Doing right by children

I’m constantly amazed at how earnest activism has taken hold of the MTRCB or Movie and Television Ratings & Classification Board under the helm of Chair Grace Poe Llamanzares.

This is no attempt at polishing any apples. I’ve been with the board for over 10 years now, first gaining board membership in the last months of the Estrada administration, when then chair Armida Siguion-Reyna surprisingly asked me to accept the appointment. That was in late 2010. And I had enough time to appreciate the kind of strong leadership that “Tita Midz” exercised in her last months.

When the lady known as GMA took over, I became one of several survivors as Board Members or BMs. That was due to previous work done for the new president when she was still Veep, in fact in occasional coordination with her then chief of staff, Atty. Renato Corona.

But the appointment of Nick Tiongson as MTRCB Chair, which was seen as an ideal choice, ran into misfortune over a controversial film that had gained Board approval but also raised the hackles of the conservative sector. Nick rightfully stood his ground, and resigned his position.

Anding Roces, who would later be named a National Artist for Literature, took over as chair. While he was a kind, pleasant, in fact gregarious man, his term may be said to have been marked by unpleasant memories, such as of the murder of BM Nida Blanca, a crime that was associated with the building where the MTRCB had occupied two floors. And subsequently, acrimony over what turned out to be a poor choice for transfer — to another building whose owner saw fit to even cut our office’s power owing to a late check. 

The next appointment as chair should not even be named here, as the lady has gone on to the great beyond. But her term featured acrimonious protest from the staff over various issues, some born of outright pettiness on the part of the powers-that-be.

Thankfully, she was soon replaced by chair Marissa LaGuardia, whom I must say had it in her humble nature to appease most sectors our board had relations with, from movie folk to entertainment reporters to broadcast media owners. Personally, I found her very likable. Yet she could not help stem a division in the ranks, even within the board, with some BMs openly refusing to socialize with her. It didn’t help that she appeared to be overly influenced by a few BMs within her private circle. Most of the staff also protested the way their union president got it the neck during chair LaGuardia’s term.

To her credit, we owe Ma’am Marissa LaGuardia our own building now on Timog Avenue — the result of her efforts during her long term. And certainly it saves government all that money that used to go to rentals.

Came PNoy and current chair Mary Grace, who has, for starters, the pedigree that the showbiz industry respects. That this daughter of “The King” also dispenses a clear-sighted vision, fine articulation and obvious smarts, beyond her gracious, classy personality, has moved the MTRCB to an entirely new level. She has obviously been well brought up and well educated, in Boston at that. Her administrative skills have come to the fore, albeit I am one of those who sometimes joke that our former functions as reviewers and raters seem to have doubled or trebled, what with all the committee work we have been urged to conduct.     

But now I see the wisdom of such a proactive attitude with regards our work. The latest manifestation of far-reaching brainstorming has been the “First MTRCB First Child Summit: Laying the Groundwork on the Role of Mass Media in Child Protection,” held last Wednesday, April 25, at the Social Hall of Mabini Building in Malacañang.

Let us hear from MTRCB Child Protection Committee Chairman Atty. Eric F. Mallonga, who delivered the most salient and impassioned remarks during the summit:

“The joint effort to do right by our children has become even more imperative during these times when children have become obvious and easy targets for exploitation. In many instances, they have, in fact, been transformed into virtual circus or carnival spectacles, objects of hilarity and national embarrassments despite their emotional vulnerabilities and immaturity. The need for vigilance is urgent, given that unrestrained and untrammelled news coverage and public affairs programs may, as they sometimes have, demonized tender-aged, impoverished children as criminals, vagrants, prostitutes, addicts, or mendicants. 

“Greater sensitivity must be displayed and cultivated in light of blatant stereotyping of children in media, and derogatory presentations heard and watched in movies and TV that stigmatize and brand them as illegitimate, ‘anak sa labas’, ‘baklita’, juvenile delinquents, ‘ampon’, ‘sampid’, ‘sanggano’, ‘bastardo’, ‘mangmang’, ‘addict’, and the list goes on and on with so many more demeaning, unfair labels attributable to accidents of birth and not to any behavioral fault or social condition for which they should never be blamed.

“… We hope that trust funds, working hours, and continuing education for children employed in artistic entertainment and media are properly implemented to assure their normal development as educated or knowledgeable persons. We hope that parents are sufficiently empowered to supervise and guide their children in their TV viewing hours with innovations that MTRCB has introduced through the classification system that now mandates Strong or Strict Parental Guidance in our advisories to the TV audience. We trust industry executives share our concern about the need to ensure that studio environments are safe, secure and free from deleterious influences, with proper waiting areas and provisions for privacy and comfort of children participating in program auditions, in variety show contests, in game show competitions, or studio guestings.

“… Under the administration of Chairman Grace Poe Llamanzares, the MTRCB shall continue fostering cultural cooperation and amicable dialogue with families, communities, and the cinema and TV industry in achieving a truly viable and progressive media for social communications.

“… At the end of the day, the development of the rights of children in media shall not just be derived from the mere intuition, logical impulse, or the operation of natural reason of those of us who struggle in the advocacy for the protection of children and their rights, but from a shared, collective idea, articulated by all stakeholders gathered here today, of what it is to be human, or in this Children’s Summit, of what it is to be a young human in the industry of media.”

Sixteen broadcasting corporations and entities sent their reps to the summit: ABS-CBN Corporation (ABS-CBN), Associated Broadcasting Corporation (TV5), Breakthrough and Milestones Productions International (UNTV-BMPI), Eagle Broadcasting Corporation (EBC), Gateway UHF Television Broadcasting, Inc. (GUTBI), GMA Network, Inc. (GMA), Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC 13), Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), Progressive Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), Radio Philippines Network, Inc. (RPN 9), Rajah Broadcasting Network, Inc. (RJTV 29), Solar Entertainment Corporation, Studio 23, Inc., Swara Sug Media Corporation (Sonshine TV), Television and Production Exponents, Inc. (Tape, Inc.), and Zoe Broadcasting Network, Inc. (ZOE).

BMs Gladys Reyes, Eugenio Villareal and Leah Navarro served as program hosts, with the invocation rendered by MTRCB Vice Chairperson Emmanuel H. Borlaza and the opening remarks given by the MTRCB Chair. Child violinist Julian L. Duque offered special musical numbers.

Other speakers included DSWD Usec. Parisya Taradji, DEP-ED Usec. Alberto T. Muyot, DOLE Usec. Lourdes M. Trasmonte, and Council for Welfare of Children executive director Brenda Vigo. The program also included presentations on child protection measures by the Big Three of the broadcast industry — GMA-7, ABS-CBN, and TV 5 — as well as a presentation on child development by the notable expert Dr. Lourdes Carandang.

A panel discussion moderated by Anthony Taberna included former child stars Roderick Paulate, Nino Muhlach, Rayver Cruz, Sheryl Cruz, Aiza Seguerra and Robi Domingo.

The summit climaxed with the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the MTRCB and the participants in the cause of doing right by children, whether they’re of showbiz themselves, or serve as much of the audience.

Here I quote from the remarks of CWC executive director Brenda Vigo, who further proposed the creation of a Consultative Group on Mass Media and Child Protection with MTRCB serving as secretariat:

“The CWC sees this MTRCB effort as vital to the widening of alliances and of establishing common grounds among all stakeholders towards common goals for children — a kind of public-private partnership for children

“… A child-friendly Filipino mass media makes for a child-friendly Philippines. A child-friendly Philippines makes for an intelligent and strong audience for our mass media, and vice versa.”