MTRCB chief Toto Villareal: I’m reasonable

Seven months into his post as chairman of the MTRCB (Movies and Television Review and Classification Board), practicing (since 1988) litigation lawyer Eugenio “Toto” Villareal, 49, has been on smooth sailing — that is, no earth-shaking controversy — since he took over from Grace Poe who quit in November last year when she filed her certificate of candidacy for the senatorial race which she topped with more than 20 million votes. Grace left a sterling record as MTRCB chief.

So far, so good, so to speak.

But up to now, not many people know Toto that well. For instance, only those close to him (including the 30-plus MTRCB members) know that he teaches (Introduction to Law, Legal Profession and Philosophy of Law) at Ateneo de Manila twice a week, that he’s the law partner of reelected Sen. Chiz Escudero (whose annulment case was handled by Toto), that he was the general counsel of the Justice Committee on Human Rights in the Senate and, yes, that he’s a supernumerary of Opus Dei.

When I sat down with Toto, who hails from Capiz, first thing I asked him was, “Doesn’t your being an Opus Dei affect the way you judge a film?”

“If at all,” smiled Toto who was a member for two years (head of the adjudication) before he became head of MTRCB, “it does positively. It’s like this: St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, was a firm believer of the freedom of each and every individual. He was a lawyer-priest. He said na dapat respetuhin ang freedom ng bawat tao because ang Diyos nga gave us free will to the point that He will respect you even if you go against Him. That’s how sacred individual freedom is. Dapat bukas ang isip natin sa lahat ng bagay.”

So what kind of “censor” (the usual word that refers to somebody in his position, even if the board doesn’t censor but will only classify films) is he, liberal or conservative?

“I am reasonable,” said Toto.

Well and good. During our hour-long interview, Toto explained at length some legal aspects of, well, “censorship” (that word again!) but I’d rather focus on his “human” side (how he views films, etc.).

Here are excerpts:

What kind of movies do you watch?

“All kinds, especially horror movies.”

What’s the most violent movie that you have seen?

“It’s a Ryan Gosling movie called Drive in which he plays a driver for bank robbers. What’s violent about it is the use of everyday things to kill people and I find that terrorizing. In one scene, he enters a restaurant, picks up a fork and stabs somebody with it. Para sa akin, nakaka-terrorize kapag napag-iisip ka na.”

Any horror movie that you found violent?

“Yes, it was a 2008 movie based on a John Carpenter novel. It’s about a town covered by mist. People are trapped inside a 7-Eleven store. There’s an experiment by the US Military and everything goes haywire. There are creatures inside the mist but the story doesn’t focus on it but on the trapped people. According to reviews, that was the writer’s real intention — to show the palpable horror. But don’t forget that the real horror is what man can do to his fellowmen.”

What was the most sexually-explicit movie that you have seen?

“That was a long time ago. Every now and then when I sit in at MTRCB reviews I do watch sexy movies but none that’s objectionable so far. When I was a student, I did watch bold films by the ECP (Experimental Cinema of the Philippines) and they were really sexy. I would say that I developed an interest in those kinds of movies. But besides horror movies, I like edifying movies like A Man For All Seasons.”

What was the most violent Filipino movie that you have seen?

“Not really violent but how the hate developed really struck me. Yes, Cain at Abel (by Lino Brocka, with Christopher de Leon and Phillip Salvador). It was so poignant. I was in fourth-year high school at Ateneo at that time. We did an immersion exercise and I lived in a farm in Gumaca, Quezon, for a week. That was where I saw Cain at Abel at an old theater na mayroon lang electric fan.”

Any all-time favorite movie?

“Don’t laugh at me but it’s The Sound of Music. I watch it again when I’m feeling low.”

Any of Grace’s programs that you are continuing?

“One of them is the Matalinong Panonood Para sa Pamilya ni Juan at Juana. With this empowerment program, we have been conducting regional forums around the country. Our goal is to empower the public and to protect the welfare of the viewers, especially the children, women, PWDs (Person With Disability) and elders as regards the media and the entertainment they see.”

What about the “comedy academy” that you reportedly suggested during a meeting with ABS-CBN management and stars in the wake of the Vice Ganda controversy (VG got roasted because of his offensive “rape jokes”)?

“It’s not really an academy per se where actors will be taught how to do comedy, but more of a venue for comedians, to meet and discuss/assess practices in their field. Like, for example, how comedians should be careful about bringing ‘comedy-bar’ type of humor to television. Some comedians are saying, ‘Huwag pakikialaman ang comedy.’ Hindi ko pinakikialaman ang pagko-komedya n’yo, guys, pero kapag lumalampas, the worst thing that can happen is for you to blame me, ‘Why did you not tell us?’.”

Is the MTRCB gender-sensitive?

“Oh yes, it is. In fact, we are increasing our gender-sensitivity and decorum. We have been discussing this with TV networks (with ABS-CBN, GMA and TV5). We have several committees — mayroon on children’s advocacy, mayroon on the elderly, etc. We are also fast-tracking our dialogue with the cable networks.”

By the way, how many deputies (MTRCB card-carrying agents) are there?

“A lot. We’ve been getting complaints that there are fake ones and we now have a way of verifying cards when they are presented to the theater-watchers. Mayroon nang machines for that. The cards are swiped in the machines.”

Aside from the SPG (Strong Parental Guidance) for TV shows, which was introduced by Grace, are there any new classifications?

“In the movies, we dropped ‘13’ from the ‘PG’ (Parental Guidance) because it was confusing, meaning if you are below 13 you have to be accompanied by a responsible adult. ‘G’ is for general audience. ‘R-13’ is restricted to those 13 and above. ‘R-16’ for movies that are not fit for 13-year-olds but okay for 16/17-year-olds. ‘R-18’ has replaced the ‘For Adults Only’ rating. Of course, there’s ‘X’ (outright pornographic). May I repeat, we don’t censor, we only classify.”

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