It was a grand event we had at the Ayala Activity Center last Tuesday evening for the launching of Cebu’s latest TV channel dubbed My TV channel 28 owned by the International Marketing Group (ING). This channel used to be the Wealth Channel and we repackaged it and came up with new talk shows, ranging from My Catechism, the 888 Forum, My Rotary Club, The Men and Women of the Bible, My Politics, My Wealth, My Health, My Pets, My Wine & Food, My Sports, Full Point, My Life at the Park (a lifestyle show by Ayala), my own Straight from the Sky (11 years in the running), My America, a documentary about the USA, Voces Amores (a Sunday only show about God’s Love) and My Kerygma, the highly popular show of Bo Sanchez. We are also showing in Cagayan de Oro on channel 2 and soon, in Davao City, Bacolod and Iloilo.
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Last October 2011, Pres. Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III’s shooting buddy whom he appointed as his Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs was dragged in a public scandal when his security aides figured in a vehicular accident on Commonwealth Ave., Quezon City and police investigators found an assault rifle inside the car. Although Mr. Llamas was out of the country, it only proved that the people under him do not obey our gun laws.
While Mr. Llamas admitted to owning those guns, his men didn’t have any license to drive around in his car with those high-powered firearms. But this ugly incident was swept under the rug… and we don’t even know whether those young punks are still under his payroll or not… or whether they were filed a case of illegal possession of firearms. At this point, even the media was no longer interested in that case.
While Llamas escaped unscathed in that incident, he is back in the limelight. This time he was caught on camera by a broadsheet editor buying pirated DvD films at the Circle C Mall on Congressional Ave. in Quezon City last Monday evening. Knowing how cheap pirated video DVDs are these days, Mr. Llamas must have bought a lot for his P2,000. My sources say that many of them were porn films, which will probably be shown in Malacañang.
But instead of lambasting his political adviser, P-Noy defended him by saying “We have so many problems…Pirated DvDs are low on our priority.” Perhaps someone ought to tell the President that pirated films are still high in the priority of the United States Government… at least from what I heard about this issue when Edu Manzano was still chairman of the Optical Media Board (OMB). He has since been replaced by Ronnie Ricketts.
In October 2011, according to a 2011 Special 301 Report of the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the Philippines was dropped from the watch list of the US Government with regards Music, TV and Software Piracy. Hence I’m not surprised that the Aquino regime didn’t give this case any importance. In fact, since Edu Manzano, I have not heard of any raids against pirated DVDs done in Cebu. But apparently, the Aquino propagandists were able to convince the US government to remove the Philippines from their watch list. They should check out Cebu and they will be shocked.
Last I heard film piracy was still a priority by the US Government. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) reported losing some $3 billion in box office sales because of piracy. In an industry that makes an average $10 billion a year… film piracy is important to the US. After all, Hollywood films are the most sought after all over the world.
I dare say that if film piracy is no longer a priority by the US Government, then I’m certain that US Ambassador Harry Thomas would issue a statement to inform me about that. The last time I attended the ShoWest Film Convention in Las Vegas, I participated in a forum about film piracy. After the open forum, the presenters were very happy about my inputs about the Philippines, they even gave me a US Department of Homeland Security pin from the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center.
No doubt, P-Noy won’t sanction Mr. Llamas for openly buying pirated films. At this point, it really is up to the United States Government to show its displeasure with the Aquino government because the Philippines has done nothing to curb film piracy. At best, the US should restore the Philippines back into the watch list.
Perhaps our spiritually deficient President ought to learn from the words of our Lord Jesus Christ which he can find in Luke 16:10 of the New International Version of the Bible which goes, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” Buying pirated films may not be a big deal, but it is still a dishonest or an immoral act. Clearly, “Daang Matuwid” is leading this nation into the road to immorality and perdition.
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For e-mail responses to this article, write to vsbobita@mo-pzcom.com or vsbobita@gmail.com. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.