GMA calls on MTRCB to crack down anew on lewd films

Acting on complaints from parents and concerned individuals, Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called on movie censors to crack down on sexually explicit movies.

Arroyo said the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) has returned to its allegedly lax ways by allowing movies that are evidently pornographic.

"There's an apparent laxity of the MTRCB regarding this kind of movies," she said.

Although it was Holy Week, she noted, the censors board allowed the showing of sexually explicit movies like, "The Loss of Sexual Innocence," "La Femme Erotique," "Talk Dirty," "Flesh Town," "Gawin sa Dilim (Do It in the Dark)" and "Private Teacher."

Arroyo said she received reports from parents, concerned citizens and church leaders about the MTRCB's failure to prevent the proliferation of such movies.

Because of this, Arroyo said, local governments should do something to make sure to keep minors out of moviehouses showing lewd films even if these movies have MTRCB approval.

She said the government should now address the deterioration of society's moral standards to ensure progress.

Several months ago, the MTRCB came under fire for allowing the showing of sex movies which, critics said, were actually lewd shows "in the guise of artistic experimentation." The board, they said, failed to set standards of cultural refinement.

Lawmakers headed by Isabela Rep. Heherson Alvarez called for a cut in the MTRCB's budget to demonstrate Congress's displeasure with the board. A resolution has been filed at the House of Representatives' to do just that, with the intention of "reconstructing, if not abrogating, the MTRCB." - Liberty Dones