CLARK FREEPORT – The P1,000 photography fee charged to photographers who may want to shoot pre-nuptial pictorials, nature photography, panoramic photos, still photographs or simple “Kodak moments” with family and friends inside this sprawling freeport has been scrapped.
This was announced by Clark Development Corp. (CDC) President-CEO Arthur Tugade on Monday after arriving from a 10-day US trip.
“Inalis ko na yung P1,000 fee sa mga photo shoots sa Clark pati na pre-nuptial photography (I ordered the scrapping of the P1,000 fee being charged for pictorials and even pre-nuptial photography in Clark),” he said.
Tugade said he found it “forbidding” to charge local and foreign tourists who visit this freeport for simply taking souvenir pictures or even pre-nuptial photo shoots.
However, Tugade said the P10,000 fee being imposed by the CDC Tourism Promotions Office for television production shoots and similar commercial tapings will stay.
CDC Tourism Manager Noemi Garcia earlier justified the P10,000 fee for commercial tapings and video shoots.
She said commercial shootings “normally take longer hours and could disrupt normal operations (i.e. road closures, etc.) as these entail costs to CDC such as additional security and utilities, among others.”
Garcia said the said fee “was benchmarked against industry standards.”
It can be recalled that the Pinoy Video Makers and the Wedding Portrait Photographers of the Philippines complained of the stiff fees imposed by CDC even for simple photo shoots and pre-nuptial photography unlike in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the USA or even local destinations like Boracay, Tagaytay, Palawan and Baguio where photographers take pictures without being asked to pay a fee.
