TV5 strengthens guidelines for children

MANILA, Philippines - In line with its commitment to support the intellectual, emotional, psychological, physical and social development of children, TV5 released today its guidelines on the Treatment of Children as Viewers, Subjects, Talents or Participants.

The guidelines, formed in consultation with the Philippine Children’s Television Foundation, articulate the network’s general policies on the treatment of children, with specific provisions on children’s programming, news coverage pertaining to children, participation of children in programs, and compliance measures. Apart from the guidelines, TV5 commits to comply with other standards that may be formulated by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, the Department of Labor and Employment (e.g., on child talents), and other relevant agencies. TV5 will assign a child welfare coordinator with appropriate background and training to be present at each stage of the production process (auditions, interviews, rehearsals and production conferences, among others) to oversee all matters relating to the welfare of children.

To ensure that all programs consistently comply with the guidelines, TV5 will conduct regular seminars and sensitivity training sessions for all talents and employees in production. TV5 has created its own Standards Compliance Group (SCG) with a Standards Advisory Board to formulate and periodically review the network’s broadcast standards and policies, and a Compliance Section that will monitor compliance therewith. All programs, plugs, and other non-program materials aired on TV5, AksyonTV, Radyo5, Sports5, as well as on the TV5 and INTERAKSYON websites will be monitored by the Compliance Unit. A consulting child psychologist will be engaged to support the implementation of the guidelines.

In an effort to be more sensitive and responsive to its viewers, TV5 is in the process of setting up a viewer feedback mechanism, where viewers may email the Ombudsman ([email protected]) directly. Any and all complaints sent via the viewer feedback mechanism will be handled confidentially and with discretion.

With the said guidelines in place, TV5 hopes to contribute to building a socially responsible community with genuine respect and sensitivity towards all children and their families. It is a manifestation of the network’s sincere intention to implement effective precautionary measures to guarantee that no rights, especially children’s rights, will be violated in the production and broadcast of its radio and television programs.