2ND UPDATE with more details and reaction, 9:17 PM:: Mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations on film and TV productions now will be allowed, on a restricted basis, under a new agreement reached Monday between Hollywood’s unions and the major companies. The new protocols, they said in a joint statement, will give producers “the option to implement mandatory vaccination policies for casts and crew in Zone A on a production-by-production basis.” Zone A, where unmasked actors work, is the most restrictive of the safe work zones on sets.

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 11) — With the entertainment industry among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, film producers told the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs they are barely surviving during this health crisis.

GMA NEWS - Broaden your knowledge of films with the help of these independent theaters. Cinema Centenario is gone (at least its physical cinema), but it doesn't mean that all hopes are lost for film buffs out there. Some of the micro cinemas around Metro Manila are still standing, waiting for a go-signal to resume operations. Of course, no one really knows how our movie viewing experience will look like after the months-long pandemic.

The government is preparing for the entry of international travelers fully vaccinated against the coronavirus to the Philippines. An inter-agency group has been formed to craft the protocols governing the inbound travel of vaccinated individuals based on the latest decision of the government task force in charge of the pandemic response.

Like with the rest of the government agencies in the country and around the world, the Film Development Council of the Philippines’ planned projects, events, and programs this year have been severely affected and this has brought us a new perspective on how to provide services and engage stakeholders.

Now, we continue to render public service and work for the betterment of the film and audiovisual industry.

The agency took the following necessary steps to adapt to what would surely be our new normal for the FDCP and its programs:

On June 7, 2020, Department of Health (DoH) Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd, Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd, and I, as the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) Chairperson and CEO, signed with immediate effectivity the Joint Administrative Order (JAO) No. 2020-001 on the Health and Safety Protocols for the Conduct of Film and Audiovisual Production Shoots and Audiovisual Activities During Covid-19 Pandemic.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The bill is named after Philippine cinema veteran Eddie Garcia, who went into a coma and later died after tripping on a cable while on the set of a GMA show in 2019. The House of Representatives passed on final reading a bill that sets policies for the protection of workers and independent contractors in the entertainment industry.

MANILA — The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading the bill seeking to protect those working in the entertainment industry following the death of screen veteran Eddie Garcia.

Almost 10 months ago, I had one of the biggest surprises of my life when The Manila Times Chairman Emeritus Dr. Dante A. Ang offered to me this Sunday Times Magazine column while we were having a meeting on our partnership for the “Sine Sandaan” on The Manila Times TV (TMT TV).

MANILA, Philippines — Anita Linda, Philippine cinema’s oldest working actress, has passed away at the age of 95, her daughter Francesca Legaspi confirmed Wednesday.