The Movie and Television Review Classification Board (MTRCB) said on Friday that it expects a 40 percent decline in its revenues due to the government's shutdown of the ABS-CBN Corporation and the impact of the pandemic to the entertainment industry.

During the Senate finance subcommittee's deliberation of the MTRCB's proposed 2021 budget, Senator Grace Poe inquired about the effect of the closing down of ABS-CBN on the agency's income this year.

"It would be about 40 percent, Madame Chair," MTRCB chair Rachel Arenas responded.

"So 40 percent ng income ninyo actually galing sa (of your income actually comes from) ABS-CBN?" Poe clarified.

"Yes, and also because of the pandemic now. Yes, mas kaunti po 'yong nagpapa review even 'yong sa mga movies and networks mas kaunti 'yong pinapa-review nila, so talagang mababa po 'yong aming income this year (applications for review were much fewer from movies and the television networks, so our income this year would really be lower)," Arenas said.

In their presentation to the Senate panel, MTRCB executive director Ann Marie Nemenzo said the regulatory agency remitted to the national government P136.76 million in revenue collection in 2019.

Their earnings "dropped significantly" to about P59.24 million as of August this year.

"This was because there was (a) slow (pace of) transactions with regard to the movie and TV industry," said Nemenzo.

Of their 2019 earnings, P22.747 million came from applications from the various channels of ABS-CBN Corporation. In 2020, the MTRCB collected only P7.4 million from the broadcast network.

The amounts did not include their income from applications of Star Cinema, ABS-CBN's film production firm.

Echoing Arenas, Nemenzo noted a "big decline" of materials submitted to the MTRCB for review this year, to 137,754 as of August 2020, from the 328,039 submitted in 2019.

From January to September 28, 2020,they have reviewed 149 films, of which 67 are local. Meanwhile, 73,123 local television programs were sent to MTRCB for review.

In May, the National Telecommunications Commission stopped the operations of ABS-CBN amid after the expiry of its franchise even before the House of Representatives could finish its review and deliberations on its application for the franchise renewal.

The House of Representatives, after years of sitting on the network's franchise renewal application, eventually rejected its franchise bid, citing ABS-CBN's alleged violations.

The MTRCB is requesting a budget of P105.931 million for 2021.