Jinggoy Estrada seeks OMB abolition: ‘It’s already irrelevant’

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada Nov. 12, 2024. Senate PRIB

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada on Tuesday floated the abolition of the Optical Media Board (OMB), saying it is no longer relevant due to the shift to online platforms.

The actor-turned-senator made the remark during the Senate plenary deliberations on the OMB's proposed budget for 2025.

"Because of the evolution of the digital technology, wala nang namimirata ngayon [nobody is pirating anymore]. So I think that was your main function before, 'yung OMB na hulihin lahat ng namimirata ng mga pelikula [to catch those who pirate films]. What is now the duty or the function of this agency aside from arresting these pirates? Aside from that, wala na eh [there isn't anything anymore]," Estrada said.

"I believe, huwag sana sasama ang loob ninyo itong OMB, ito must be abolished kasi wala nang function ito eh [I hope the OMB doesn't get angry about this, but it must be abolished because it no longer has any function]... Talaga, right now, the Optical Media Board is already irrelevant," he added.

In 2023, Estrada filed a bill seeking to abolish the agency, saying it regulates "an already obsolete industry" and that the "storage medium and devices under the agency's regulatory control are also practically phased out."

Under Estrada's bill, the assets and unexpended appropriations of the OMB, specifically in eradicating film piracy, would be transferred to the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

The measure also proposed that the FDCP absorb the employees and officers of the OMB, as needed.

This proposal was reiterated by Estrada during the budget deliberations, saying the current 52 employees of the agency could be transferred to the FDCP or the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).

Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., also an actor, backed Estrada's question about the OMB's current functions and accomplishments.

Senator Mark Villar, who defends the agency's budget, said that while he agrees with the position that the OMB's mandate should be reviewed because of the new technologies, the board is still needed for the monitoring of the importation of storage devices.

"A lot of what the OMB does is monitoring the importation of storage devices whether or not they allow [it] to come into the country. That’s a majority of... the work and checking for piracy. But of course, the nature of piracy is different now," he said.

Villar also said the jobs of the OMB employees should be protected.

"If there's a bill that will also update and refresh the OMB, I think that something that we can support and look at," he added.

No one to sign the cheques

However, it was disclosed during the budget deliberations that the employees of the OMB are currently not receiving their salaries, a problem that was also raised by Revilla to the body.

In the early part of the deliberations, it was disclosed that the salaries for the OMB employees for the month of December might not be released on time following the resignation of its former chairperson, James Ronald Macasero.

According to Villar, Macasero was deemed resigned because he filed a certificate of candidacy for the 2025 midterm elections.

With Macasero's resignation, the OMB was left with no officer-in-charge which means no one can sign the documents needed for the release of OMB employees' salaries.

"The agency has advanced the salaries up to November. Come December, there will be no more salary," Villar said.

The OMB has already communicated this to the Office of the President, but there was no response yet at the moment, according to Villar.

The OMB is an agency attached to the Office of the President. — BM, GMA Integrated News

This article Jinggoy Estrada seeks OMB abolition: ‘It’s already irrelevant’ was originally published in GMA News Online.