Court of Appeals stops suspension of Tulfos' show

MANILA, Philippines - The Court of Appeals (CA) yesterday stopped the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) from imposing the three-month suspension order it issued against the program of the Tulfo brothers in TV5 for threatening and cursing celebrity couple Raymart Santiago and Claudine Barretto on air.

The sixth division of the appellate court granted the petition of TV5 and issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the MTRCB’s suspension of “T3 Kapatid Sagot Kita.”

The CA cited “significant consequences on the freedom of the press and of expression, resulting in irreparable injury to petitioner and the public” as ground for issuing the order.

“In granting the TRO, this Court is mindful of the content and context of the subject utterances made by the hosts of T3. Thus, we would not be remiss in stating that the TRO is to merely restrain the immediate and continuous execution of the suspension until the end of the three-month period imposed by the MTRCB while this Court proceeds to hear the case,” the CA explained.

“The TRO is by no means a final determination of the merits of the case, nor a pronouncement of the rights of the parties. It merely preserves the status quo until this Court has heard both sides and has made a thorough scrutiny of the evidence and arguments of both parties,” it added.

Associate Justices Rosmari Carandang, Ricardo Rosario and Danton Bueser signed the TRO, which takes effect for 60 days upon posting of a P100,000 bond.

The MTRCB was given 15 days to answer the petition and explain why the TRO should be lifted.

TV5 sought relief from the CA after the MTRCB suspended the show on May 30 following a probe on the threatening comments uttered by hosts Raffy, Ben and Erwin Tulfo against Santiago and Barreto, who figured in a brawl with their eldest brother Ramon at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last May 13.