December 10, 2020
Dear Mr. Gravides,
Thank you for your request dated 07 December 2020 11:39:02 PM under Executive Order No. 2 (s. 2016) on Freedom of Information in the Executive Branch.
Your Request:
You asked for MTRCB Policy on TV programs depicting incest.
Response to Request:
The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) is both a regulatory and developmental agency. It is empowered to review and classify motion pictures and television programs, and exercise all powers and prerogatives consistent with such functions. The Board is tasked to promote an environment that may lead to authentic and responsible self-regulation in both the film and television industries.
Desiring to make the ratings an efficacious reality down to the grassroots level, such that every Juan and Juana can wield the system in evaluating content, the Board intends to animate this mission by promoting a value-oriented media and entertainment culture. Under the twin norms of age-appropriateness and audience-sensitivity, each parent or responsible adult will be able to determine the entertainment and information that children may see.
REVIEW PROCESS:
The materials submitted to the MTRCB are reviewed by the Board Members (who are all Presidential Appointees), which are divided into a committee of 3. Their general standard is the contemporary Filipino cultural values. More specifically, they are guided by Memorandum Circular No. 05-2011 (Revised Classification Rating for Television Programs). In the said circular, there are certain descriptors such as theme, language, nudity, sex, violence, horror and drugs which are taken into consideration in giving a rating to a particular material. Moreover, the material is reviewed in its entirety.
The rating given to a particular material is not limited to its theme or topic alone. It has to be taken as a whole whereby treatment of scenes and redeeming values in the material are also given equal consideration. Thus, some materials, although containing the same theme, may differ as to its rating because of how they are depicted or portrayed.
Your right to request a review:
If you are unhappy with this response to your FOI request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response by writing to MTRCB Chairperson Maria Rachel Arenas at MTRCB Building, No. 18 Timog Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City and/or through our email address at:
[email protected]. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made within 15 calendar days from the date when you received this letter. We will complete the review and tell you the result within 30 calendar days from the date when we receive your review request.
If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Office of the President under Administrative Order No. 22 (s. 2011).
Very Truly Yours,
Atty. Ann Marie Nemenzo
Officer in Charge – Office of the Executive Director II and
MTRCB FOI Decision Maker
