Sufficient and nutritious meals, adequate standby areas and just workday hours. These were among the rights pushed by Sen. Robinhood “Robin” C. Padilla for “small” workers in the showbiz industry.
At the hearing of the Senate on the proposed “Eddie Garcia Act” where he is a co-author, Padilla stressed the observation of such rights are important to ensuring a smooth workflow in the industry he came from.
“Mahalaga sa amin mga maliliit kasi mga big star… kaya kami nanggagalaiti dito para doon sa maliliit, kasi ang big star, may pagkain yan (The small workers are important to us. The big stars have money and they can afford to bring their own food),” he told the stakeholders at the hearing.
“Sana po magtulungan tayo. Hindi po tayo nandito para magtalo-talo o di magkasundo. Gusto lang po nating magkaroon ng napakagandang workflow sa ating industry kahit ang industry natin medyo nasa alanganin ngayon (We should help each other. We are not here to argue, but to ensure a smooth workflow in our industry even if our industry is now struggling),” he added.
Padilla reminded producers to ensure dietitians are in the workplace so performers and crew have the strength to do their work. “Nagpuyat ka na tapos pakakainin ka ng isang bakol ng upo medyo mahirap naman (It would be difficult if you went without sleep then you are given only upo to eat),” he said.
He added there should be adequate and comfortable standby areas especially for senior and child performers. “Kadalasan kasi pagdating sa talent, nasa kalsada lang (When it comes to talents, they are often left to wait for their turn on the street),” he said.
Padilla likewise pushed for tax holidays to allow the industry to recover, “dahil alam kong overtaxed kayo (because I know producers are overtaxed).”
Joji Alonso of the Philippine Motion Picture Producers Association said they are amenable to a workday with a maximum of 14 hours. She said the industry is struggling because producers of movies produced this year earned only up to P12 million in a week, and in the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) at that – a far cry from the P72 million they need to break even.