Film Heritage Building to Rise in Intramuros Manila, Boost PH Film Tourism

A Film heritage building will soon rise in the historic Walled City of Intramuros in Manila as the Department of Tourism (DOT) and its infrastructure arm, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), formally sealed a 22-year agreement with the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), Tuesday (26 Sept.) at the DOT Central Office in Makati City.

The building, which will occupy the 800 sqm lot along Sta. Lucia St. in Intramuros, beside “Beaterio de la Compania de Jesus”, and TIEZA's Light and Sound Museum, will be designed in such a way that it will house a cinematheque, film museum/gallery, film and media library, film storage/vaults, and film scanning and restoration room. It will also accommodate FDCP offices, lounge areas, board room, as well as a merchandise shop and a cafe. The said property will be utilized with consent from the Department of Finance (DOF), the registered owner of the lot.

The ceremonial signing of the MOA was led by DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, TIEZA Chief Operating Officer (COO) Mark Lapid, and FDCP Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tirso Cruz III, witnessed by DOT Undersecretary Mae Elaine Bathan, TIEZA Assistant COO Jetro Lozada, and FDCP Executive Director Dan Morales.

"𝘐 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘋𝘊𝘗 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘐𝘌𝘡𝘈 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯,” the tourism chief began her address during the MOA signing.

To recall, FDCP chair Cruz first came to DOT to share his project proposition and other aspirations for the film industry back in August.

“𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮,” the tourism chief noted, citing as well that the partnership is included in the Marcos administration’s push for transformative tourism.

But she expanded that this current collaboration with the FDCP goes beyond the establishment of the building, but toward the growing of the creative industry in the Philippines.

“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘋𝘊𝘗, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘖𝘛, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘐𝘌𝘡𝘈 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘰,” she added.

For his part, TIEZA COO Lapid expressed his appreciation to Secretary Frasco for her openness and support. He likewise noted that the partnership with the FDCP is a manifestation of the collective commitment of the DOT and TIEZA in preserving the legacy of Philippine cinema.

“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘤𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘢. 𝘐𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘔𝘖𝘈 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯'𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴,” he said.

FDCP chair Cruz also thanked both the DOT and TIEZA, saying that the ceremonial signing between the agencies is a “collective dedication to safeguard and further the Philippine film heritage.”

“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘮 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦; 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘛𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘭𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦,” he said.

The agreement involving the film heritage building shall be effective until February 25, 2045, but is also subject to renewal of the parties involved.

#LoveThePhilippines #BagongPilipinas