DoT, FDCP to put up film heritage building

THE Department of Tourism and its infrastructure arm, the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza), signed a 22-year agreement on Tuesday with the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) to put up a film heritage building in Intramuros, Manila.

The building, which will occupy an 800-square-meter property along Sta. Lucia Street in Intramuros, next to «Beaterio de la Compania de Jesus» and Tieza's Light and Sound Museum, will have a cinematheque, film museum/gallery, film and media library, film storage/vaults, and film scanning and restoration facility.

It will also include FDCP offices, a board room, a souvenir shop and a café.

The memorandum of agreement was signed by Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, Tieza Chief Operating Officer Mark Lapid and FDCP Chairman Tirso Cruz 3rd.

«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,» Frasco said.

«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, and the Tieza in growing the film industry of the Philippines, as well as destination marketing for the country for films to be filmed in the Philippines,» she added.

Cruz commended the DoT and Tieza, saying that the ceremonial signing between the agencies represents a «collective dedication to safeguard and further the Philippine