21/09/2026
Very disappointing statement from Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc. and Animahenasyon: The Philippine Animation Festival This just goes to show that their events and programs are not in the interests of animation workers, students and artists. Nor are they celebrating the labor and artistry of animation.
From their statement, it appears that their priority is to make animation labor cheaper and monetize the students that want to learn animation. Animation workers offer some of the cheapest rates in the region. To add insult to injury, Animation students pay high tuition fees, only to be left with an animation industry that offers starvation wages, unpaid government benefits, and the inability to comply with basic labor laws.
Instead of cultivating the growing indie movement and the overall animation industry through funding, grants and affordable educational programs, Animahenasyon 20 chose to highlight entries with AI-generated content instead of entries that were made with actual human artistry in them.
We call on them to REMOVE ANY ENTRY WITH AI-GENERATED CONTENT. Stop giving a platform to technology that takes away opportunities from human artists.
Redirect support to Filipino animators and the growing indie animation movement. Focus on making sure that participating animation studios comply with all applicable labor laws, the very violation of which, pushes these studios to use generative AI in the first place.
As Guillermo Del Toro once said, “F*ck AI”
