MTRCB lifts ban on Erap bio-flick

The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) appeals committee agreed yesterday to lift a ban on a biographical film about deposed President Joseph Estrada if certain changes were made.

But Estrada’s lawyer said the proposed alterations, which include removing the portions challenging the legality of Estrada’s ouster, were not acceptable.

"These conditions make the showing impossible to be done," Rufus Rodriguez said in a television interview, adding that Estrada would not allow "any change in what he perceives to be his real life story."

The film, "Ang Mabuhay Para sa Masa (To Live for the Masses)," traces Estrada’s career from movie star to small-town mayor to Philippine president elected by a landslide in 1998, ending with his ouster in the face of corruption charges.

Estrada was replaced by his vice president, current President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whose government banned the film over fears it could lead to instability.

It contends that the powerful Philippine Catholic church conspired with big business to topple Estrada illegally.

The film censors board initially refused to allow the video to be broadcast on television, saying it was libelous and contained false information.

However, the MTRCB said it would now allow its broadcast if certain portions were removed and "some kind of balancing factor featuring the replies of the persons defamed or libeled" were added.

The board also said the video could also be aired intact after the resolution of graft charges against Estrada.

The appeals committee is headed by Secretary Cecile Guidote Alvarez of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts; Press Undersecretary Robert Rivera; Commissioner Michael Francis Acebedo Lopez of the National Youth Commission; Ric Camaligan of the SM Leisure Group, and Dody Lacuna, Public Affairs Manager of RPN-9. — AFP, Paolo Romero