“Alipato at Muog” director (center) JL Burgos while filming the documentary. Image: Courtesy of Cinemalaya
Jose Luis “JL” Burgos, director of the documentary “Alipato at Muog,” filed a letter of appeal before the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) on Tuesday, August 27, in hopes of urging the government agency to reconsider its “X” rating.
The appeal comes after the documentary, which revolves around the abduction of the director’s brother, activist Jonas Burgos, was given an “X” rating by the government agency.
This led to the filmmaker taking his appeal for a second review before the MTRCB headquarters in Quezon City, as seen on his and the documentary’s Facebook pages. He was accompanied by “Alipato at Muog” producer Mona Nieva to MTRCB, per reports.
“We just filed our appeal for 2nd review today. Shout out [to] Dean Tony La Viña! Eyyyy din sa mga friends sa [National Union of People’s Lawyers],” he said in his post.
In separate posts, Burgos disclosed the concerns raised by the government agency which served as the basis for the documentary’s rating. “The case is still ongoing. One of the reviewers even went out of his way to call his contacts in the Court of Appeals to ask about the case if there is still an ongoing case.”
“His contact said the case is still ongoing… reviewers also said that we should have included the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals decisions in the documentary for fairness,” he continued. “The reviewers also cited this clause in the MTRCB blue book: “Those which may constitute ‘contempt of court’ or contempt of any quasi-judicial tribunal or those that pertain to matters which are sub-judice in nature.”
As a result, Burgos said an “affidavit and several copies” of the court rulings were included in the appeal.
The filmmaker also shared that one of the reasons cited by the MTRCB in its rating was that the chants and voiceovers included in the documentary were seemingly “leftist” in nature.
“At the last part of the movie, where chants and voice over were heard to continue to fight for justice and fight for the disappeared, parang leftists daw ang dating. Pwede naman daw sabihin ipaglaban pero ipapalabas daw ito sa mas marami, sa kanilang mandato bawal daw ito,” he said.
(In the last part of the movie, where chants and voiceovers were heard to continue to fight for justice and fight for the disappeared, we were accused of being leftists. We can fight for his abduction, but the documentary will be shown to more people. This is not allowed based on their mandate.)
Screenshots from Facebook/Alipato at Muog
The MTRCB has yet to issue a statement addressing Burgos’ filing, as of press time.
The documentary previously received a “PG (or parental guidance)” rating when it was announced as one of the entries of the recently concluded Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival in August.