By JIAN ZHARESE JOEIS SANZ
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Various artist organizations expressed dissent regarding the Senate’s approval on third reading of Senate Bill No. 2805 or the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) Act.

Panday Sining, a youth cultural organization, described the bill primarily authored by Sen. Robinhood Padilla as a politically driven, blatant form of censorship. “This censorship is a clear attack on the freedom of expression of Filipino cultural workers and the film and creative industry, especially to those who use art as a means for social change and exposing the reality of the Philippine social ills.”

They stressed that the bill also poses further economic threats to the artists’ livelihood. They also criticized the bill for not promoting critical thinking and responsible media consumption.

They said that the bill’s vague standards are damaging to progressive art and artists. It also muddles the standards for morality as the MTRCB is left with the power to dictate what is acceptable and unacceptable for the Filipino masses.

The proposed MTRCB Act, co-authored by Senators Padilla, Win Gatchalian, Francis Tolentino, Lito Lapid, Grace Poe, Joel Villanueva, and Ramon Revilla Jr., expands the MTRCB’s authority to include online streaming services. The bill requires platforms like Netflix to register, submit lists of their content and classifications, implement parental controls, and provide feedback mechanisms. 

The bill grants the MTRCB quasi-judicial powers to reclassify, sanction, or block platforms that fail to comply with these requirements to address issues related to obscenity, violence, child exploitation, and other ‘harmful’ materials.

Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP), AKTOR League of Filipino Actors, and the University of the Philippines (UP) Film Institute also released statements opposing the bill. 

CAP invoked the Artists’ Agenda, challenging lawmakers and the public to uphold and protect the right to free expression, artistic freedom, and cultural participation. The agenda included in its 4th clause that “censorship by regulatory bodies such as MTRCB curtails artistic freedom and intimidates cultural workers. The MTRCB and similar agencies must be held to public accountability standards to prevent partisan influence, political pressure, or any attempts to restrict the right to free expression”. 

Meanwhile, AKTOR called on lawmakers to halt the bill’s promulgation and initiate discussions and consultations with the creative community. The UP Film Institute (UPFI) demanded the MTRCB’s abolition, expressing that the board is an “antiquated and ineffective government agency founded on vague notions of public good, a remnant of the Martial Law era, infamous for silencing dissent.”

JL Burgos, director of Alipato at Muog’ and chairperson of Surian ng Sining, also opposed the MTRCB Act. The director brought up in this statement MTRCB’s initial X-rating for ‘Alipato at Muog’. “We have experienced it first hand, Alipato at Muog was initially given an X rating by the MTRCB – as the reviewers cited that the film tends to undermine the faith and confidence of the people in their government – the same clause that’s been used several times.”

The MTRCB categorized the documentary film about the enforced disappearance of Jonas Burgos under X-rating in August 2024. The first reviewers, which consisted of three members of the board, stated ‘the film tends to undermine the faith and confidence of the people in their government and/or duly-constituted authorities’ as the reason.

Panday Sining urged the Filipino film and creative industry, as well as cultural workers, artists, and the youth, to oppose the MTRCB bill. They stressed that the bill undermines their right to freedom of expression. By rejecting it, they said that they can protect the creative community and promote a truly nationalist, scientific, and mass-oriented culture. (AMU, DAA)