Reassuring editorial
I write on behalf of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to extend our gratitude for the editorial “Small wonders.” (Inquirer, 3/4/12)
We at MTRCB understand that we serve only for a limited time. This is the reason we are seizing every opportunity to introduce institutional changes that will have a direct impact on industry stakeholders.
We take responsibility for safeguarding the welfare of the viewing public, and we also try to find ways to uplift the lives of the people working in the television and movie industries. And while we recognize that it is imperative to improve the economic condition of movie and television workers, we constantly remind them that they also serve as “cultural workers” who must continue to educate and inspire our people to take on the greater responsibility of nation-building.
Toward this end, we are trying to institutionalize an active and dynamic partnership with industry leaders through the following activities:
•March 28—Signing of a memorandum of understanding with the networks, major block timers and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) to uphold the non-derogatory and non-discriminatory portrayal of persons, especially women, on television and film.
•April 25—Hosting a Summit on Children, where former child actors will be invited to share their insights on how to safeguard the welfare of children in media, and how to improve their working conditions in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Labor and Employment, Council for the Welfare of Child, and the National Council for Children’s Television, which will culminate in the signing of a memorandum of understanding with all the major networks and child rights stakeholders.
•Launching a new movie classification category: “Restricted 16 (R-16).” The Board seeks to provide a more appropriate set of standards and content descriptors for the intermediary level of classification between R-13 and the R-18.
Again, we sincerely appreciate the space that the Inquirer gave us, allowing us to articulate the rationale behind all our initiatives. We realize that we are only as effective as we are able to effectively communicate with our ultimate audience: the Filipino parents. Our recent efforts have been directed toward re-engaging the parents in fulfilling their primary duty of educating their children and instilling in them proper values.
We are still grappling with a lot of questions and challenges and we may not have found as yet the right answers. But the Inquirer’s kind editorial assures us that we are asking the right questions.
—MARY GRACE POE LLAMANZARES,
chair, Movie and Television Review
and Classification Board,
