X-rating on Erap bio-flick likened to Marcos’ banned film

Supporters of former President Estrada picketed yesterday the office of the Movie and Television Classification Board (MTRCB) to denounce the Arroyo administration’s alleged political censorship of a film on Estrada’s life.

They claimed that the X-rating given by the MTRCB to "Ang Mabuhay Para Sa Masa," a documentary on the life and times of Estrada, was a form of censorship similar to what President Diosdado Macapagal allegedly did when he banned the showing of "Iginuhit ng Tadhana (Written by Destiny)," a film on the life of his rival Ferdinand Marcos.

"Ang ginagawa ng MTRCB ay nangyari na noong 1965 nang ipinagbawal ng Pangulong Macapagal yung ‘Iginuhit ng Tadhana’ ni Marcos (What the MTRCB is doing already happened in 1965 when President Macapagal banned Marcos’ ‘Iginuhit ng Tadhana’)," said Ronald Lumbao, spokesman for the People’s Movement Against Poverty (PMAP).

Lumbao pointed out that the ban on "Iginuhit ng Tadhana" backfired on then President Macapagal, the late father of President Arroyo, when he lost to Marcos in the 1965 presidential elections.

The producers of the Estrada bio-flick have tried to get an exemption from the MTRCB, saying the 57-minute documentary is actually a newsreel that does not need board classification.

But the MTRCB, in its initial preview of the documentary, gave it an X-rating — which means it is unfit for public viewing.

Lawyer Rufus Rodriquez, who is representing Publikasia, the producer of the Estrada film, has appealed for a second review. But a five-man panel of the MTRCB rejected this on grounds that the last episode of the movie entitled "Power Grab" "undermines the faith of the people in the duly constituted authorities." — Perseus Echeminada