PHILIPPINES: CENSORS CRITICIZED FOR BANNING 3 FILMS CRITICAL OF ARROYO

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PUBLISHED ON December 24, 2007 AT 1:25 PM

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Nene” Q. Pimentel,
Jr. (PDP-Laban) today criticized the Movie and
Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) for
allowing itself to be an administration tool for
political repression by banning three short films that
portray the social and political situation in the
country.

Pimentel said the MTRCB, under Chairperson Ma.
Consoliza Laguardia, has gone overboard by giving an
X-rating (meaning unfit for public exhibition) for the
films “Mendiola,” “A Day in the Life of Gloria Arroyo”
and “Rights” – all made by independent filmmakers.

He said the MTRCB does not seem to hearken to history.

“In the past, Diosdado Macapagal as president, banned
‘Iginuhit ng Tadhana’, a political film, if ever there
was one, that glorified the exploits of Ferdinand E.
Marcos, who was challenging his reelection bid.”

“The rest is history. That is from the political
angle.”

Pimentel said that from the legal angle, the MTRCB
does not appear empowered to censor the content of
films probably except for obscenity or extreme
violence.

“If the MTRCB ruling is not challenged, then, it would
follow that we are allowing a bureaucracy of the
government to curtail the freedom of expression, that
is guaranteed by the Constitution, on purely partisan
considerations.”

“Mendiola”, a documentary produced by Sine Patriotiko,
exposes police brutality against participants in
protest rallies.

“A Day in the Life of Gloria Arroyo” produced by
Southern Tagalog Exposure, is a satire on the Arroyo
administration.

“Rights” focuses on the spate of extra-judicial
killings, disappearances of political activists and
other forms of human rights violations.
-o0o-

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