A lawmaker at the House of Representatives has had enough of English movies and programs being dubbed in Filipino.
According to Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez, he has filed House Bill 9939 to prohibit the Filipino dubbing of English-language motion pictures and television programs distributed or broadcasted in the Philippines.
The congressman explained that mass media can be a platform that teaches English as a second language.
He also expressed concerns about the impact of low level of proficiency in English as a second language in the country.
“We must therefore help younger generations acquire English in different settings, and through different media, to enable them to communicate better and explore new horizons, in terms of employment and social interaction,” Benitez said.
He said that under his proposed law, it would require Filipino subtitles for English language movies and programs.
That is, provided that English language closed captions shall be provided as an option for English language audio content.
TV commercials and TV programs shown from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. Philippine Standard time is exempted from this prohibition.
He also said that the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board can exempt television programs if it determines that compliance will be “economically burdensome.
