Government to crack down on sex, violence on TV

MTRCB chairperson Grace Poe Llamanzares. file photo

Government censors will be implementing a “TV violence rating code” to get television networks to tone down graphic scenes of sex and violence in the news and other programs, while setting aside 15 percent of their airtime for “child-friendly” programming.

The Department of Education’s (DepEd) National Council for Children’s Television (NCCT) and the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) on Tuesday released the implementing rules and regulations of the Children’s Television Act, a 1997 law promoting child-friendly television programming.

MTRCB chairperson Grace Poe Llamanzares expressed alarm that children, who watch an average of 21 hours of TV per week, are exposed to up to 18,000 scenes of simulated murder by the time they turn 18.  That is equivalent to 1,000 scenes per year or up to three scenes per day.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro, who led Tuesday’s launch, said the controversial child viewing safety law will finally be enforced after more than a decade.

“The key is that during the times when children are known to be watching, programming is regulated in terms of language, themes…That’s part of the implementing rules,” Luistro said.

The children’s TV law would set a “TV violence rating code” in coordination with the MTRCB. Under this clause, the NCCT “shall prescribe an appropriate set of criteria for evaluating programs that take into consideration the sensibilities of children” in order to establish a rating system for content that includes sex, violence and other abuses on children.

The law also encourages TV networks to produce quality programs that “in addition to being entertaining, should allow children to develop physically, mentally and socially to their fullest potential.”

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation are expected to give P30 million each to build the endowment fund.