By Joel Saracho
THERE are now two separate guidelines circulating regarding the protocols in the conduct of shooting and taping for the audiovisual industry. While not necessarily conflicting, the two guidelines, however, is causing confusion among workers particularly in film and television.
First to release its Memorandum No. 6 Guidelines on Safety Protocols for the Conduct of Film and Audiovisual Production Shoots to Mitigate the Coronavirus Disease was the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), led by Liza Dino.
The other guideline was crafted by the Inter-Guild Alliance (IGA), a network of various groups representing the different sectors of the film, television and advertising industries in the Philippines.
Both documents are cognizant of the risks brought about by Covid-19, and prescribe health and sanitation protocols, social distancing, new work ethics and procedures. The departure includes working hours and the number of people allowed on the set. Alos, a lot more detail is contained in the very thorough IGA guidelines.
FDCP cites 12-hour workdays, but did not specify when the first hour will start. The IGA document cites 12 hours, but in some instances this can be pushed to a maximum of 14 hours beginning from the arrival of the first person on the set. The time to disinfect before and after shoot will not be part of the work hours. The government agency wants to limit to 50 the maximum number of people on the set, but IGA thinks 70 people is more practical since “a shoot is not mass gathering or a cultural event. It is work that cannot be done remotely, involving people with different skills set and functions.” (IGA Declaration of Principles)
However, the difference between the two documents rely mainly on the creators. The FDCP is a government agency mandated to “formulate and implement policies and programs to upgrade the art and craft of filmmaking; encourage the production of films for commercial purposes intended to public entertainment that seek to enhance the quality of life, examine the human conditions and contribute to the nobility of the human spirit; and maximize the country’s comparative advantage as a location site for international movie and television making to generate income, promote tourism and enhance the image of the country abroad.”
It is also tasked to attend to film archives pursuant to an Administrative Order which provides that “the FDCP may also request from filmmakers to deposit a copy within one month after exhibition of the film for film archive.” Executive Order 837, signed by former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, placed the FDCP under the oversight of the Department of Education.
The IGA is a community-based network composed of creative workers, crew members and other work groups directly involved in film, television and advertising production. It took the alliance over a month of extensive meetings to come up with the protocols, allowing the different guilds to adapt the procedures to the specific realities of their function in the production.
The FDCP called its guidelines interim pending approval from the IATF through the Department of Health (DOH).
It says “duly registered organizations can still propose safety measures for their respective sectors and the FDCP will endorse such proposals as annexes to the DOH and Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases [IATF].” However, the memo specifically states the guidelines “shall take effect immediately.”
The IGA protocols, meanwhile, was celebrated by stakeholders in the different industries. Lawyer Joji Alonso, who also heads Quantum Films, in her Facebook post said: “We were given the impression that we needed the green
light of the Department of Trade and Industry before any production could begin and shoot; and that any work protocols would need the approval of the IATF through the DOH.”
But Alonso cited the statements of Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and Labor Assistant Secretary and Bureau of Working Conditions Director Tess Cucueco, that the IGA protocols need not seek the approval of the IATF provided “there is compliance of all health protocols as contained in the DTI and DOLE Interim Guidelines on Workplace Prevention and Control of Covid-19.”
The Philippine Movie Producers Association also expressed support for the IGA protocols even as it criticizes the FDCP release as premature. In a statement circulated publicly, the PMPA states:
“After creating the protocols, consultations and extensive discussions were had with the producers who are the funders of all forthcoming projects: the PMPA, the Commercial Production Houses Group [CPHG] and various independent film producers.
“[The FDCP] guidelines were released prematurely and without final consultation with the producers nor with guilds, [causing] much confusion and anxiety not just in the film industry but also in television and advertising industries.
“The PMPA is making it clear it detests any action that undermines the efforts of the real workers in the industry. The PMPA will respect the guidelines prepared by the IGA and will refer to this as the primary document that will guide its film productions in the coming months.”
Interestingly, the Film Academy of the Philippines, a voting member of the FDCP, said it will “stand behind the PMPA.” The FAP, which was formed to dole out awards for outstanding achievements in film and is composed of the various guilds organized in 1983 (not the guilds under the IGA), said it was not consulted or has been part of in “deciding policies recently released by the FDCP.”
While IGA seems to be winning the round in gathering support and recognition, director Erik Matti challenged its composition to call out the FDCP for its “disrespect.”
In his Facebook page, the maverick director posted: “Why did the FDCP release its own protocols and guidelines even if they know that the Inter-Guild Alliance is already drafting a more thorough and worker-approved set of guidelines and protocols? Why isn’t anybody from the IGA acknowledging this disrespect of the FDCP on the efforts made by people who drafted the detailed IGA guidelines and protocols. If the IGA wants to stay neutral about what FDCP posted and will not say whether it is valid or not, which do we follow now?”
As they say in soap operas of yore, abangan ang susunod na kabanata.
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