Publishing Trend in the Philippines for the Past Decades

PUBLISHING TREND IN THE

PHILIPPINES FOR THE PAST DECADES

Presented by:

Atty. DOMINADOR D. BUHAIN

President ASEAN Book Publishers Association (ABPA)

and President Emeritus, Philippine Educational Publishers Association (PEPA)

(on the occasion of the International Conference on Book Industry (ICOBI) at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, April 5, 2008, Wednesday)

Greetings:

1. INTRODUCTION

Publishing trend in the Philippines during the past decades went through major changes and development due to passage of various laws dealing and affecting publishing particularly that of R.A. No. 8047, otherwise known as the Book Publishing Industry Development Act of 1995.

From 1992 to 2005, various laws were enacted by the Philippine Congress, (a two-chamber legislative composed of the Senate and House of Representatives) dealing on publishing, to wit:

1. Republic Act No. 8047- An Act Providing for the Development of the Book Publishing Industry Through the Formulation and Implementation of a National Book Development Plan;

1. Republic Act No. 8293- An Act Prescribing the Intellectual Property Code and Establishing the Intellectual Property Office, Providing for its Power and Functions and for other Purposes;

1. Republic Act No. 7165- An Act Creating the Literacy Coordinating Council, Defining its Powers and Functions Appropriating Funds Therefor and For Other Purposes;

1. Republic Act No. 7743- An Act Providing for the Establishment of Congressional City and Municipal Libraries and Barangay Reading Centers Throughout the Philippines Appropriating the Necessary Funds Therefore and for Other Purposes;

1. Republic Act No. 7716- An Act Restructuring the Value-Added Tax (VAT) System. Widening its Tax Base and Enhancing its Administration and For Other Purposes Amending and Repealing the Relevant Provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code, As Amended and for Other Purposes;
2. Republic Act No. 9155- An Act Instituting a Framework of Governance for Basic Education (Basic Education Act): and
3. Executive Order 119 or the Adoption of the National Book Policy.

In 1997, through RA 8424 the royalty tax on authors was reduced from twenty (20%) percent to ten (10%) percent.

In 2005 through the combined efforts of PEPA, the Book Development Association of the Philippines, National Book Suppliers and Publishers Association, Association of Philippine Booksellers, and Philippine Book Publishing Development Federation, they were able to persuade Congress not to reimpose VAT and similar exactions on book publishing and related activities. This is embodied in RA No. 9335.

The Philippines is likewise a signatory to Florence Agreement and Nairobi Protocol on free flow of information.

1. BACKGROUND AND CONTEMPORARY SITUATION

Before the passage of RA 8047, only a handful of companies were engaged  in the publishing industry and its related activities.

Private companies did not go into publishing because the Philippines then adopted single adoption in book title per subject area per grade level and book production and development were controlled and monopolized by the Government under its publishing arm, the Instructional Material Development Corporation and its policy-making arm, the Instructional Materials Council.

With the passage of RA 8047 on June 7, 1995, the scenario was changed and paved the way for the development of the publishing industry in our country.  The law mandates multiple adoption in titles, regionalization of printing and privatization of the book procurement program of the Governments.

The National Book Development Board (NBDB) composed of 6 representatives from the private sector and 5 from the government was established in lieu of IMDC and IMC.  The NBDB is similar to your National Book Council of Malaysia.

Modesty aside, this representation has the distinction and honor of having been appointed and elected as the first Chairman of NBDB from 1996 to 2001.

The principal objective of the law is to ensure the adequacy, affordability and accessibility of books for domestic consumption as well as for the export market.

Since its passage, the number of local publishers has gone-up to 400- a remarkable improvement from the original 50, while the number of titles produced in the Philippines grew from around 1,000 to 5,600 yearly.

Below is the growth of the titles in the Philippines from the time RA 8047 or the Book Publishing Industry Development Act was passed into law in June 1995 as gathered from the National Library.

Hereunder is other pertinent information related to the publishing industry in the country as gathered from the National Book Development Board (NBDB):

In our association alone PEPA, has today grown into a 45- member organization compared to its original members of 13.

• NEW TRENDS AND CHANGES

The country’s printing and publishing industry faces a multitude of opportunities and threats brought about by social, technological, economic, and politico-legal developments both here and abroad.

The steady growth in the population of the Philippines (with 88 million based on 2007 estimates) enlarges the base potential customers for the industry, as this resulted in higher school populations and more buyers of consumer goods that utilize printed matter in their packaging.

The increasing number of students from the primary to tertiary levels assures constant demand for textbooks, which constitutes the biggest shares of the book market in the Philippines.  This is an opportunity for private publishers now that the Department of Education has opened up its textbook program to them.

