FAP
INSIDE STORY
By Alex J. Socorro
(Following
is an interview with a former guild president
on the present plight of the Film Academy.
Upon his request, we are using Darth Vader
for his moniker.—AJS)
“The Film Academy
was created by an Executive Order, meaning
presidente ng Pilipinas ang gumawa niyan
kaya hindi puwedeng isara ng kung sino
lang. Yes, kahit yang BOG (FAP Board of
Governors) magmumukhang tanga sila pag
naglabas sila ng resolution to close down.
Only another E.O. (Executive Order) can
close FAP.” Darth Vader adds with
pride that the Film Academy is a premiere
organization in the movie industry although
he is wondering why the budget was slashed
by the government.
“Since E.O. ang nag-create
kaya ang presidente ng Pilipinas lang
ang may K na mag-appoint ng Director General.
In other words, ha, hindi tama ang nangyayari
sa Academy ngayon na merong election tsutsu.
Once na may na-appoint na DG ang president,
yung DG na yun ang hahatak kung sinong
Deputy ang gusto niya, kung sinong secretary
ang gusto niya at kung sinong treasurer
ang gusto niya. That way kasi walang hassle,
walang red tape at smooth ang operation
dahil walang kokontra.” Darth Vader
emphasizes the present erroneous setup
of the Film Academy where the officers,
from the Chairman down to the secretary,
are voted upon by the so-called Board
of Governors.
“At yan ang isang
anomalya sa Academy. Bakit may chairman?
Tingnan mo ang charter ng FAP, walang
chairman na indicated dun.” Not
mincing his words anymore, Darth Vader
bluntly accuses some people of modifying
the organizational setup of the Film Academy.
“Ulitin ko lang, ha? After the president
of the Philippines had appointed a Director
General, yung DG na ang bahalang humatak
ng makakatulong niyang officers. Ganito
kasi ang nangyari nyan.” Momentarily,
Darth Vader pauses as if to verify in
his mind the facts he is about to unload.
“Sa pagdating ni Leo
Martinez bilang Director General. Parang
nataranta ang FAP board. Madalian na nag-meeting
to create the position of chairman tapos
election agad para maibotong chairman
yung outgoing Director General. Wise guys,
ano? Railroading yata ang tawag dun. Alam
mo, that’s one way of perpetuating
oneself in the position, di ba?”
Darth Vader exudes a mischievous smile
like a kid who had executed a neat prank.
He himself doesn’t want to name
names though. “Walang personalan
ito, iginagalang ko pa rin silang lahat.
Gusto ko lang sabihin ang totoo na sinira
nila ang sistema ng FAP.” Darth
Vader even relates that not once did he
read in the papers about the not so silent
bickering among the top honchos of FAP
due to the organizational flaw.
“Hindi pa natapos
dun. Binigyan nila ng power ang BOG para
makialam sa operation ng Academy. So ang
nangyari ngayon parang walang independence
ang Director General dahil halos lahat
ng galaw niya dapat involved ang BOG.
Di ba may kasabihan na if you don’t
want the job done eh give it to a committee?
Ganun ang nangyayari sa FAP ngayon, parang
yung BOG ang nagpapatakbo kaya hindi smooth,
hindi efficient at puro pulitika tuloy.”
Darth Vader puts an accent to the minor
policies of the Film Academy that should
be have been borne solely on the shoulders
of the Director General. Further, he intimates
that some good projects went to naught
due to the faulty setup of requiring the
consensus of the FAP Board.
The FAP Board
of Governors, meeting for the Luna Awards
“Maganda nga ang idea
ni Leo Martinez when he came in. Para
siyang shepherd na hinakot ang mga guilds
sa iisang bubong. Tapos siya rin ang may
gusto na magkaroon ng computer ang bawat
guild. Biruin mo, ako nga eh tumanda na
sa typewriter pero dahil kay Leo nakakapag-internet
pa ko ngayon at may email pa ko, ha?”
Pushing for the utilization of the present
technology, the FAP website was included
in the list of Leo’s initial projects.
But sadly, the first website contractor
had a hidden agenda which resulted in
a grave misunderstanding. “Muntik
na ngang maloko ang FAP noon, buti na
lang dumating ka,” adds Darth Vader,
referring to this writer who is also the
Technical Consultant of the Film Academy.
“Naku, nagsawa kami
sa mga workshops, seminars at kung ano
pang mga tsu-tsu na projects. Buhay na
buhay ang mga taga-industry sa FAP noon.
Pero as I said, nahaluan ng pulitika.
Mahirap na lang magsalita dahil baka kung
ano pa ang masabi ko. Eh naalala mo ba
yung isang deputy?” It pains Darth
Vader to think that a former Deputy Director
General was ousted via voting of the FAP
Board. He is insisting that if the FAP
charter was followed then no voting was
to be held. He reiterates that it is the
Director General’s responsibility
to hire and fire officers and staff.
