2 publishers cited for support in fight vs pornography

Two newspaper publishers have vowed to support the metro-wide campaign of the Metro Manila police against the proliferation of pornographic materials, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Ricardo de Leon said yesterday.

De Leon said the war against smut launched by the NCRPO through its specialized operating arm, Task Force Magdalena, has effectively reduced the number of lewd CDs and print materials in Metro streets.

In support of the NCRPO’s action, Inglewood Corporation, which publishes the tabloids Saksi Ngayon, Bomba, Swabe and Hataw, has reformatted its contents, particularly the display of bold pictures, and has started to exercise caution in exposing body parts of women, De Leon said.

Sunny Publications, which publishes Balitang Toro, had likewise undertaken a similar move.

In a letter to De Leon, dated April 19, Sunny Publications gave assurance that they are "reinventing itself to be more in tune with the respected newspaper in the market today."

"If you will check out our newspaper, most of the photos exposing our models’ private parts has been replaced with more respectable photos," the letter said assuring the NCRPO chief that they will "not turn our back to our old ways again."

De Leon expressed gratitude for their extensive support to the NCRPO’s anti-smut drive. He warned though that should the two publications revert to their old formats, the Metro Manila police will implement the provisions of the law against them.

Meanwhile, the anti-piracy drive of the NCRPO has resulted to the seizure of P3.6 million worth of VCDs and DVDs in a series of raids in the metropolis.

Combined teams from the Regional Special Action Unit (RSAU) and the Videogram Regulatory Board (VRB) confiscated some 423 sacks of pirated VCDs and DVDs in Manila, Muntinlupa City and Parañaque City.