House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano warned the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board today that its plan to regulate the video content in streaming platforms like Netflix might affect approval of its proposed budget for 2021.
Speaking at the launching of the congressional hearings for the proposed P4.506-trillion 2021 national budget, Cayetano said there are more issues the MTRCB can prioritize rather than tinkering with the content of Netflix and other digital streaming platform providers.
This was the second time Cayetano talked about the MTRCB plan to regulate the budding streaming platform industry.
In a Facebook post, Cayetano chided the censors body, saying that the move to regulate Netflix and similar digital streaming platform providers is “puzzling.”
“This is the kind of bureaucratic thinking that gives government workers a bad name,” Cayetano said.
Appearing in a Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship hearing, MTRCB chief legal officer Jonathan Presquito explained that Netflix, Iflix, and the like fall under the jurisdiction for review mandated by law to the board.
Presquito pointed out that “motion picture” materials, regardless of the manner of exhibition and distribution, must be regulated by the MTRCB.
“Streaming services like Netflix are video-on-demand platforms and we have to regulate those platforms. We have to ensure that those materials being shown on those platforms are compliant with the MTRCB law,” he said.
Cayetano said MTRCB officials will be asked about its plan when they appear before the House to defend their budget.
“Congress will give them (MTRCB) a chance to explain how they came up with this ridiculous idea,” the House leader said.
Cayetano said if the MTRCB wants to be relevant at this time, it should think of ways to improve the industry it is involved in. He pointed out that the Philippines has been trailing its Asian neighbors when it comes to the film industry.
According to Cayetano, the country’s film industry is in dismal condition “despite the fact that there are so many talented Filipino actors, directors, writers, and creative and production professionals.”
Ang irony pa dito (The irony here is that), while Congress and other government agencies are doing everything they can to open up lines of communication with the public, and increase transparency, MTRCB is focused on the outdated mindset of information regulation and censorship,” Cayetano said.