Getting to Know TV's New Program Ratings

CEBU, Philippines - Hi Kids! I bet that most of you have already planned what to do on your summer vacation. After all the hardwork in doing your assignments and studying your lessons, you deserve a break. Many of you perhaps will stay with your grandparents’ house in the province, and some would just opt to enjoy the summer vacation. For sure you have a long list of the things you would like to do this summer. Again, please spend your vacation time wisely.

For kids like you, one of the favorite pastimes would be watching television. Television is a very powerful medium of communication. It is from television where you get to know current events and get information. There are different kinds of things we see on TV.News, music videos and just about anything under the sun. TV offers programming for kids as well, but not all the time. There are channels that specifically are for kids, but its not available for free. Did you ever notice just recently of the  colored graphic on the TV screen? I bet you noticed this. 

These are the television content rating system being implemented by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board or the MTRCB. The MTRCB is the government agency responsible for rating television and film for the Philippines. The MTRCB also is responsible with rating various video media (VHS, VCDs, DVDs, etc.). It is under the executive powers of the Office of the President. The new rating system is designed to empower parents to exercise caution and vigilance with the viewing habits of their children.

Under the new system, there is now a 10-second full-screen written and verbal advisory of the program’s classification rating immediately before the opening credits. A standard pictogram advisory is shown in the screen all throughout the airing of the show. Originally, the MTRCB has implemented a television content rating system way back since November 1995. There were only two television ratings used. These were General Patronage or GP and Parental Guidance. However, on October 6, 2011, in order to encourage parents to supervise and be responsible with their children in watching television, and due to the clamour of some people who are after the welfare of chidren, new program classification ratings have been introduced. 

The pictogram advisory color-codes and their descrition are : 

General Patronage-Suitable for all audiences. May apply to most children's programming, although informational, religious, how-to, or otherwise generally inoffensive content usually fall into this category.

Parental Guidance or Patnubay at Gabay-Programmes rated PG may contain scenes or other content that are unsuitable for children without the guidance of a parent. Programmes that are broadcasted live, i.e. variety and game shows are typically rated PG for their suggestive dialogue or humor.

Strong Parental Guidance or the Striktong Patnubay at Gabay – They contain mature themes or moderate to intense violence, which may be deemed unfit for children to watch without strict parental supervision. Along with the SPG rating, parents will also be guided by several content descriptors: T for Theme, V for Violence, D for Drugs, L for Language, S for Sex, and H for Horror.

Many have expressed their approval of this action to protect the welfare of children. The MTRCB added that the aim of the new rating is to strongly encourage parents to supervise their children's TV viewing habits.They also rallied everyone to look for programmes with the Anak TV Seal.Similar to a seal of good housekeeping, the Anak TV Seal is a national award bestowed by various stakeholders (including parents, educators, business and media people, government, media, NGOs, the religious sector an youth) on TV programs airing on Philippine television, (whether locally produced or not) which they think are child-sensitive.