“Sa totoo lang, binaboy
nila ang by-laws ng FAP. I don’t
want to name names pero alam nila kung
sino sila. Until now, kapit-tuko pa rin
sila sa position. Ngayon si Leo ang nagpapakahirap
na kumilos para makakuha ng pondo, si
Leo ang sumusulat sa media, siya ang nagpapa-interview.
Yung mga kapit-tuko, me ginawa ba?”
Fire is surely spitting out from Darth
Vader’s mouth as if he has an ax
to grind against some FAP officers. Although,
in a way, he is praising Leo Martinez,
it is ironic that Darth Vader was kind
of sarcastic on Leo’s combative
stance against Vic Del Rosario of Viva,
the presidential consultant who proposed
the budget cut for FAP. “Ang iniisip
ko lang naman yung FAP mismo kaya hindi
talaga personal ito. As I said, I still
respect those people and… wag sanang
magalit ang masasagasaan ko.”
“Having the guild
presidents in the board compounds the
problem. Aba, tingnan mo nga ang majority
ng guild presidents, aba eh mahirap na
lang mangmata ng tao. Ano ba ang alam
nila sa organizational management, ha?
Tapos sila ang gagawa ng policy eh ano
ang ilalabas ng mga utak nila? As I said,
guild nga lang nila hindi nila maayos
tapos makikialam pa sila sa affairs ng
FAP. Kaya yung BID project, ano’ng
nangyari?” Since 2 years ago, the
BID (Bureau of Immigration and Deportation)
has a MOA with FAP regarding foreign film
productions. That FAP is to handle the
clearances for shooting in the Philippines
means income for the Film Academy. But
for unknown reasons the MOA is not yet
enforced until now. Darth Vader suspects
that there’s a scramble for positioning
in the said project so the Director General
is having a hard time in implementing
the procedures.
“Yung car plates nila,
sabit ano?” The commemorative car
plates of the Film Academy was a noble
project. It just so happened that the
agent who coordinated with LTO was amiss
in his responsibilities such that the
said commemorative plates turned out to
be illegal. “In other words, naloko
sila ng agent, di ba? Eh yung ke Albert,
wala na ba yung 250 K?” Albert Martinez
was the producer of the FAP awards in
2004 and 2005 with a standing agreement
that he will pay 500,000 pesos to FAP
as royalty. But Albert was only able to
remit half of the agreed amount in 2004,
likewise in 2005 for reasons of bankruptcy.
The last Luna Awards was produced by Eight
Elephants Productions of Romnick Sarmenta
and Harlene Bautista.
“Ha?” Darth
Vader appears stumped when asked if there’s
a possibility of him making a comeback
in the FAP board. “Ayoko munang
isipin …” His face turns somber.
He was sort of traumatized by the intrigues
inside his guild, the reason for his quitting.
What added to his trauma was his impression
that some FAP officers sided with his
opponents.
Darth Vader was a dynamic
guild president with numerous projects
to his credit. But overwhelmed by the
intrigues thrown at him from an opposing
camp, he made a graceful exit by not running
in the last election of his guild, virtually
surrendering the throne to his detractors.
The most painful for him was the accusation
that he had pocketed almost half a million
pesos. As a vindication for Darth Vader,
the present leadership of his guild has
nothing to show except for one so-so seminar
in a period of 2 years. Perhaps the present
leadership now realizes that there’s
no money in the guild and that the embezzled
half million they were accusing Darth
Vader of was sheer fantasy.
“Puro laos na ang
nasa guild. Yung mga sikat ayaw mag-member.
Dapat tingnan nila ang anggulo na yan.”
Darth Vader was about to institute some
radical changes in his guild by inviting
all the known personalities in his sector.
But the plan was aborted by his untimely
exit. “Hindi na makukuha ang unity
sa movie industry habang ang mga officers
ng mga guilds eh makasarili.” Darth
Vader hurls a challenge for all the guilds
to issue a list of active members because,
according to Darth Vader’s words,
the roster of membership is full of fictitious
names.
“Kung gusto mo, sabihin
mo kay Leo na handa akong tumulong sa
paghanap ng budget. Marami kaming puwedeng
lapitan pero right timing lang saka proper
approach. Ang isang problema kay Leo,
may dugong ranchero yan.” Darth
Vader need not elaborate that Leo’s
Batangueño attitude sometimes gets
in the way. “Kita mo, kung kinausap
lang niya sana ng maayos si Vic Del Rosario
eh baka nagawaan ng paraan na maibalik
ang dating budget ng FAP. Kaso pinagbabaril
niya si Vic pati si Edu binanatan niya.
Anyway, puwede pa naman, di ba?”
Edu Manzano was actually caught in the
crossfire. Part of FAP’s slashed
budget went to Edu’s OMB (Optical
Media Board).
Darth Vader closes the interview
with an appeal to the president of the
Philippines to enforce the original charter
of the Film Academy. If the present setup
would persist then the Film Academy really
deserves the small budget.
Comments to this article
can be sent to ajsocorro@yahoo.com
