It is no doubt a purposive, if optimistic, new idea – the proposal to impose a P5 increase in the price of movie ticket in cinemas in Manila for at least a one-year period.

The proposal, contained in a draft Manila City ordinance, would direct all cinemas, theaters, and movie houses operating in the country’s capital to charge an additional P5 on their tickets. The money collected would then be managed by the City Treasurer’s office.

The proposed ordinance is significant because it once more brings to public awareness the neglect that the city government is taking for granted: The historic instrumentality of the Metropolitan Theater to the City’s – nay, to the country’s artistic sensibilities, if not civilization, no less. Under the proposed ordinance which is authored by City Councilor Yul Servo, the money collected out of the added P5 would go to the projected P300-million fund needed to rehabilitate the historic but abandoned Metropolitan Theater.

The Met which is located at the Plaza Lawton at the foot of the Quezon Bridge fronting the Philippine Postal Office, has a long history as old and colorful as Jose Nepumuceno’s Dalagang Bukid.

The Met, if and when restored to its original glory, will certainly enhance the artistic and entrepreneurial imagination and creativity of our people.

This happens everywhere when people are aware of their cultural and artistic heritage presented in their national theaters.

This is true in Korea whose national theater was the first federally managed theater in Asia.

In Taiwan, the Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center was said to have hosted 500 million people since completion and continues to host streams of events performed by local and international artists.

The National Theater in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic was built in 1973 and is known for its “luxury accommodations with authentic local experiences.”

In the Philippines, the Metropolitan Theater has been dubbed a “National Cultural Treasure,” a title given by the National Historical Institute.

That its rehabilitation is now given official attention is great, to say the least, after its long isolation from popular concern.

According to reports, there are today some 40 movie houses in the Manila area, and as stated in the proposed ordinance, “No funds collected through the ordinance may be converted to any other purpose except in line with the rehabilitation, renovation, and conservation of the Metropolitan Theater.”

With the hearing on the proposal now going on at the Manila City Council, it is hoped that with the interest shown by Mayor Alfredo Lim himself, the measure will win the assent and concurrence with pride of the Council members. (zhern_218@yahoo.com)