By Vanne Elaine Terrazola
A lawmaker has proposed the use of Filipino "komiks" as instructional materials in public and private elementary and high schools, as well as government information dissemination campaign materials.
Senator Grace Poe (Senator Grace Poe's Official Facebook Page / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Senate Bill No. 945, or the proposed "Galing Pinoy Komiks Support Act", was filed by Senator Grace Poe to promote the local comics industry and support artists and writers amid the dominance of foreign, comic-based superhero films.
"It is an opportune time to revisit our local comics industry. Colloquially known as 'komiks', our local comics industry first boomed in the 1940s-1950's...Now, the comics industry is propped up by small but much-loved publishers," Poe said in her bill.
"Clearly, our komiks industry is full of talented artists and writers who should be supported. Their work is part of our uniquely Filipino cultural and artistic heritage," she added.
The measure proposes to mandate the Department of Education (DepEd) to implement that 10 percent of the printable instructional materials being used in elementary and secondary education in the country be in the form of komiks.
Aside from schools, all departments, agencies and instrumentalities of the national and local government units, as far as a practicable, shall also be required to incorporate the use of komiks in their advocacy and information dissemination campaign for the general public, except for partisan political activities or to place the name, symbol, logo, or likeness of any public official on such materials.
The bill also seeks to incentivize the use of Filipino comics by making all equipment and materials utilized for the propagation and popularization of komiks tax or duty-free.
If signed into law, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the National Commission on Culture and Arts (NCCA), the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) will be tasked to craft the measure's implementing rules and regulations.