MTRCB chair Lala Sotto and “It’s Showtime” hosts. Image: screengrab from YouTube/Cristy Ferminute, Instagram/@praybeytbenjamin
The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) on Tuesday distanced itself from “It’s Showtime” and ABS-CBN’s labor issues amid the 12-day suspension of the noontime show, saying the board’s ruling is a “separate and distinct matter” from the management’s “inability to provide regular employment” to its workers.
In a statement released on Sunday, Oct. 1, the MTRCB addressed Sen. Bong Revilla’s appeal to for the board to consider the plight of no work-no pay workers who will be affected by “It’s Showtime’s” suspension.
“The decision of MTRCB to suspend ‘It’s Showtime’ and the ‘no work, no pay’ issue are two separate and distinct matters. The suspension, in fact, underscores the broader and more pressing matter of contractualization within the entertainment industry,” it read. “The issue deserves sincere attention from the producer.”
“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 continued.
The regulatory board further noted that while it “empathizes” with the noontime show employees, the MTRCB should remain firm in upholding its mandate.
“We sincerely empathize with the hardworking individuals who will be affected once the suspension takes effect. However, 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,” it further said.
“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,” the statement concluded.
MTRCB earlier denied the motion for reconsideration filed by the production team of “It’s Showtime” and GMA. The case against the noontime show stemmed from its hosts Vice Ganda and Ion Perez’s alleged “indecent” and “inappropriate” acts during its July 25 episode. EDV