Senator Chiz Escudero is positive that should the senate have its way, the local movie industry is in for a renaissance. Make that a second renaissance since many in the industry regard the late '60s and early '70s as a golden age of sorts for the industry.

Hope springs eternal, so they say, and the young senator eagerly joins movers and major players in the industry, the likes of producer

Lily Monteverde, veteran actress and producer Armida Siguion-Reyna, and National Artist for films Eddie Romero, in hanging on to that hope. In fact, on the hot trail of his senatorial campaign, Chiz had urged fellow lawmakers to pass a law exempting the movie industry from taxes.

He then noted how it was outrageous for government to be offering transnational companies all kinds of tax holidays while killing a home-grown industry with taxes. "And yet unlike these pampered foreign films, the movie industry does not repatriate its profits abroad," he said.

The local movie industry is burdened with a 30% amusement tax, 5% withholding tax on the producers' film share, and 32% corporate income tax.

"And as if the burden were not heavy enough, the government also slapped the producer another 10% in value added tax on his or her share," Escudero said.

Escudero gave his assurance that the senate will be addressing these concerns, and as chair of the committee on ways and means, he has among a number of proposed legislation pending on his table the much bruited about movie bill that aims to provide the movie industry tax relief as well as incentives.

Escudero expects the bill passed in due time, and is hopeful in getting sufficient support for it among his colleagues in Congress.

It has successfully gone through three readings and should be ready for a vote in the next Congress.