The high literacy rate in the country could contribute to increased demand for reading matter such as newspapers, magazines, books, comics, and other printed matter.

Printed matters like religious books, pocketbooks, magazines, etc. produced in the Philippines have markets in countries with a large number of overseas Filipinos such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, etc.  There is also a potential market in North America which has a large Filipino-American population eager to reestablish their links with the Philippines.

While the National Book Development Board (NBDB), the governing body created under Republic Act 8047 to implement the rules and regulations for the privatization of book publishing for public schools, may have been successful in transferring the development, publishing and distribution of textbooks from the Department of Education (DepEd) to the private publishers, it, however, encountered difficulties in market development.

The publishers, especially the smaller ones, have hardly recovered their investments in the development of textbooks they submitted to the DepEd for evaluation and approval.  DepEd claims that the privatization brought about the adoption of multiple titles (various titles for a given subject for each level both in elementary and secondary).
This is because publishers are given the chance to develop and publish all titles that are at stake and are evaluated and approved by the DepEd if they pass the agency’s criteria.  Hence, a classroom ends up with a supply of many titles for a given subject, but not necessarily attaining the 1:1 ratio of one book per student.

Faced with the dilemma of failing to solve the problem of lack of textbooks, DepEd decided to purchase the textbooks which schools still lacked through a bidding process in the Central Office.  The subjects are determined by the different regional field offices, based on inventories submitted by their respective Supply Offices.

Bidding for Textbook Procurement started in the year 2000, funded by a loan from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, and has continued up to the present.  This resulted in lesser demand for textbooks out of regular purchases from either the DepEd field offices, funded by the national budget and Local School Board funded by the Special Education Fund of a province, city or municipality.

As a further result of the volume purchases made by the DepEd Central and the adoption of multiple titles, DepEd issued a policy that those regions, divisions, districts and schools with extra copies of books will have to give them to those who lack books or exchange them for what they need.

Presently, DepEd has come up with a new textbook policy, in consultation with NBDB:

1.  To provide a 1:1 ratio of textbook per pupil or student, by adopting a single title for a series of grades 1 to 6 or 1^st year to 4^th This is to avoid multiplicity of titles per subject per level, resulting in maximized expenditure for the government and savings from the yearly-allocated budget for textbook procurement.
2. Quality of Textbook Ensured, DepEd shall purchase/provide only those textbooks that has passed the content evaluation and quality production standards of the agency. Through this system, DepEd believes that the “cut and paste up” style used by the publishers will be discouraged.  Only those research-based and seriously and professionally-done materials that are aligned to the set of Philippine Elementary Learning Competencies (PELC) and Philippine Secondary Schools Learning Competencies (PSSLC) may pass the test.  Furthermore, to ensure their effectiveness and adaptability, the textbooks to be purchased and which are expected to win the bid should have been tested and actually been used and adapted in a classroom as an instructional material either by a private or public school.

3. Conduct of Open Competitive Bidding. Textbooks by subject shall be purchased for the entire pupil/student population every five years.  In subsequent years, DepEd shall only bid out reprinting of the same titles.  Publishers of the winning titles shall retain copyright of the said title/s.  DepEd, however, shall be given rights of the said title/s in the succeeding bidding, a royalty paid in exchange for the reprint right.  To generate the necessary economies of scale of further bringing down prices, the bidding shall be conducted by zone.

Only 15% of the total elementary student population and 45% of the total high school population comprise the private school market.  These are the areas where private publishers compete with one another.

It was acknowledged during the congressional debate that books used in the private schools are better off than those in the public schools based on the free market situation devoid of any governmental intervention, similar to what is happening in the more progressive countries.

In view of the rampant book piracy and illegal photocopying in the country, the erstwhile dormant Philippine Reprographic Rights Organization (PRRO) is being reinvigorated in 2007 with new set of officers and plan of action.  With the endorsement of the concerned authority in the Philippines it is hoped that PRRO will be recognized by the International Federation of Reprographic Rights Organization (IFRRO).

 IV.  PRESENT ACHIEVEMENT

 A. General Profile

Book publishers in the Philippines today number the above-cited figures of varying capabilities, with textbook publishing as the mainstay of the industry.  About seventy percent (70%) of this output are school textbooks and general references; about twenty-three percent (23%) are monographs, tracts and miscellaneous publications such as indices, atlases, almanacs; about four percent (4%) are literary  works; and the rest, about three percent (3%) are scholarly books published by the Universities and research institutions.

