The Disaster/Emergency Assistance and Relief (DEAR) Program of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) now has three programs to assist displaced freelance audio-visual (AV) content workers during a state of calamity due to a major natural disaster or public health emergency like the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. After launching DEAR ACTION! for freelance AV content workers and DEAR PRESS! for freelance entertainment press members, FDCP has introduced DEAR LIVE! for freelancers in the AV live performance sector.

Here’s something to look forward to while staying at home during the quarantine! The Philippine Italian Association will bring the fifth edition of Italian MovieMov to the Philippines through its first ever online film festival. In its fifth year of collaborating with the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) under its Film Cultural Exchange Program (FCEP), Italian MovieMov will partner with My Movies to organize a virtual cinema from April 21 to 26 that can accomodate 300 online attendees under the banner MovieMov Goes Online.

The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) highlighted the Filipino cinema industry by continuing collaborations and forging partnerships in the 70th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in Germany. The FDCP, which continues to fulfill its mission of prospering Philippine Cinema and promoting it locally and globally, kick-started 2020 at no less than the first A-List international film festival of the year with the biggest film market in the world (European Film Market), the Berlinale.

Relative to the activation of the FDCP DISASTER/EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF (DEAR) PROGRAM, a disaster-triggered funding mechanism of the Film Development Council of the Philippines that provides financial assistance to its stakeholders who are directly affected by a major natural disaster, the DEAR LIVE! PROGRAM (for displaced freelance audio-visual live performance workers) is hereby activated with the following guidelines issued:

Relative to FDCP Advisories No. 01, 01-A and 02 on the activation of the FDCP DISASTER/EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF (DEAR), DEAR ACTION! and DEAR PRESS! and the announcement of the President on the extension of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), the following updates on the guidelines are hereby issued:

Pursuant to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Resolution No. 20 and the subsequent announcement of the President, the Enhanced Community Quarantine in Luzon has been extended to April 30, 2020. 

The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has released more than P4.5 million from its reallocated funds through the Disaster/Emergency Assistance and Relief (DEAR) Program, providing financial support to freelance audio-visual (AV) content workers impacted by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis. As of April 6, 2020, more than 600 displaced freelance AV content industry members received the one-time tax-free DEAR financial support. Film and television workers covered by the DEAR ACTION! Program received P8,000 each and entertainment press members under the DEAR PRESS! Program were given P5,000 each.

High profile cases of COVID-19 from around the globe have made waves and shown the massive and arbitrary impact of the coronavirus pandemic. From Hollywood actors to NBA players and British royalty, the high-profile cases of the virus have further emphasized the gravity of the present situation. Throughout the pandemic, the Philippine film industry has received its share of such high-profile cases. The first occurred on March 17, when actor Christopher de Leon confirmed his positive COVID-19 test result via Instagram post. He has thankfully been discharged since this week and continues recovery; however, this confirmation has been followed by cases in the form of actress Iza Calzado (who revealed her hospitalization due to pneumonia and later received a positive COVID-19 test result), Sylvia Sanchez and husband Art Atayde, and actor Menggie Cobarrubias, who tragically passed away due to pneumonia on March 26 and was posthumously revealed to have tested positive for the virus.

The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), in its new Advisory 1-A issued on April 3, 2020, has expanded the coverage of its DEAR ACTION! program to cater to more freelance audio-visual (AV) content workers who have been displaced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis. The income cap on qualified applicants is lifted, the required number of suspended work days is lessened, and AV companies can now apply on behalf of their freelance workers.

The freelance industry or gig economy has been burgeoning in recent years, and freelancers have been aplenty in the audio-visual (AV) industry. There are at least 1.5 million freelance AV workers in the country, accounting for 70% of the AV industry. As the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has been working closely with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in ensuring the quality of working conditions of AV workers through Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 1, the national film agency also bears in mind the welfare of freelance AV workers.