MTRCB ‘commits’ to ban screening of Gerard Butler film ‘Plane’ in PH

MANILA, Philippines – The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) has “committed” to ban the screening of the film Plane after Senator Robin Padilla sought to block it due to its supposed bad portrayal of the Philippines.

According to Padilla’s office, the senator met with MTRCB officials, including Chairperson Lala Sotto, on Friday, February 17. It was then that they “promised” the senator that the agency would not allow the film to be shown in the Philippines.

According to Padilla in an interview with DWIZ, the MTRCB said they had already spoken to the film’s distributor, and now they want to reach out to the producers of the film.

Plane, starring Gerald Butler, tells the story of a pilot who faces a violent rebel group after he emergency lands his plane in Jolo, Sulu. It screened in US cinemas in January.

In a manifestation at the Senate on Wednesday, February 15, Padilla, a former action star, condemned the film, saying that it portrayed Philippine authorities as being afraid of rebels and that Jolo has been overrun by militia with no army presence anymore.

Padilla earned the support of Senate President Miguel Zubiri, who said “as a nation, we should send our regrets that this is not the real situation on the ground.”

Jolo is a base of the Abu Sayyaf Group. However, in 2022, the Philippine military reported that the threats from extremist groups in Sulu have gone down. In January, a leader and 20 members of the Abu Sayyaf surrendered to the military. – Rappler.com