OMB pushes anti-piracy campaign worldwide

MANILA, Philippines - Optical Media Board (OMB) chairman Ronnie Ricketts has vowed to strengthen its Zero Piracy Campaign, especially with the annual Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) in full swing.

In a report by ABS-CBN News, Ricketts said that while their information campaign by means of distributing shirts and button pins has been effective, it is the cooperation of Muslim merchants in Quiapo that will reduce the proliferation of pirated CDs of MMFF entries.

According to the OMB chair, the agency has been in constant communication with Quiapo Muslim leader Camad Pangandaman and that they have been cooperative with the campaign. “Tuluy-tuloy (pa din) ang pag ikot natin hanggang matapos ‘yung festival,” Ricketts said.

In a separate interview aired in TV Patrol recently, Ricketts said OMB also aims to solve piracy of Pinoy films abroad.

“Piracy is not just a local problem, it’s a worldwide problem. With TFC (The Filipino Channel) partnering with us, yung message namin will be sent all over the world,” he explained.

Meanwhile, MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino has announced their target gross for this year’s MMFF. He sees a P700M gross at the end of the festival, what with the entries’ quality and combination.