DESPITE strong opposition from various entities in the film industry, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) has said that they will “respectfully defer to the wisdom of lawmakers” on the matter of expanding the board’s mandate to include streaming platforms in its regulatory powers.

Sponsored by actor-turned-politician Robinhood C. Padilla, Senate Bill No. 2805 was approved on June 2, with the goal to “further protect viewers, particularly youth, while ensuring creative expression in the fields of television and film.”

Mr. Padilla further explained on his Facebook page that the proposed amendment is not “a fight against the arts and filmmakers.”

“This bill aims to protect families, the youth, and our culture. Let us not separate the arts from society. When there is proper discipline and guidance, art will be more powerful,” he said.

Streaming platforms in the Philippines that will fall under the law include Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, and Prime Video, among others.

CONGRESS UP NEXT
The MTRCB has noted that the bill has yet to pass at the House of Representatives, where it will be “subjected to deliberations and further discussions.”

“The amendments seek to establish appropriate mechanisms for cooperation with online streaming platforms and online curated content providers (OCCs) and streaming videos on-demand (SVOD),” the board said.

Their statement highlighted the “creation of structured feedback mechanisms and accountability,” with the protection of children as top priority.

“The measure seeks to ensure that the State is not left helpless in addressing valid concerns and issues such as harmful online contents, particularly materials involving child abuse, exploitation, or voyeurism,” MTRCB explained.

As is, even without the additional burden of reviewing the offerings of streaming services, the MTRCB classifies thousands of movies, TV shows, and other materials each month. On June 6 it released a report on its activities in May, stating that it had “rated and classified 10,534 materials during the month of May 2025.” It went on to say that these included 9,740 television programs, 47 local and foreign films, 610 TV and movie trailers, and 137 optical media and publicity materials.

MTRCB Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Lala Sotto-Antonio was quoted as saying, “The volume of classified materials is not just a number — it represents our commitment to protect Filipino viewers, especially children, from harmful or age-inappropriate content.”

BACKLASH
For film industry entities such as the Directors’ Guild of the Philippines, Inc. (DGPI), the Filipino Screenwriters Guild, and Aktor PH, the Senate bill will be a form of censorship.

“In its Declaration of Policy, the proposed law deletes the current law’s intentions for self-regulation of the film/TV industries and converts the MTRCB into a parens patriae (parent of the country), concentrating instead on its self-anointed role as guardian of public morals,” said the DGPI in a statement released on June 5.

They added that this is “a narrow reading of the State’s protective function, as it serves only those who find it convenient to yield their parental guardian duties to the MTRCB.”

Aktor PH, the League of Filipino Actors, said that all stakeholders must be involved with “any legislation that impacts freedom of expression, artistic integrity, and livelihood.”

“We believe in a self-regulating industry, where accountability is upheld from within, and reforms are made in genuine partnership with the community,” it explained.

For the Filipino Screenwriters Guild, the bill only claims to protect viewers on the surface. “What it really does is give the MTRCB more power to censor. More rules to strangle creativity. More control over which stories get told — and which get silenced,” their statement said.

Other cultural and film-related institutions that issued similar statements were: the University of the Philippines Film Institute, the Concerned Artists of the Philippines, the Philippine Independent Producers Guild, Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, the Guild of Assistant Directors and Script Supervisors of the Philippines, and SIKAP – Creative Content Creators Association of the Philippines. — Brontë H. Lacsamana