Metro Manila Popular Music Festival

The Metro Manila Popular Music Festival (also known as Metropop) was launched by the Popular Music Foundation of the Philippines in 1977 and held annually from 1978 to 1985. It was "the country’s pioneering and once foremost songwriting competition," according to The Philippine Star. Its objective was to promote the advancement of Filipino music, and its chief proponents were journalist Teodoro Valencia and Imee Marcos. These festivals launched many the careers of songwriters and singers (who interpreted the songs), and gave original Filipino music more than a few memorable and modern-day song classics. Among them is Freddie Aguilar. This songwriting competition was originally open to all music composers. From the fourth festival onwards, the competition was divided into professional and amateur divisions, to give new songwriters a level playing field without competing with more well-known composers. After 1985, the festival was discontinued due to a decline in public interest towards the song entries. It was later revived as the Metropop Song Festival which aired on GMA Network from 1996 to 2003.