hope. Siguro, being in government has somehow given us a better understanding of how we can engage with lawmakers and government entities to push our agenda. Despite the challenges, we know in our hearts, we can find ways to make this happen.
“Basta magkaisa.
“To our lawmakers — Rep. Mike Romero, Rep. Eric Pineda, Rep. Mendoza, Rep. Precious Hipolito Castelo, Rep. Villafuerte, Rep. Taduran, and other authors and supporters of this bill, maraming maraming salamat sa malasakit at pagbibigay halaga sa aming kapakanan. Malaking regalo po ito sa selebrasyon ng ikasandaang taon ng pelikulang Pilipino.
“To my FDCP staff who have been relentlessly working on this and our film workers who have attended our consultations, nagbunga na ang pagod natin.
“To the film industry, kailangan namin ng inyong suporta. In this industry na normal ang kanya-kanya, sana MAGSAMA-SAMA tayo.
“This is for all of us. For our future. For the next hundred years of Philippine Cinema.”
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