Senate bill seeks to go after ticket scalpers, provide fair access to concert fans


Senator Mark Villar has filed Senate Bill No. 2873, or the proposed Anti-Ticket Scalping Act, a bill that would go after ticket scalpers and provide fair ticket access for concert fans.

“Inihain po natin ang panukalang batas na ito upang matigil na o masugpo ang lumalalang scalping sa bansa na sumasamantala ng ating mga kababayang concert goers o avid fans. Hindi na po makatuwiran ang pagpapatong ng di makataong halaga sa mga concert at events ticket ng mga scalper na ito (We have proposed this bill to put an end to the worsening issue of scalping in the country, which exploits our fellow concertgoers and avid fans. It is no longer reasonable for scalpers to impose inhumane prices on concert and event tickets),” he said.

“Layunin po natin na mabigyan ng fair access ang mga fan at concert goer na talagang naghahangad na makapunta sa mga concert at a reasonable price. Hindi po nila deserve ang walang habas na pananamantala ng mga scalper. Every fan and every Filipino deserves to enjoy concerts without being extorted by scammers (Our goal is to provide fair access to fans and concertgoers who genuinely want to attend concerts at a reasonable price. They do not deserve the relentless exploitation by scalpers. Every fan and every Filipino deserves to enjoy concerts without being taken advantage of by scammers),” he added.

The bill prohibits the offering, hoarding, selling, distributing, buying, dealing in, disposing of, or otherwise acquiring admission tickets for entertainment events, without written permission from the authorized event producer, organizer, and distributor, obtaining and reselling tickets by more than 10 percent higher than the face value price of the ticket.

The minimum 10 percent markup may be reviewed and updated by the implementing agencies. In addition, financing, managing, or operating ticket scalping activities on a large scale will also be penalized.

“Bilang prevention measure, ire-require na rin ang mga event ticketing, event production and event service entities na mag-publish or mag-post ng reminders against scalping sa kanilang premises or websites. Inuutusan din sila na mag-adopt at mag-implement ng internal policy guidelines at mechanisms para maiwasan ang scalping activities sa kanilang employees, contractors at agents (As a preventive measure, event ticketing, event production, and event service entities will be required to publish or post reminders against scalping on their premises or websites. They are also mandated to adopt and implement internal policy guidelines and mechanisms to prevent scalping activities among their employees, contractors, and agents)," he said.

"Ayon din sa finile nating bill, hindi na rin kailangang antayin na mayroon pang magreklamo para makapagsampa ng kaso laban sa mga scalper. Ang DOJ, DTI, DILG pati na ang mga law enforcement agency gaya ng PNP at NBI ay maaari na ring maging complainant (According to the bill we filed, there is no longer a need to wait for someone to file a complaint in order to take action against scalpers. The Department of Justice , Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Interior and Local Government, as well as law enforcement agencies like the PNP and NBI, can also serve as complainants)," he added.

Persons found guilty of ticket scalping will be fined P 100,000 and/or imprisonment of six months for the first offense. This penalty could go as much as P 500,000 and/or imprisonment of three years for the third and subsequent offenses.

Villar also highlighted the penalties for corporate offenders: “ Bukod sa kompanya, pwede na ring papanagutin ang directors, members, officers and employees na sangkot sa scalping (In addition to the company, directors, members, officers, and employees involved in scalping can also be held accountable).”

“Aktibo po nating isusulong at ipaglalaban ang pagsasabatas ng bill na ito laban sa mga scalper na ito at mabigyan ng patas na access sa mga concert at event ang ating mga kababayan. These scalpers are scammers at hindi po tayo papayag na mas lalo pa silang dumami at patuloy na makapang-loko ng mga Pilipino (We will actively advocate for and fight for the enactment of this bill against these scalpers to ensure our fellow citizens have fair access to concerts and events. These scalpers are scammers, and we will not allow them to multiply and continue deceiving Filipinos),” Villar said.