Lawmaker seeks ban on Filipino dubbing of English films, programs

A lawmaker is seeking to prohibit the Filipino dubbing of English language motion pictures and television programs that are being distributed or broadcasted in the Philippines.

In filing House Bill 9939, Negros Occidental Representative Jose Francisco ”Kiko” Benitez said the Philippines should enhance learning delivery to enable acquisition of English as a second language, noting that mass media can be a platform for this.

Benitez said that English proficiency has often been cited as the key factor to the growth of the business process outsourcing industry, which earned the Philippines the title of ”call center capital of the world.”

”We must therefore help younger generations acquire English in different settings, and through different media, to enable them to communicate better and explore new horizons, in terms of employment and social interaction,” he said.

In lieu of Filipino dubbing, audiovisual production, broadcasting, film distribution and streaming services shall provide Filipino subtitles in English-language motion pictures and television programs; provided, that English-language closed captions shall be provided as an option for English-language audio content, in accordance with Republic Act No. 10905. 

Meanwhile, television commercials and television programs shown from 1:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. Philippine Standard Time are exempted from this prohibition.

The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) can also exempt television programs if it can determine that compliance will be economically burdensome.—Anna Felicia Bajo/AOL, GMA Integrated News