Garin calls on industry leaders to help protect the rights of creatives

GMA Network, in collaboration with the Intellectual Property of the Philippines (IPOPHL) and Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), conducted an anti-piracy symposium with the theme "Disrupting the Piracy Ecosystem and Protecting Legal Services" on Wednesday at the Ascott Hotel in Bonifacio Global City.

The event's keynote speaker is Department of Energy Undersecretary Hon. Sharon Garin.

She said that although there is the "resurgence of advocacy for creative industries" thanks to streaming during the COVID-19 pandemic, piracy, illegal streaming of content, and the lack of creatives' protection also increased.

"The increase in pirated content consumption aggravated the Philippine film industry situation as attendance in movie theaters continued to drop drastically, not to mention the effects of the pandemic and the closure of movie theaters in the last two years," Garin said.

"We push people to be creative, we have the creative industries, but we do not protect their rights," she said.

Garin said it is time to explore improvements on privacy protection in the Philippines and come up with strategies to promote reliable streaming and downloading online.

"The law has to adapt," she said.

She called on industry leaders to make it anti-piracy a mainstream concern.

"And that is the power that you have, hindi kaya 'yan ng artists or singers. It has to be you—kayo na leaders of the industry. I think you can make a difference. Sayang kasi ang pagka creative kung hindi naman maproteksyunan," she said.

"And if you don't protect their rights, it's not just intellectual, but their economic rights that [are] affected."

Garin added that she hopes this advocacy and movement continues, and that social awareness and responsibility among digital users can overcome piracy in the Philippines.

"The challenge for us is to mold internet users, 'yung mga users mismo, instilling in them that not just because it is easy [and] in a click away, it will be the best way," Garin said.

Last January, GMA partnered with ACE to strengthen its anti-piracy capabilities.

Sparkle star Barbie Forteza is an ambassador of the network's anti-piracy campaign, along with "Voltes V: Legacy" stars Miguel Tanfelix, Ysabel Ortega, Matt Lozano, Radson Flores, and Raphael Landicho.

—MGP, GMA Integrated News