CinemaBravo

Senator Imee Marcos, former Senator Ping Lacson, and Kamuning Bakery Cafe owner Wilson Lee Flores gathered for the largest Pandesal celebration in honor of “World Pandesal Day.” The event, held on October 16, included the distribution of 100,000 free pandesal and other food to underprivileged families, as well as donations to orphanages in Metro Manila. This date also coincides with the United Nations’ World Food Day.

During the Pandesal Forum, before distributing the free bread, Senator Imee Marcos and Ping Lacson called on the government to take inspiration from the success of South Korean films, and by extension their TV shows and K-pop.

They also stressed the importance of providing substantial support to the local creative industries and addressing the high taxes burdening Philippine movies. Both officials emphasized the need for the Philippines to export its own media content globally instead of allowing local entertainment to decline.

Flores also mentioned the idea of adopting policies similar to those in South Korea and China, where the number and scheduling of foreign film imports are restricted to support and grow their local film industries, a suggestion both guests agreed with.

Creative Industries Law

Senator Marcos reflected on the country’s potential and her role in advocating for the Creative Industries Law, expressing her concern about the state of Philippine cinema.

“Ako yung nagtulak nung Creative Industries Law, na ngayon ay nagtatag na ng Creative Industries Council. Sana talagang pagtibayin yan pagkat napakarami nating magagaling na kabataan…

(I pushed for the Creative Industries Law, which has now established the Creative Industries Council. I hope it’s truly strengthened because we have so many talented youth…)

“Hindi ko alam kung nawawala na lang ang ating film industry o tayo naman ay nawawala sa paniniwala na may film industry pa. So importante talaga, manindigan tayo diyan. Tulungan natin.”

(I don’t know if our film industry is just disappearing or if we’ve lost faith that it still exists. It’s crucial for us to stand by it and support it.)

So many producers but…

She also addressed the challenges producers face, particularly with distribution and profitability.

“Ang dami-daming producers. Ang problema ngayon, yung distribution kung pa’no kumita. Baka sintomas na ng problemang ito ang issue na napakarami daw artista na tumakbo sa politika…”

(There are so many producers, but the problem now is distribution and profitability. Maybe the issue of many actors running for office is a symptom of this problem.)

Marcos also highlighted the need to invest in the country’s inherent creative talent.

“Kailangan talaga nating tulungan ang ating film industry. Sa una’t dulo, hindi naman magaling sa sports lagi ang Pilipinas kundi iilan lamang. Hindi naman tayo sumikat sa agham at engineering. Hindi! Ang Pilipino ay talagang likas na artista: malikhain, may kultura. So, sana itong talent na ito ay talagang i-develop natin at bigyan natin ng pagkakataon ang bawat isa.”

(We really need to help our film industry. From start to finish, the Philippines isn’t always great at sports except for a few. We didn’t rise to fame through science and engineering. No! Filipinos are naturally artists: creative, cultural. So, I hope we develop this talent and give everyone a chance.)

Ticket prices are high

The senator also lamented the high cost of movie tickets, which hinders younger audiences from enjoying local films.

“Napakamahal e! Napakamahal na manood ng sine ngayon e. Hindi na pwede sa mga teenager. Sa ating mga kabataan, mabigat na yung 400 times 2. Di ba, alangan naman manood ka ng sine mag-isa…

(It’s so expensive! Watching a movie now is so costly, it’s not accessible to teenagers anymore. For our youth, paying 400 pesos times two is heavy. You can’t watch alone…)

“Alangan naman na hindi ka kakain kahit pandesal man lang! Ang pamasahe, mabigat e!”

(And you can’t go without at least eating pandesal! Even transportation costs are heavy!)

Taking cues from South Korea

On another hand, ex-Senator Ping Lacson echoed her sentiments, urging the Philippines to take cues from South Korea’s progress in the global entertainment industry. “We should learn a thing or two from the Koreans…

“Sa sining saka sa kultura, napakalaki ng improvement ng Korea. Na-penetrate nila, hindi lamang yung Philippine market, hanggang Western. Buong mundo na!”

(In art and culture, Korea has improved tremendously. They’ve penetrated not just the Philippine market but also the Western market. The whole world now!)

“In so short period of time, napakalaki ng kanilang inasenso, pagdating sa hindi lang movies kundi pati… entertainment world sa buong mundo, hindi lang dito sa Asia.”

(In such a short period of time, they’ve advanced so much, not just in movies but also in the entertainment world globally, not just in Asia.)

On World Pandesal Day

Flores added his thoughts on promoting Filipino culture through baking, emphasizing how countries like France take pride in their bread. He expressed his desire to honor the Filipino bread, pandesal, and promote solutions to hunger.

“Nakita ko sa ibang bansa, proud sila sa tinapay nila. Like France, sobra silang proud sa baguette nila at baguette bakers nila…

(I’ve seen in other countries, they take pride in their bread. Like in France, they’re very proud of their baguette and baguette bakers…)

“Tayo lang pala sa Pilipinas may pandesal… so naisip ko na i-promote natin, ipagmalaki natin ang kultura ng baking sa Pilipinas.”

(It turns out, only the Philippines has pandesal… so I thought we should promote it and take pride in our baking culture in the Philippines.)

Kamuning Bakery Cafe continues to make significant contributions, including the recent donation of a public school building to Sinait Integrated School in Tarlac on October 11.

This initiative, along with other remarkable efforts, is part of their yearly campaign to celebrate the beloved Filipino bread while also bringing attention to the issue of global hunger.