Sen. Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. made the suggestion in a Senate resolution that was filed a day after Albay representative Joey Salceda proposed the imposition of tax on Netflix and Facebook ads, among other Internet firms, as a way of generating revenues for the government.
Despite the booming market for video-streaming services brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, regional streaming site Hooq formally closed down its operations on Thursday, April 30. Its CEO, Peter Bithos, served as chief operating officer of Globe Telecom from 2010 to 2015.
The government said the move of Netflix will help free up bandwidth that could be allocated towards other vital online services until telcos and Internet service providers (ISPs) can fully adapt to the demand for streaming services.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian has urged the MTRCB to exercise prudence in classifying movies and contents being streamed on different platforms, including online streaming providers like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
