The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) on Friday, October 2, said it had no plans to regulate online streaming sites such as Netflix but urged them to “adopt” the Philippine rating system for movies and television.

During the budget hearing, MTRCB chairperson Rachel Arenas said that the regulatory board has been talking with the streaming platforms 

“They are the ones who are asking what law that they should follow, “ she said. “But I told them at that time that we will make first our guidelines.”

“Ang hinihiling lang naman namin sa kanila before was to adopt to our ratings. We’re not going to review all that’s video on demand. We are going to do a co-regulation,” Arenas said.

(What we were asking from them was to adopt our ratings.)

Arenas said that the board was still drafting the guidelines. 

The MTRCB has 7 classification ratings for television and movies based on the appropriateness of the content.

Senator Grace Poe, who was a former MTRCB chair, said that all films and shows on streaming providers have been inspected from the country of origin. However, she did say that it may be time to amend a provision on the MTRCB law.

“We really need to move towards self-regulation na hindi na kailangan ng (that does not need) review but maybe one of the things we can do is amend the law of the MTRCB so that we can clarify the online content kasi it’s really a gray area,” Poe said.

MTRCb drew criticism last month when Jonathan Presquito, the MTRCB’s legal affairs chief, said that shows in streaming platforms should be reviewed and regulated by the agency.

But the proposal was met with resistance from both lawmakers and members of the entertainment industry. Senator Franklin Drilon called it “impractical” while House Speaker Alan Cayetano said the MTRCB has limited mandates.

The Directors Guild of the Philippines also opposed the move, saying it would discourage the acquisition of local content and might hurt the industry. – Rappler.com