WHAT OUR LOCAL FILM FIXERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT FILMING ON LOCATION IN PHILIPPINES
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines is in Southeast Asia. It is situated in the western Pacific Ocean and consists of around 7,641 islands that are broadly categorized under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The Philippines is bounded by the South China Sea to the west, the Philippine Sea to the east, and the Celebes Sea to the southwest. It shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Japan to the northeast, Palau to the east and southeast, Indonesia to the south, Malaysia to the southwest, Vietnam to the west, and China to the northwest.
The Philippines has two main seasons: rainy and dry also referred to as Summer and Winter. Rainy season is from June to early part of October while the dry season is from the later part of October until May with months of April and May as the hottest and driest months. The region sits across the typhoon belt, causing dangerous storms from July through October.
Tagalog and Cebuano are the most commonly spoken native languages, together they comprise about half of the population of the Philippines. Filipino and English are official languages and are taught in schools.
The Philippine peso (currency code: PHP) is the official currency of the Philippines. The colourful notes come in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 200 (not common), 500, and 1,000. The peso is further divided into 100 centavos, however, you’ll rarely deal with or encounter these fractional amounts. Generally, US dollars and euros are not accepted in the Philippines so convert international currency through you local fixer.
Ongoing political unrest will likely NOT affect your visit. The good news is that the Philippines is huge, and the violence is taking place literally thousands of miles away from anywhere a traveller would find themselves. Simply put: unless you’re trying to get into trouble, your trip will not be affected at all. The government has active police and military presence in popular tourist areas and keeping visitors safe is a priority.
The Film Development Council of the Philippines has trebled its annual incentives budget from $1 million to $3 million effective from 2022. The Philippines offers a range of incentives including rebate schemes for local and international projects.
Local film crew and film equipment is readily available on the regions
WHAT OUR LOCAL FILM FIXERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT FILM EQUIPMENT CLEARANCE, FILM PERMIT ,VISAS AND WORK PERMITS WHEN FILMING ON LOCATION IN PHILIPPINES
General film permits
Film permit applications in the Philippine takes between 3 – 7 days for approval and is a fairly simple process. Local location managers are well versed in the application of these and can get locations such as some of the islands that required government approval issued within a week.
Film equipment clearance into the country
The Philippines recently signed to be part of the carnet system but implementing rules and regulations have yet to be announced. For now, local film fixers either post a bond with customs if equipment is brought in via air or sea freight. For clients bringing in equipment with them on commercial flights, the local film fixers apply for a customs clearance letter from the Film Development Council of the Philippines and the person bringing in the equipment will have to apply for a special work permit which costs PHP 6,440.00 + USD 50.00.
Accreditation for international film crew
Accreditation is not required for foreign film crew when filing on location in Philippines
Visas & Work Permits
The visa application takes about 3 weeks and the requirements and process is dependant on the country of origin. Details can be obtained on https://consular.dfa.gov.ph/services/visa/visa-general-info
Temporary work permits are not required for foreign film production crew
