The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has released more than P4.5 million from its reallocated funds through the Disaster/Emergency Assistance and Relief (DEAR) Program, providing financial support to freelance audio-visual (AV) content workers impacted by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis. As of April 6, 2020, more than 600 displaced freelance AV content industry members received the one-time tax-free DEAR financial support. Film and television workers covered by the DEAR ACTION! Program received P8,000 each and entertainment press members under the DEAR PRESS! Program were given P5,000 each.

High profile cases of COVID-19 from around the globe have made waves and shown the massive and arbitrary impact of the coronavirus pandemic. From Hollywood actors to NBA players and British royalty, the high-profile cases of the virus have further emphasized the gravity of the present situation. Throughout the pandemic, the Philippine film industry has received its share of such high-profile cases. The first occurred on March 17, when actor Christopher de Leon confirmed his positive COVID-19 test result via Instagram post. He has thankfully been discharged since this week and continues recovery; however, this confirmation has been followed by cases in the form of actress Iza Calzado (who revealed her hospitalization due to pneumonia and later received a positive COVID-19 test result), Sylvia Sanchez and husband Art Atayde, and actor Menggie Cobarrubias, who tragically passed away due to pneumonia on March 26 and was posthumously revealed to have tested positive for the virus.

The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), in its new Advisory 1-A issued on April 3, 2020, has expanded the coverage of its DEAR ACTION! program to cater to more freelance audio-visual (AV) content workers who have been displaced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis. The income cap on qualified applicants is lifted, the required number of suspended work days is lessened, and AV companies can now apply on behalf of their freelance workers.

The freelance industry or gig economy has been burgeoning in recent years, and freelancers have been aplenty in the audio-visual (AV) industry. There are at least 1.5 million freelance AV workers in the country, accounting for 70% of the AV industry. As the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has been working closely with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in ensuring the quality of working conditions of AV workers through Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 1, the national film agency also bears in mind the welfare of freelance AV workers.

In the  interest  of  service and pursuant to  FDCP Advisory  No.  1, Series  of  2020  on the Activation  of  the  FDCP  DISASTER/EMERGENCY  ASSISTANCE  AND  RELIEF  (DEAR) PROGRAM, a disaster-triggered funding mechanism of the Film Development Council of the  Philippines  that  provides  financial  assistance  to  its  stakeholders  who  are  directly affected by a major natural disaster, the following clarificatory guidelines are issued for the DEAR ACTION! PROGRAM for displaced freelance audio-visual content workers :

Facing the widespread suspension of production shoots and the consequent financial stress on film-workers placed due to the COVID-19 quarantine measures, a group of Filipino filmmakers have come together to create the fundraising effort ‘Lockdown Cinema Club’ as a means of supporting the many vulnerable members of the Filipino independent filmmaking community. 

It has been a week since the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) introduced the Disaster/Emergency Assistance and Relief (DEAR) Program to help audio-visual (AV) content industry stakeholders who are affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The COVID-19 situation has led to the Enhanced Community Quarantine in Luzon as recommended by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases related to COVID-19 and the declaration of a nationwide state of calamity by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

Relative to FDCP Advisory No. 01 on the activation of the FDCP DISASTER/EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF (DEAR) PROGRAM, a disaster-triggered funding mechanism of the Film Development Council of the Philippines that provides financial assistance to its stakeholders who are directly affected by a major natural disaster, the DEAR PRESS! PROGRAM (for displaced freelance entertainment press) is hereby activated with the following guidelines issued:

If you are a technical crew, production or post-production staff, stunt person, actor, dubber, or any other freelance audio-visual (AV) content worker with a “no work, no pay” status whose work was abruptly cancelled or postponed as a direct result of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation, then you can apply for the DEAR ACTION! financial assistance worth P8,000 from the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).

Pursuant to the Presidential Proclamation No. 922, Series of 2020 declaring a State of Public Health Emergency throughout the Philippines relative to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the FDCP DISASTER/EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF (DEAR) PROGRAM is hereby activated as of March 23, 2020 with the following guidelines issued