| Movie and Television Review and Classification Board | |
|---|---|
| Lupon sa Pagrerepaso at Pag-uuri ng Sine at Telebisyon | |
| Agency overview | |
| Jurisdiction | Government of the Philippines |
| Employees | At least 33[1] |
| Agency executive | Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares, Chairwoman |
| Website | |
| MTRCB official site | |
The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (Filipino: Lupon sa Pagrerepaso at Pag-uuri ng Sine at Telebisyon; abbreviated MTRCB) is the government agency responsible for rating television and film for the Philippines. Recently, the MTRCB was given the additional task of rating various video media (VHS, VCDs, DVDs, etc.). It is under the executive powers of the Office of the President. The MTRCB is composed of the chairman, vice-chairman and 30 board members. Each one holds office for a term of one year but may be reappointed after the expiration of his/her term. The incumbent chairman of MTRCB is Chairman Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares, daughter of Fernando Poe, Jr. and Susan Roces.[2]
Contents |
Unlike other organizations worldwide, such as the BBFC, the MTRCB does not rate video games. This is due to the fact that the Philippines does not produce video games (other than titles from studios such as Anino Games), since most video games are imported, with almost all of it coming from the United States. Because of that, ratings from the Entertainment Software Rating Board are seen as the de facto standard for video game ratings in the Philippines, but legal restrictions (such as prohibition of sales of M-Rated games to minors) usually do not apply, although certain software vendors ask for an ID or any other valid age verification when selling titles such as Grand Theft Auto IV and other mature-rated games. The MTRCB also does not rate literature, unlike some other organizations.
The MTRCB is also known to rate films differently from other organizations, examples of which are the Harry Potter film series, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Batman Begins, Spider-Man, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and more recently, Shake, Rattle & Roll XI, which, despite the graphic and potentially disturbing content depicted in the films, were given a rating of G (all ages accepted), despite other countries who imposed a PG-13 rating, and The Da Vinci Code, which received a R-18 rating, while other countries gave it lower ratings.
There are 5 different ratings the board utilizes. These are:
| Level | Classification rating | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | G | All ages admitted. |
| Restricted | PG-13 | Children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult. |
| R-13 | Strictly for persons 13 years and over. | |
| R-18 | Strictly for persons 18 years and over. | |
| X | Not for public viewing. | |
| Discontinued | R | Strictly for persons 18 years old and over. It scopes the modern day ratings R-13 and R-18. |
| PG-7 | Children under 7 must be accompanied by an adult. It is between the modern-day ratings G and PG-13. |
However, on this system, there are no pictogram intended for each rating.
The MTRCB has implemented a television content rating system way back since November 1995. Historically, there were only two television ratings used.
| Pictogram | Classification rating |
|---|---|
| None | General Patronage |
| Only plain text | Parental Guidance |
However, on October 6, 2011, in order to encourage parents to supervise and be responsible with their children in watching television, one additional television rating was added, increasing the latter to three. These are: [3][4][5]
| Pictogram | Classification rating | English name | Filipino name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | General Patronage | None | Programmes with this rating could be watched by all ages, but viewing with older people is also encouraged. | |
| PG | Parental Guidance | Patnubay at Gabay | Programmes with this rating could be unsuitable for children, and parental guidance is advised. | |
| SPG | Strong Parental Guidance | Striktong Patnubay at Gabay | Parents need to exercise "strong" parental guidance on their children while watching programmes with this rating. This may be too intense for children. |
The old graphic that was implemented from the November 1995 to October 5, 2011 consists of a static Parental Guidance (or PG) digital on-screen graphic (DOG) or text that appeared at the upper left or at the bottom right of the screen during a program if it was rated as such. If there is no graphic, it is understood that a show is rated General Patronage (or GP).
The new ratings were supposed to be composed of G, PG, SPG, and M, but sometime before the implementation of the new system, the set was revised into today's ratings.
The new ratings system is similar to the old one, but the look and the ratings itself was completely revamped. The new system consists a new full-screen advisory of the program's rating and is shown strictly before a program, whatever the rating of such program is. A DOG then appears at the bottom right of the screen during a program if it was rated as such.
The full screen advisory is regularly aired before the program, unlike in the case of the SPG rating: the rating must be aired after every commercial break.[6]
Not all television networks in the Philippines adopted the new rating system before the given deadline (see below):
The board gave a deadline of until October 31 for the other national, local, cable, and satellite television networks to switch onto the new graphic.
myx, a cable television network affiliated with ABS-CBN, originally adopted the blue PG graphic on October 6 on a majority of their programs, but reverted back to the static 'Parental Guidance' graphic only two weeks after, only in showing music videos with graphic content. This was due to the fact that it may be hard to place the blue 'PG' graphic while a music video is played along with the lyrics being shown at the same time. The ABS-CBN News Channel also added the blue 'PG' graphic at the same time as its mother network, but is only applied to its public affairs programs which also air on ABS-CBN. Among local cable networks, only Balls, Knowledge Channel, Solar Sports and Jack TV continue to adopt the old static 'Parental Guidance' graphic on their programs.
But, three networks namely the Gateway UHF Broadcasting (which carries the international feed of 3ABN), Gem TV and SMNI still did not adopt the system.
All programmes shown by the television channels are reviewed and classified by the said board. The board may suspend or cancel programmes, but not to remove broadcast licenses. Flagship news programs are not rated by the board but informational and public affairs programmes does.
A movie shall be disapproved for public viewing if, in the judgment of the board:
A movie or television program that receives an X rating may not be shown in Philippine theaters or television, or in any form of public exhibition.
A much publicized use of the X rating by the MTRCB was the issuance of such rating to a documentary film portraying the life of former Philippine president Joseph Estrada in 2006. Certain portions of the film, especially the portions with regard to the 2001 EDSA Revolution, were deemed by the MTRCB to be inciting political rebellion, a charge denied by the producers of the documentary.
Not only does MTRCB rates shows and films, they can also suspend a certain show for a few days to a few months depending on the violation. The following are the notable, scandalous events that earned shows a suspension.
The Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP; English: Association of Broadcasters of the Philippines), an association unrelated to the government, governs censorship on radio, although it can only reprimand its own members. A network currently not a member of the KBP is GMA Network, who is a former member.
The Optical Media Board formerly governed censorship on it, but MTRCB taken the authority of the home videos.