5,000 MTRCB deputies sleeping on job – COA

MANILA, Philippines - Some 5,000 deputies of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) have not been doing their jobs, the Commission on Audit (COA) said.

State auditors, in a 2014 report released recently, said very few deputies have been submitting reports, as required by the agency’s rules.

The term “MTRCB deputies” refer to individuals granted authority to visit cinemas or theaters to check if regulations like ratings restrictions and other laws are being observed.

One of the perks enjoyed by deputies is being allowed to watch movies for free as they exercise their duties and responsibilities.

Based on the implementing rules and regulations of the law that created the MTRCB, deputies are obliged to give reports of their activities at least twice a month.

State auditors, however, observed that in 2014, said the MTRCB did not strictly monitor and enforce the submission of reports. Only .64 to .96 percent of the agency’s approximately 5,000 deputies submitted reports last year, the COA said.

The COA report said the MTRCB also failed to analyze the reports, summarizing them only to determine the number of inspections carried out.

“There was no analysis made as regards the violations noted, age bracket, sector to which the reporter belongs, frequency of reporting, among others. We also noted that there were no concrete steps undertaken to compel the board deputies to submit the required reports and that there was no penalty imposed upon default,” state auditors stressed.

The audit team said if the reports are not analyzed, “then the usefulness of deputy reporting is not maximized.”

The COA called on the MTRCB to address the issue by developing and instituting policies and procedures on the monitoring and review of the reporting responsibilities of its deputies and apply sanctions if they are warranted.