SPEECH OF ATTY. DOMINADOR D. BUHAIN
Visayas Information Agency and
Book Writing Seminar/Workshop
July 15-17, 1999
‘’Book Writers Empowerment: Book Industry
Development Agenda of Visayas’’
Kundotel, Bacolod City
If not the 3 million peso-bribe attempt that rocked the publishing industry during the past months, the Philippine book publishing industry could have trekked a continuous uphill climb since 1996. The scandalous incident marred the reputation of private publishers from the public’s eye. The Department of Education Culture and Sports and the National Book Development Board have set up safeguards that shall ensure that graft and scams will have no place in the industry. So too, must private publishers resolve to uphold the dignity of the industry and to engage in fair trade play.
The Government is serious in supporting the industry that no scams shall stop its efforts of doing so. The Estrada Administration has declared intention to continue the fiscal and economic policies of the previous administration which can be credited for the sustained economic activity for the past six years. There is every reason to expect therefore that the book publishing industry will continuously be afforded government attention.
In fact, the 1999 Investments Priorities Plan of the government specifically mentions book publishing as a priority expansion sector
Since the passage of RA 8047 or the National Book Development Act in 1996, the country’s local book production rose considerably. From 3,770 titles published in 1996, 5,093 were produced in 1997; this means a 35% increase. Production however took a unique turn in 1998 giving rise to quality historical and cultural publications through government awards and incentives as the country celebrated its Centennial year. Quality was emphasized over quality for this year only 4,326 titles were produced.
1999 is unfolding to be again another exciting year for the industry. Halfway through the year, the Book Board, hand-in-hand with private publishers and organizations, achieved significant accomplishment to the benefit of the Filipino publishers and book seller. One of which is the approval of the National Book Policy. The National Book Policy which was just recently approved and adopted by President Estrada, is a statement of the intention and guidelines of the State as a basis for the formulation and implementation of measures for the development, production, and distribution of books.
I believe that a more thorough discussion on the Policy shall be rendered during the course of the Seminar/Workshop. Nonetheless, allow me to cite some of the Policy’s objectives among others that shall outrightly redound to the improvement of the industry:
- The National Book Policy adheres to create conditions conducive to the development and production of books, especially the acquisition and adoption of state-of-the-art technology;
- It adheres to promote book readership by putting p an efficient nationwide system of libraries and reading centers especially in the areas; and
- It adheres to promote the effective distribution of books in the domestic and international markets through an efficient and reliable postal and transportation delivery system.
The Policy also incubates the philosophy of decentralization. The industry must be decentralized. The over concentration of publishing and book selling activities in Metro Manila and similar emerging urban communities must be broken by providing incentives for the book publishers and book sellers to initiate or expand their operations to the regional and provincial levels. Whatever educational and publishing excellence that exist in Metro Manila should spill throughout the provinces down to the remotest of places. At the same time, the excellence in the provinces must flourish and reach the urban areas.
Concentration in Metro Manila has not only retarded and compromised the potentials of the industry at the regional levels, but has also impeded access to quality books. Decentralization will allow for (1) freer access to books, (2) economic growth, (3) a greater industry participation, (4) additional employment opportunities, and (5) increased consciousness with inherent cultures in the regions.
With the Policy in place, the National Book Development Plan, which refers to the integrated approach for fostering book development, is now in the production line.
It is then expected that the Plan will ensure a rational and integrated approach consisting of the totality of the procedures and systems for attaining the balanced growth of the various components of book development and production, including the preparation and distribution of books.
The Government has laid the burden of having these plans and guidelines implemented on the shoulders of the private stakeholders. Any major policy shift goes through a process of consultation with private publishers and distributors. For this reason, the future of the book publishing industry in the Philippines shall lie mainly on the private sector initiative. The role played by the Government is mostly supportive to development and not plainly as a regulatory agency.
Another significant development in the book making and book selling scene is the emergence of the Philippine Book Development Federation or the Philbook. The Philbook is a conglomeration of book associations in the country which aims to pool and unify all private sector initiatives to foster the continuing growth and development of the industry.
Of the various initiatives of the Philbook, the Book Fair it spearheaded is perhaps one of the most significant thus far. The said fair held various seminars including the crucial discussions on (1) the Reproduction Rights Organization, (2) Electronic Book Publishing, and (3) the Paju Book City of Korea. Foreign resource persons of Asia-Pacific Publishers Association shed light to the above concerns.
The growth and viability of the book publishing industry also depend to a large measure on the ability of governments and institution to extend protection to intellectual property rights (IPR). It seems that most Developing Countries do not take extra measure in protecting the intellectual rights of its people. The Philippine is not an exemption. Students belonging to the lower strata of society would rather photocopy textbooks that buy them. Infringement and illegal reproduction of materials continue to go on unchecked. This practice not only strips the right of writers and publishers but also hampers any marketing and distribution scheme for books, thus, obstructing the optimal growth of the industry. There is therefore an ongoing program to instill public awareness of the existing Intellectual Property Code (IPC) and other international agreements on intellectual property rights. With the objective of curbing out piracy and the irresponsible treatment of intellectual properties, a seminar on the IPC was held late last year under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Follow up seminars were held early this year.
