THE AMERICAN Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham) said it is encouraged by the progress made in Congress to pass a bill on the development of the creative industry, which it said would raise the industry’s competitiveness in Southeast Asia.
“With inclusion of the bill in the House’s 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.
The chamber said a Creative Industries Act would support the growth of the sector and its contribution to the Philippine economy.
“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 region in terms of size and value by 2030.”
Speaker Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco at the opening of the third regular session pushed for institutions to prop up the creative economy. The bill has been approved by the House Special Committee on the Creative Industry and Performing Arts and the appropriations committee, while Senate deliberations have started.
“Business groups anticipate filing of the committee report on the measure, with the Trade Committee Chairman’s (Senator Aquilino Martin L. Pimentel III) commitment to shepherd the bill to passage,” AmCham said.
The chamber recently formed its first creative industries committee, which will discuss the bill and the industry’s largest subsectors, including advertising, animation, design, film, and software.
AmCham and several industry groups released a creative industry policy brief in November 2018, which recommended the passage of the bill. — Jenina P. Ibañez