MANILA: Banning foreign movies in the Philippines will curtail the freedom for citizens to choose what they want.
Congressman Richard Gomez, once an actor himself, said this on Thursday in expressing his objection to the recent proposal by a peer, Philstar.com reported.
During a budget hearing for the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) on Tuesday, Senator Jinggoy Estrada suggested the idea of banning foreign movies, including "Korean telenovelas" (TV dramas), in support of the creative industry.
Gomez, an award winning actor and athlete before becoming a politician, said it would also be impossible to control foreign dramas, particularly the K-drama, because many citizens subscribe to streaming platforms.
"Personally, perhaps we can limit the number of these foreign shows to give more time to local shows. Banning them will not do any good, because people will no longer have the freedom of choice," said the congressman for Leyte.
"It's really hard to control them. On the other hand, it is about time for the Filipino tele-dramas to improve the quality of their products so that they can compete internationally," he added.
Gomez said this in an interview on the sidelines of the Diamond Jubilee celebration of Ormoc City where he served as mayor for nine years prior to his election to Congress last May. He swapped posts with his wife, Lucy Torres, who is now mayor.
He said when it comes to local artists, Filipinos are competitive as shown by the awards they reap in international competitions.
"Filipino artists are very good. The talent is there, we don't have scarcity in talents. The production value which is important at this time, we have a hard time competing with any good production value. The story may be good but if we don't have that kind of quality then it will not really be competitive," he added.