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A man has been sentenced to a year in jail after he was caught illegally recording a film inside a movie theater in 2010.
Wendell Tagalogan, a resident of Caloocan City, was convicted after pleading guilty to an illegal camcording incident in 2010. He was sentenced to imprisonment for one year, and fined PHP50,000.
Tagalogon was arrested in 2010 for recording the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. He was apprehended a minute into illegally recording the film by security guard Christian Jerome Casidsid and anti-piracy agents Edgar Tanquion and Nora Gallardo on Nov 18, 2010.
Tagalogon used a black-colored counterfeit Sony MP5 electronic device.
The country’s film producers, distributors and exhibitors lauded the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) for its efforts to end movie piracy by bringing illegal camcorders to justice.
In a statement, the Motion Picture Association said Tagalogon’s arrest and subsequent conviction is “a clear demonstration of the PNP’s declaration of zero-tolerance against illegal camcorders.”
“This conviction is a welcome development, as it shows that enforcement and judicial branches are working together to protect the film industry and that the Anti-Camcording Law is an effective deterrent against the crime of movie theft,” said General Benjamin Magalong, Chief of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG). “
Under the Anti-Camcording Law (RA 10088 of July 2010), any person who is caught using or attempting to use an audiovisual recording device to transmit or make a copy of any part of a performance in an exhibition facility of any cinematographic film or other audiovisual work will be charged with a fine of PHP50,000 to PHP750, 000 and will face imprisonment of a minimum of six months and one day to six years and one day.
Photo: Harry Potter publicity material
This article has been re-published with permission from ABS-CBNnews.com.
