It's time to repeal the MTRCB

MANILA, Philippines - It might be that people are tired of hearing about this. Every couple of years, the MTRCB will do something that sparks some public outrage. The parties involved make strongly worded statements, motions for reconsideration are moved forward, and everything goes back to normal in the end. Somehow, all the outrage never translates into tangible action; the MTRCB is still around when the dust settles, ready to wave their magic wand of censorship yet again.

Their latest offense concerns Ambisyon 2010, a series of short films commissioned locally based cable news channel ANC. A short directed by Jeffrey Jeturian was given an X-rating, and was therefore banned from being screened in public cinemas outside of UP and the CCP.

The short film tackles the issue of the economy. In it, Jeturian focuses on a particular newspaper headline, in which our president proclaims that our economy is strong. The film follows a couple of people as they travel the city to and from work, reading the newspaper along the way, analyzing the evidence presented by the administration to support that assertion. But as they read these carefully worded arguments, they are ironically surrounded by a city of street vendors, scrap collectors, beggars and grifters. Juxtaposed against the optimistic proclamation is the reality of a society operating outside economic indicators.

The short ends with a scrap collector stepping on feces in the street, and then wiping it off the bottom of his sandals with the same newspaper that was telling him his life was improving.

Granted, it’s not the subtlest sentiment, but it’s certainly a valid one. Yet the MTRCB cried foul because it “undermines the faith and confidence of the people in their government.” The reasoning is actually pretty sound, though most people have rightly pointed out that there isn’t much faith or confidence to undermine in the first place. But the bigger problem is that the MTRCB is technically and legally in the right in this case.

The presidential decree that established the MTRCB was signed by Ferdinand Marcos in 1985. It was a decree for a time when freedom of expression wasn’t a high priority of the people running the government. Somehow, despite the revolution, the promise of a new start and a freer society, and the rewriting of the constitution, a law and an organization designed to limit the freedom of expression has survived.

The MTRCB is blatantly unconstitutional, existing from an error of law carried over from an era that we’ve tried to leave behind. It just hasn’t been challenged properly, with victims of censorship simply filing for motions for reconsideration within the same unconstitutional system. The real proper response would be litigation: taking the error of law to the highest court, where hopefully, common sense will dictate that the MTRCB shouldn’t exist in our free society.

Hilariously, while people will not be able to see Jeturian’s film in your nearest cinema, the MTRCB has weirdly allowed it to be shown on television. One suspects that this is because they are avoiding the very outcome described above, should they truly anger the giant corporation behind Ambisyon and the ANC. It is likely that the censors will survive this latest outrage, as they have before. But there’s simply no doubt that it’s time; we’ve let this rampant disregard of our freedoms and our constitution go on for far too long. Wipe it off, I say, and let’s go on with the business of being free.

The Ambisyon 2010 Shorts will screen weekly on Fridays at 6 p.m. on ANC.