The Philippines' own First Amendment–Article III, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution makes inviolable our right to freedom of speech and expression. Stating “No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances,” the Constitution provides us a guarantee of that sacred right. Albeit this right is not absolute and boundless. 

The jurisprudence recognized worldwide holds that freedom of speech can be abridged when exercised in a way that presents an imminent threat to public order and national security, such as releasing classified government intelligence or convincing a group of psychotic people to set fire to the local munisipyo. Freedoms of speech and press do not permit a State to forbid advocacy of the use of force or of law violation except where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action. (Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444, 1969). Philippine jurisprudence expands upon this prerogative, giving the state the mandate to censor and regulate content broadcasted nationwide, all for the public interest, of course. 

Ever heard of the MTRCB? Even if you haven’t, I’m sure everyone has seen their work multiple times before every TV show. Created by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1986, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) “shall be responsible for the review, classification, and regulation of all films, television programs, and other audiovisual materials for public exhibition and/or broadcast.". There is no such equivalent entity in the US government–at least at the Federal level–as American jurisprudence offers much more latitude to the first amendment. Instead, they have private entities that rate and categorize such paraphernalia.

I would contend de lege ferenda, Presidential Decree No. 1986–by extension, the MTRCB should be dissolved in favor of private rating entities, as it is a direct infringement on the freedom of speech outlined in the constitution. The intention is noble, but so easily can our liberties be taken away by such outlets under the pretense of public welfare, which is so bitterly reminiscent of the martial law era. 

In a Senate hearing held by the Committee on Finance, chaired by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, a film was brought up for being X-rated. The film was called “Dear Satan”, which, according to Director Joey Reyes, is about a little girl who mistakenly wrote to Satan instead of Santa, who was humanized by the little girl in the process. 

MTRCB Chairperson Lala Sotto manifested, “I am offended as a Christian.” She added that the film depicts Satan as being good. This somehow merits censorship from public showing. 

The personal beliefs of a public official should not supersede the mandate given to them by the people. The Constitution explicitly forbids the government from respecting or prohibiting religion and religious practice; the powers of government should not be wielded to enforce conformity with one’s views and personal religious agenda. In addition, the premise of the “Dear Satan” film is objectively family-friendly, with good ultimately triumphant over evil, just with the caveat of “Satan being depicted as good”.  

In a more troubling case, the Special Jury Prize-winning film Alipato at Muog–about activist Jonas Burgos, who was abducted by suspected military personnel in 2007–was given an X rating and disallowed from public airing by the MTRCB for “undermining the faith and confidence of the people in their government”. As UP Cinema aptly put it, “the board’s decision [does not] inspire faith and confidence that the Philippines is a country where freedom of expression and people’s right to know is more important than the state’s self-image.” It was only after weeks of protest and appeal of director–and brother of Jonas Burgos–JL Burgos to the MTRCB was it reclassified as R-16. 

A docu-film–meant to recount the real-life disappearance of an activist by suspected state assets–being interdicted by the government from public showing should alarm those of us who love liberty. When the truth undermines the people’s faith in the government, the former should always prevail. Consequently, when a handful of people have the power to censor, the same will not prevail. It seems the MTRCB is already down that path of tyranny, having that much latitude to grossly infringe on our constitutional rights, sets a sordid precedent that could pave the way for Goebbelist censorship.