Trust Fund Set Up to Allow More Filipino Authors to Write Books

By Ayi Muallam
PinoyPress

MANILA — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has given local authors and publishers a good reason to celebrate.

Arroyo signed into law on Thursday Republic Act 9521 or the National Book Development Trust Fund Act, which aims to provide Filipino authors reasonable amounts of money to help them complete their manuscripts for publication.

The law mandates the state “to create a dynamic and conducive environment for the promotion of Filipino authorship and other creative activities in book development” and “to promote the continuing development of the book publishing industry in all regions of the country as embodied in Republic Act No. 8047 or the “Book Publishing Industry Development Act.”

RA 9521 was authored by Iloilo City Representative Raul T. Gonzalez Jr., Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and several other members of the House. Its senate counterpart bill was authored by Senators Edgardo Angara, Jinggoy Estrada and Allan Peter Cayetano.

The measure, according to National Book Development Board (NBDB) chairman Dr. Dennis T. Gonzalez, “will be a new window of opportunity for authors and creative artists who could not avail of limited number of research grants or fellowships and are forced to temporarily abandon their literary or artistic calling or pursue other financially rewarding undertakings.”

NBDB executive director Andrea Pasion-Flores said the trust fund will “boost the annual number of titles produced especially in local history, science and technology, indigenous children’s stories and the translations of classic works into local languages, not only for books written in English.”

This will encourage authors to write using the eight major local dialects: Cebuano, Hiligaynon (Ilonggo), Bikol, Kapampangan, Ilokano, Waray, Tagalog, Pangasinan, “creating a vibrant book trade in the regions,” she added.

Dr. Isagani Cruz, a former education undersecretary and founding chair of the Manila Critics Circle, stressed that “the point is to help starving writers, those that write books that publishers will ordinarily not touch.”

A statement from the Office of the Press Secretary explained that the measure “provides the mechanisms for the promotion of the book publishing industry with the active participation of the private sector, and ensure the adequate supply of affordable, quality-produced books not only for the domestic but also for the export market.”

According to NBDB, most of the books in libraries and bookstores in the country are provided by foreign publications.

The Philippines imported £2.23 million (about P155 million) worth of books from the United Kingdom and $18.89 from the United States in 2007. US book exports in 2008 (US$19.20M) is bigger than its book exports to New Zealand (US$12M), Malaysia (US$9.95M), Thailand (US$10.10M), Taiwan (US$15.06M) and Hong Kong (US$18.88M) in the same year, added NBDB.

The trust fund of Php150 million will be established within one year. Interest earnings of the fund will provide annually at least 50 grants to authors to help spur creativity and support the completion of their manuscripts or research works for publication.

To establish the fund, a Php50 milliom allotment from the General Appropriations Act (GAA) will be provided annually for 5 years while the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) will each contribute P50 million for ten months.

RA 9521 also authorizes government corporations and other donors to contribute to the fund at their discretion and all such contributions shall be donors tax exempt and shall be considered as allowable deductions from the donor’s gross income.

The NBDB shall administer the trust fund and appoint a government financial institution as fund manager. (pinoypress.net)