There is now an active move to form a Philippine Reproduction Rights Organization and to affiliate this later with its international counterparts. The PRRO shall be organized in order to ensure a wider coverage and compensation for intellectual property rights. This early, 35 publishers have signified their intention to affiliate and contribute to the success of the Organization. With the leadership of the Book Board, the PRRO is hoped to take its form on the third quarter of 1999.
The industry is also looking at expanding its international market for Philippine books. With the help of the Asian Pacific Publishers Association (APPA), Filipino-authored publications had been showcased for five years at the Tokyo International Book Fair and this year at the Australian International Book Fair. Purchase of rights and contracts for exclusive distributorship for those publications have definitely commenced, thus encouraging the production of globally-competitive publications.
In the October 1998 Frankfurt International Bookfair, the Philippines officially registered for the first time as an international exhibitors. For the initial effort, the Philippine participation showcased some of the best outputs from forty five local book publishers. A bigger participation in 1999 has also been agreed with NBDB again heading the move. Likewise, participating in an Asian bookfair in year 2000 has been approved in principle.
As a result of these exhibitions in international book fairs, international distributors have been taken interest in Filipino books. Initial product negotiations on distribution rights that took place in Frankfurt are now the subject of ongoing discussions between the distributors and the Philippine publishers represented by the NBDB at the start. These development gave rise to the organization of the Book Exporters Association of the Philippine or the BEAP.
Organized just recently with 38 founding publisher-members, the BEAP hopes of penetrating the international arena and taking on the challenges of globalization head-on.
As moves in catapulting the Filipino talent worldwide is taking place, it is good to remember that charity begins at home. Local book publishing-related programs continue to saturate the country. There is an ongoing program to heighten the literacy rate of the Filipino masses and to generate an increased love and propensity for book readership. This is one of the ways by which market for books will be enlarged. A multilateral grouping of concerned government agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) have bonded themselves into an effective implementing arm and have called the group LIBRO. The Literacy and Book Readership Organization or LIBRO for short is aptly named as its objective is to make books an endearing commodity to the common Filipino.
LIBRO has started the drafting of concrete measures or readership programs that shall be implemented throughout the country. Steps for the solicitation of the required funding to execute the same have also been initiated.
The number of local bookfairs in the Philippines is also increasing. This is a recognition of the growing and the active role of the industry in the national scene. What used to be held only in Metro Manila is now being replicated in the Southern parts of the country and the number of participants keep on growing. The seminar we have today is concrete evidence that the entire nation, the Visayas included, is taking an active stance in book publishing and distribution.
Again, in the name of decentralization, adequate government support and attention is being given to the development of book publishing in all the 16 regions of the country. Although presently, publishing activities take place mostly in the central region or in Metro Manila, training programs on human resource developments are regularly conducted in preparation for the eventual need as a consequence of regional expansion.
The NBDB and the private sector, notably the Philippine Educational Publishers Association (PEPA), together with the Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP) and the Association of Philippine Booksellers (APB) are in harmony in bringing about the skills transfer throughout the regions.
In order to improve reading habits among Filipinos, pro-active steps must be taken in eradicating functional illiteracy. Towards this end, PEPA has joined hands with the League of Municipalities of the Philippines to donate reading materials to the various libraries as well as to put up libraries in remote places where there are none. Also, LIBRO, the Department of Education, Culture and Sports’ (DECS) Non-formal Division and the Literacy Coordinating Council (LCC) are actively performing their respective shares in the upliftment of literacy;
Aside from libraries and reading centers, there must also be a need to put up more bookstores nationwide. Book stores may be encouraged to be put up in other localities through the grant of privileges like attractive discounts. The local industry in fact is seriously considering the adoption of the retail-price-maintenance scheme to bring about stability in prices and to prevent cut-throat competition. Said scheme is being adopted in Japan, Korea, Germany and in other progressive countries.
The above-mentioned advances are only a few of the book-publishing related activities progressing all over the country. These have been enumerated and cited for everyone to have at least a glimpse of the total scenario that indeed the publishing industry in the country is alive and kicking. Summing it up superficially, the industry is ready in facing the challenges imposed upon us by the coming new era. Modern technology has brought the art of publishing to greater heights and there’s no telling what new innovations will arise when the next millennium comes in.
Let us face the new millennium with an even more renewed spirit and shall be more responsive to the growing need for more educational and information reading materials. Let us also see to it the next steps in publishing shall not be monopolized or yet lead solely by Metro Manila publishers alone but by stake holders and players in the book industry from all over the country, especially the Visayas.