Bill penalizing ticket scalpers filed in Senate

A bill seeking to prohibit and penalize ticket scalping has been filed in the Senate.

Senator Mark Villar filed Senate Bill 2873 or the proposed "Anti-Ticket Scalping Act" due to the proliferation of this activity in the country.

In filing the bill, Villar explained the need for regulations on purchasing and selling of tickets to "protect consumers from exploitation and guarantee fair access to events of their favorite artists or performers."

The lawmaker noted that the prohibition of scalping only exists in specific cities like Pasay City and Quezon City through its local ordinances which he said leaves a notable gap at the national level.

In supporting the need for the measure, the senator cited the latest survey conducted by VISA which showed that 38% of Filipino respondents have attended concerts over the past 12 months, both locally or overseas.

He also noted that the Philippines has established itself as one of the top concert and event destinations in the world with at least 154 concerts scheduled in the country in 2024 alone.

"The rising popularity and prevalence of concert scenes reflect the upward trend of the recreational appetite of Filipinos which in turn helps drive the local economy," Villar said.

"However, the increase of demand in events or performance and the surge of concert goers have also brought about a number of challenges, including the proliferation of tiket scalping or the practice of reselling admission tickets at an inflated or predatory price--undermining the consumers' right to fair access to entertainment scenes and encouraging price gouging," he added.

SB 2873 prohibits the offering, hoarding, selling, distributing, buying, dealing in, disposing of, or otherwise acquiring admission tickets for entertainment events, without written permission from the authorized event producer, organizer, and distributor, obtaining and reselling tickets by more than ten percent (10%) higher than the face value price of the ticket.

The minimum 10% markup may be reviewed and updated by the implementing agencies.

The bill also penalizes the financing, managing, or operating ticket scalping activities on a large scale.

A complainant is no longer needed to prosecute the scalpers as the bill allows the Department of Justice, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, as well as law enforcement agencies such as the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation to file the cases.

The penalties for ticket scalping are:

• P100,000 fine and/or imprisonment of six months for the first offense.
• P250,000 fine and/or imprisonment of one year for second offense
• P500,00 fine and or imprisonment of three years for third and subsequent offenses

A fine of P50,000 to P250,000 and/or six months to one year imprisonment will be slapped to the persons who are:

• offering or selling admission tickets for entertainment events without providing the face value on each ticket
• selling admission tickets on any platform other than the authorized reselling platform
• willfully aiding or abetting ticket scalping as defined under the bill
• willfully attempting to commit any offenses considered as ticket scalping as defined under the bill

If the offender is a corporation, the penalty may be imposed to the company on its directors, trustees, stockholders, members, officers, or employees responsible for the violation or indispensable to its commission.

This penalty could go as much as Php 500,000 and/or imprisonment of three years for the third and subsequent offenses.—RF, GMA Integrated News