MTRCB on ‘It’s Showtime’: Contractualization of workers separate issue from program’s suspension

MANILA, Philippines – The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), in a statement released on Sunday, October 1, pointed out that contractualization woes within It’s Showtime are an issue separate from the program’s recent suspension but certainly and “more pressing” one.

“The suspension…underscores the broader and more pressing matter of contractualization within the entertainment industry,” the board’s statement read.

“The practice by the Producer, or Management, to not regularize their employees, even when a show has been airing live for six days a week, for over a decade, highlights a much bigger problem than the show’s 12-airing-day suspension,” it added.

On September 4, the MTRCB suspended ABS-CBN’s noontime show for 12 airing days over its July 25, 2023 episode, in which hosts Vice Ganda and Ion Perez were alleged to have performed “indecent acts” on camera. ABS-CBN then filed a motion for reconsideration (MR), but it was denied on September 28.

MTRCB’s latest statement is an apparent response to Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.’s suggestion that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. take the plight of It’s Showtime’s workers into consideration. Revilla said he believes that ABS-CBN, given the denial of the MR, will soon be submitting an appeal to the President regarding the suspension.

“Sila ‘yung mga ‘no work-no pay’ na kung matutuloy ang suspension ay dalawang linggong walang kikitain at walang kakainin, lalo pa at kabubukas lang ng klase, paano na ‘yung mga batang nag-aaral na umaasa lamang sa magulang na empleyado ng naturang show?” said Revilla.

(These workers are under the no work-no pay scheme, and should the suspension push through, they won’t be able to make a living for two weeks. What will happen to the children of the show’s employees, especially now that classes have started?)

The MTRCB said the suspension and the “no work-no pay” issue were “two separate and distinct matters.”

“We believe that the inability of the management to provide regular employment should not impinge on the duty of the MTRCB to uphold its mandate in ensuring the ethical compliance of broadcasting content by any production company or television network pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 1986,” the MTRCB stressed.

“It remains the prerogative of the Producer/Management to suspend/sanction erring host/s as they deem fit, which has been the practice of other noontime shows, as hosts are beyond the jurisdiction of the MTRCB,” it added. – Rappler.com