CITY OF MEYCAUAYAN, Bulacan—Optical Media Board (OMB) Chairman Anselmo B. Adriano and Maria Liza Diño, the chairman of the Film Development Council of the Philippines, led on Tuesday the ceremonial destruction of approximately 15,000 confiscated compact discs and compact disc digital videos (CDs-DVDs) at the national high school in this city.
Before the ceremonial destruction of the confiscated CDs, the OMB launched its #OMBeOriginal Campaign to ignite interest and participation from the media and general public, especially the youth, in its antipiracy campaign.
One of the campaign’s thrusts is youth integration, which aims to involve and engage the youth in the fight against piracy through programs and activities that will educate them about intellectual-property rights.
Five hundred senior high-school students participated in the ceremonial destruction of counterfeit CDs and DVDs who manifested their support to the OMB and promise to help in the fight against piracy.
Adriano told the BusinessMirror the youth’s involvement in their antipiracy campaign is really important, because the younger ones are engaged and active on the Internet.
“Kailangan namin ang tulong ninyo para paigtingin ang pagsugpo sa mga pirata. Maraming paraan para matulungan ninyo kami. Siyempre kailangan namin na kayo ay…huwag bumili ng mga bagay na pirated. Ang pirated CDs at DVDs na pelikula, hindi naman maganda ang kopya niyan, di ba? May umuubo, may tumatayo, mahina ang sound…sayang lang ’yung pinangbili ninyo dyan. Mas maganda pa rin na manood kayo sa mga sinehan, o bumili ng original. Mas masaya panoorin ang mga pelikula ’pag walang istorbo.“
“We are acknowledged internationally for having sufficient laws and very successful enforcement operations, natanggal na tayo sa listahan ng mga bansang malakas sa pirata. Sa panahong ito, ang kailangan natin ay magandang balita para sa ating bansa. Sa larangan ng pagsugpo sa pirata, nakuha na po natin iyan. Bumibida na ang Pilipinas at gusto naming maging parte kayo ng patuloy na pag-unlad ng Pilipinas,” Adriano said.
Adriano also urged the students to be original, and noted he trusts the youth to be different and to stand above the rest because their voices, principles and beliefs “can delifinitely cause a good change in our country”.
“I am encouraging you to use the hashtag #OMBeOriginal at kunan niyo ng mga litrato ’yung mga nagbebenta dyan ng mga pirate,” Adriano said.
On the other hand, Diño said a song could be a lifetime livelihood for the artist, only if the public will know how to value one’s rights toward his works.
Diño also said that the piracy is a form of discouragement to the artists, producers and other personnel to continue creating more quality films and songs, adding that if it will not stop, it can definitely cause huge problems in the filming and recording industry, wherein even the future artists will also be affected if it continues to prevail.
“Please give value, please give value to the works of our creators, of our artists, because in the future kayo ’yon. Kayo ’yung bibigyan ng respeto dahil binibigyang pagpapahalaga ang mga gagawin,” Diño reiterated.
Meanwhile, Ramon del Rosario, a musical director, explained that copyright is a right of a creator to gain profit through his works, ‘‘copyright is a collection of rights to earn, kaya sa lahat ng pagkakataon, ang copy right na’yan ay nababalewala, ano’ng nangyayari sa mga composer na tulad ko? Nawawalan kami ng karapatang kumita don sa aming mga gawa. Ang tawag don sa kita ng composer ay royalty; ang royalty ay maraming klase, mayroon kaming commission na mga composer. Kung ang mga [CDs-DVDs] iyan, ibebenta ng walang paalam mawawalan kami ng pera.”
Aiza Seguerra, the chairman of the National Youth Commission, said that the dedication, the passion and the soul of the artists will just be thrown away when piracy strikes adding that a single song can cost approximately P60,000 to produce.
Seguerra also urged the students to give value to themselves and said, “Think of the value, because if you value yourself, alam mo na you deserve nothing but the original. If you value yourself, you deserve nothing but the best.”
However, Epy Quizon, an actor, television host and the son of comedian Dolphy, noted that piracy results in a big loss in the filming and recording business and said, “Piracy is a crime, it is a crime and supporting pirated materials makes you an accessory to the crime.”