Book sales of both local and foreign titles account for fifteen (15) to twenty (20) percent of total store sales of  National  Book Store, the country’s largest book retailer which has about eighty (80) stores. Rex Book Store, Inc., another bookstore chain has about twenty (20) branches nationwide.

B.  Public School Textbooks

With the advent of the government text book project, funded from a World  Bank education development loan, private publishers have developed all basic textbooks for the public elementary and secondary schools and have printed and distributed close to 45 million copies of pupils’ texts and teachers’ manuals during the last six years.

 C.  Private School Textbooks

Print runs for the private schools range from 50,000 to 80,000 per title.

D.  Lifespan of Textbook

In both public and private schools, the lifespan of textbook program is five years- -the same edition may b e used for five successive years.

E.  College textbooks

Publication of college textbooks, which has been adversely affected by rampant photocopying among students because of prohibitive prices of foreign (imported) titles, may be revived with the enforcement of the new copyright law.  Leading publishers are now commissioning experts in various fields of study to develop locally written college textbooks.

F.  Romance Paperbacks and Pocketbooks

Next to textbooks, romance paperbacks or pocketbooks are bestsellers in the country.  About 20,000 copies per title are sold every month.  Each month an average of 20 titles are released.  Romance novelettes have won over a large portion of the comics readership.

G.  Coffeetable Books

They have made their appearance in recent years, mainly catering to rich collectors and tourist.  They deal mainly with specific facets of cultural interests such as old streets, indigenous architecture, art, historical vignettes.

H.  Philippine Literature

Philippine Literature has been one of the main staples of the local publishing industry.  Local novels and poetry, written in English, have received critical acclaim abroad.

I .      Children’s Books

There is now growing market for children’s books in our country where about 22 million are children aged 12 years down.

1. FUTURE PROSPECTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Considering our geographical closeness to one another, virtual similarity of ancestry, environmental surroundings, likes, dislikes, idiosyncrasy on August 30, 2005, ASEAN national publishers association of the ASEAN member countries have bonded together and established the ASEAN Book Publishers Association (ABPA)

After more than two (2) years of its existence the ABPA has created and established legal infrastructures in order to realize the ABPA purposes and objectives.

At this point in time the ABPA has created the following Working Committees:

• Training and Development Committee headed by Dr. MAtaim Bakar of Brunei Darussalam;

• Co-Publishing, Translation and Distribution Rights Committee headed by Mr. Raymond Yeo of Malaysia;

• Membership, Information and Technology Committee headed by Dr. Tran Doan Lam of Vietnam;

• Marketing Distribution and ASEAN Wide Readership Committee headed by Mr. Setia Dharma Madjid of Indonesia;

• Book Fairs, International For a and Foreign Affairs by Ms. Breezy Santiago, Deputy Secretary General of ABPA from the Philippines.

• Legal, Copyright and Licensing Committee headed by your representation.

As President of ABPA for 2007 to 2009 and after my term, the Presidency will pass to Malaysia, it is my vision to link the member-countries of ABPA and to have a bridge for better understanding among us.

Thus, during the past meetings of ABPA in Jakarta, Indonesia, Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei and recently in Bangkok, Thailand, we have realized the following:

1. Creation of ABPA website known as abpa.asia hosted by the Singapore Publishers Association (SBPA)

1. ABPA Newsletter: Bridge to Regional Understanding to be headed by the Secretary General Atty. Rodelio T. Dascil from the Philippine and to be edited by Dr. Tran Doan Lam of Vietnam.

Better linkage and communications would give us a bigger and wider opportunities for book translation, co-publishing and marketing.

Thus, it is just fitting that as a result of our forum in Bangkok, Thailand, entitled “Selling Beyond Our Local Book Market:  New Strategies New Ideas,” we have adopted a Resolution entitled:

RESOLUTION URGING EACH MEMBER-COUNTRY OF ABPA TO EXERT ON BEST EFFORT TO ENGAGE ACTIVELY IN MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL CO-PUBLISHING AND TRANSLATION IN ENGLISH WITH THE END IN VIEW OF COMING-UP WITH SOUTHEAST ASIANA BOOKS ON CULTURE, ARTS, FOLKTALES, FOLKLORES AND SOCIETY IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THE DEARTH OF BOOKS AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS ON THE MATTER AS WELL AS TO ATTAIN REGIONAL ECONOMIC COOPERATION

Finally, during my incumbency it is my plan to come-up with comparison of our laws on publishing as well as on national book policy so that we could harmonize our respective laws and use the best practices in the region in order to enhance our transactions and businesses.

The bottom line of our constant interactions, attendance in various international fairs, participation in fora and communications in various means is to attain regional economic cooperation or profitability.

Thank you.