Concerning Piracy and the OMB Bill
I have heard the news about the OMB bill, which allows cops to arrest anyone caught buying pirated DVDs. Now, when I heard it, I got pissed, primarily because I am an avid fan of pDVDs. My second reaction was to be amused. It's all wrong. It'll never work.
A lot of people wonder why, despite the enormous number of laws and bills passed by the Senate, the Philippines is still in a state of disorder. Look at any major street and you'll see a huge number of traffic violations being committed. Imagine, all those long hours spent by our congressmen and senators just deliberating, gone down the drain. You want to know what the problem is? COPS.
A fellow yahoo groupmate of mine cracked that the actual police motto was "to serve and protect... themselves". I agree. Whenever I see a cop, I don't feel safe. I become afraid. Afraid that they might find some reason to give me a ticket, and find some way for them to receive 100 bucks. Now, I'm pretty sure such a scenario won't be any different from me buying pirated DVDs. Suppose I get caught with 500 pesos worth of DVDs. They won't confiscate that, but I will need to pay 100 just for them to get off my back. So I give them the money. It's a 100 debit, but once I sell those DVDs I've earned around 200. It's not much, but I'm still making money. So will the cops stop me? Hell no.
Another reason as to why I'm amused - the cops are arresting the wrong people... or better yet, the wrong place. I buy my DVDs in Quiapo, a mecca for pirated dvds. People sell, people buy. Our lawmakers want to prevent piracy? Arrest those who actually DUPLICATE the originals. And if they can't get to them, the next they could do is arrest the sellers. You can't exactly arrest the buyers because, well, there's just too many of us. And we're mobile. We move. Sellers don't. Pirated DVD makers don't. They stay in one place - their store or their abandoned warehouses. So anyway, with the bill in place, cops are going to hang around the streets of Quiapo, waiting for some unfortunate guy carrying newly-bought dvds. If the point of all this is to stop piracy, why arrest one guy? Why not just arrest the sellers? It's just a couple of meters away. Wouldn't that be more effective? (and actually get them more loot?)
This anti-piracy drive is stupid. It's a waste of monetary and labor resources. Cops should be out there in the streets managing traffic. Leave the piracy sector alone. And that excuse about the local entertainment industry dying because of piracy is just plain bullshit. If they had produced movies with an ACTUAL story instead of just some new actor/actress/loveteam whispering cliched nothings to one another while being pelted with bullets, then I would probably give a teenyweeny more support to the anti-piracy drive. Besides, if Bong Revilla or Edu Manzano (who, also, I am ASHAMED to say is a Lasallian) had done their research properly, they'd find out that we buyers only purchase English movies. Primarily because we DO support the local industry and would buy an original filipino movie, and secondly because we have good taste.
Oh, and before I sign off, and while we're on the subject of good taste - Bong Revilla and Edu Manzano, tell both your sons to QUIT the showbiz industry. They'd be better off having a career that doesn't require one to be in front of a camera. Bring us deliverance!
A lot of people wonder why, despite the enormous number of laws and bills passed by the Senate, the Philippines is still in a state of disorder. Look at any major street and you'll see a huge number of traffic violations being committed. Imagine, all those long hours spent by our congressmen and senators just deliberating, gone down the drain. You want to know what the problem is? COPS.
A fellow yahoo groupmate of mine cracked that the actual police motto was "to serve and protect... themselves". I agree. Whenever I see a cop, I don't feel safe. I become afraid. Afraid that they might find some reason to give me a ticket, and find some way for them to receive 100 bucks. Now, I'm pretty sure such a scenario won't be any different from me buying pirated DVDs. Suppose I get caught with 500 pesos worth of DVDs. They won't confiscate that, but I will need to pay 100 just for them to get off my back. So I give them the money. It's a 100 debit, but once I sell those DVDs I've earned around 200. It's not much, but I'm still making money. So will the cops stop me? Hell no.
Another reason as to why I'm amused - the cops are arresting the wrong people... or better yet, the wrong place. I buy my DVDs in Quiapo, a mecca for pirated dvds. People sell, people buy. Our lawmakers want to prevent piracy? Arrest those who actually DUPLICATE the originals. And if they can't get to them, the next they could do is arrest the sellers. You can't exactly arrest the buyers because, well, there's just too many of us. And we're mobile. We move. Sellers don't. Pirated DVD makers don't. They stay in one place - their store or their abandoned warehouses. So anyway, with the bill in place, cops are going to hang around the streets of Quiapo, waiting for some unfortunate guy carrying newly-bought dvds. If the point of all this is to stop piracy, why arrest one guy? Why not just arrest the sellers? It's just a couple of meters away. Wouldn't that be more effective? (and actually get them more loot?)
This anti-piracy drive is stupid. It's a waste of monetary and labor resources. Cops should be out there in the streets managing traffic. Leave the piracy sector alone. And that excuse about the local entertainment industry dying because of piracy is just plain bullshit. If they had produced movies with an ACTUAL story instead of just some new actor/actress/loveteam whispering cliched nothings to one another while being pelted with bullets, then I would probably give a teenyweeny more support to the anti-piracy drive. Besides, if Bong Revilla or Edu Manzano (who, also, I am ASHAMED to say is a Lasallian) had done their research properly, they'd find out that we buyers only purchase English movies. Primarily because we DO support the local industry and would buy an original filipino movie, and secondly because we have good taste.
Oh, and before I sign off, and while we're on the subject of good taste - Bong Revilla and Edu Manzano, tell both your sons to QUIT the showbiz industry. They'd be better off having a career that doesn't require one to be in front of a camera. Bring us deliverance!
posted by roseraven11 @ 8:22 AM
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