Laguardia's wish list

MANILA, Philippines - Being chief of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) is like sitting on a smoldering volcano. Movie and TV producers are at your neck when you censor or suspend their projects. The public, on the other hand, will raise a ruckus if you turn a blind eye on dipping necklines or various states of undress.

MTRCB chair Ma. Consoliza Laguardia has walked this tightrope for six years — and survived.

“The hardest lesson I’ve learned is fairness in making decisions,” she looks back. But it didn’t bring her sleepless nights. Nor did it spark waves of protestors to her office, which by the way has moved to a new building along Timog Ave., Quezon City.

That’s because she consults her 32-member board every step of the way. Their counsel, therefore keeps her well-advised.

The other two lessons, Laguardia says, are patience and the knack of getting along or pakikisama.

Like all those who hold top positions, Laguardia has her share of detractors. Willie Revillame may not rejoice when he sees her, after Laguardia suspended his show, Wowowee for a wardrobe malfunction on air.

But she has earned friends — from producers (Regal Films matriarch Mother Lily Monteverde has promised to endorse for her retention in office), TV network executives and the showbiz press.

In fact, she jokingly says she might join the movies should president-elect Noynoy Aquino replace her. Kidding aside, Laguardia says that as a presidential appointee, she will abide by the new president’s decision about her board. She will stay on, if President Noynoy retains her. But if not, the former PNB (Philippine National Bank) executive says she might return to banking.

Laguardia is mum about talks that Mother Lily is being eyed to replace her. All she knows is that the Board has decided to give the first MTRCB Film Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award to the Regal Matriarch on Friday, June 25 at Convenarium, Basement 2, 77 Mother Ignacia Ave., Quezon City (the ceremony starts 6:30 p.m.).

Laguardia thinks her newest pet project is one of her big legacies as MTRCB chief.

“It was easy for us to make our choices because all of us have already viewed the films,” she says. The Board will choose the 10 awardees from films shown starting January 2009 to May 31, 2010. Up for grabs are awards for Best Picture in four categories: Drama, Comedy, Action and Fantasy, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director and Best Script.

But why another award-giving body in an industry neck-deep in such events?

“This one not only honors artistic excellence,” Laguardia notes. “It also pays tribute to social values.”

The social value aspect goes well with the Board’s thrust to use film to educate the young.

Laguardia proudly reports that her team invites college students to the MTRCB twice a week to watch films, free. Then students critique what they saw with the help of experts from MTRCB.

Elsewhere around the country, provincial agents join hands with the Manila-based staff to hold free film screenings in schools.

“These are the programs I would like to ask President Noynoy to retain,” Laguardia says. And it doesn’t matter to her if she’ll still be on top of these film literacy programs or not.

What’s important, Laguardia points out, is that the seeds have been sown. The next MTRCB chief will just continue them. And that’s not as hard as going through the birthpains of starting a project from scratch the way Laguardia did.

As reward for all the hard work, Laguardia has one request for the incoming leadership.

“Can we have an elevator in the four-storey MTRCB building?”

The cost of one elevator, she found out, is too much for the budget to cover.

After Sen. Bong Revilla and wife Lani Mercado, who helped fund the new MTRCB building, who will come to the rescue this time?