Poe, Drilon oppose MTRCB’s proposal to regulate Netflix, other streaming platforms

At least two senators on Friday expressed opposition to the proposal of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to regulate the content of video on demand platforms such as Netflix.

Senator Grace Poe, a former chairperson of the MTRCB, said she finds it “counterproductive and ridiculous.”

"The MTRCB’s main role is to classify and in it’s mandate, at some point, it should give way to self-regulation,” Poe said in a message.

“As it is, there isn’t enough manpower or even resources to view or evaluate every single program on cable,” she added.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon also thinks it is impractical given the avalanche of movies and shows in these platforms.

“There are thousands of shows on Netflix alone – how will MTRCB review each one? Can the MTRCB review every single content that can be accessed through the internet? What will they do about virtual private networks that allow users to access content from other countries? If they insist on it, then taxpayers will be paying MTRCB only to stream movies and shows 24/7, 365 days,” he said in a statement.

Drilon also mentioned that the MTRCB was created during the martial law period as a tool for censorship.

“It is unfortunate that MTRCB has not been able to evolve and rise above its martial law origins inclined towards censorship and has not been a driver of self-regulation in the industry,” Drilon said.

“It should focus its efforts on being an instrument to improve the quality of content being produced, instead of being a tool for censorship,” he added.

Drilon said Netflix already has a sufficient rating system and mechanisms for protection of young viewers.

“If the platform is able to effectively self-regulate and has installed features through which access, particularly by certain age groups can be limited, then there is no role left for the MTRCB to play”, he said.

On the other hand, MTRCB chairperson Rachel Arenas said the agency is no longer a “censoring board” and has already adapted to the changing times.

She clarified that what the MTRCB proposes is for the managers of the platform to align their motion picture ratings and classifications to the contemporary values of Filipino viewers.

"Based on our guidelines, you classify, you give your ratings aligned with our rating and then we'll just do post-monitoring," Arenas said.

"It will be a post-monitoring. We're not going to review all their materials before they show it... When we do monitoring and then their classification is not aligned with us, that's the time we're going to call on them," she added.

Arenas further said the MTRCB would just like to strengthen the community standards and would be open to the suggestions of the stakeholders.

On Thursday, MTRCB Legal Affairs Division chief Atty. Jonathan Presquito told senators that the agency, by law, has jurisdiction to review and regulate the movies and shows being offered at various video on demand platforms.—AOL, GMA News