Inanunsiyo ni Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) Chairperson na si Lala Sotto na boluntaryo nang pinu-pull out ng distributor ng Hollywood movie na Plane ang pelikula sa Pilipinas.
Ito'y matapos kuwestiyunin sa Senado, partikular na si Senator Robinhood “Robin” Padilla, ang pagpapalabas ng mga ganitong klase ng pelikula na nakakasira raw sa imahe ng bansa.
Noong February 15, 2023, iminungkahi ni Padilla kay Senate President Miguel Zubiri at sa MTRCB na ipatigil ang pagpapalabas ng Plane sa Pilipinas.
Ang Plane ay kuwento ng isang eroplanong nag-crash sa Jolo, Sulu, kung saan hinostage ng mga terorista sa lugar ang mga piloto at sakay nito.
Pinagbibidahan ito ng Hollywood star na si Gerald Butler.
Giit ni Padilla, napasama raw ang imahe ng Pilipinas sa kuwento nito at isang malaking kasiraan sa bansa kung hahayaan itong maipalabas.
Read: Senator Robinhood Padilla wants to ban Hollywood movie Plane in the Philippines
Saad niya sa ginanap na pagdinig sa Senado ngayong Huwebes, February 23, 2023, “Yun pong sinasabi diyan sa sinasabing fiction, alam niyo mga kapatid, kung kayo nakakapalakpak kayo, pero kami sa mga Muslim, hindi kami kailanman papalakpak.
“Fiction sa inyo yan, pero tumatama sa amin yon.
“Jolo [Sulu] is not fiction, Philippines is not fiction.
“Lugar namin yon. Maaaring sa inyo okay, pero sa amin mananatili yung posisyon namin na nasaktan kami dito.
“The Muslims will never accept that this movie is fiction.
“Maybe for you, [but] for us, no. Because terrorism is never part of our religions."
Sa pahayag si MTRCB Chairman Sotto sa media nitong Huwebes, February 23, sinabi niyang nakatanggap na sila ng sulat mula sa distributor ng pelikula noon pang Lunes, February 20.
Nakasaad daw ritong boluntaryo na nilang pinu-pull out ang pagpapalabas ng Plane sa bansa.
Saad ni Sotto, “The particular film is not going to be exhibited because the distributor, as mentioned, voluntarily pulled out the material already from the cinemas.
“I’m glad that the distributor was very cooperative. They voluntarily pulled out the movie already."
Bago ito ay "nag-commit" na ang MTRCB na i-ban ang screening ng Plane, na nauna nilang aprubahang ipalabas sa local theaters simula noong January 2023, kasunod ng pag-alma ni Padilla.
DGPI STATEMENT
Bago ianunsiyo ng MTRCB ang pagpull-out ng pelikula, naglabas din ng pahayag ang Directors’ Guild of the Philippines (DGPI) noong February 19, 2023, kung saan kinontra nila ang panukala ni Padilla.
Anila, dumaan sa pagsusuri ng MTRCB ang Plane kaya ipinalabas ito sa mga sinehan simula noong January 11, 2023.
Read: Directors Guild of the Philippines Inc. opposes moves to ban Plane in PH
Ito ang nilalaman ng pahayag ng DGPI:
“A proposed ban on the public exhibition of the film 'Plane' has been making the rounds of the news cycle.
“The Directors Guild of the Philippines Inc. (DGPI) opposes moves to stop the showing of this movie, as we believe agency and free choice must remain with the public, rather than imposed by politicians.
“To outrightly ban the film, especially one already approved by the MTRCB, is a cure much worse than the illness itself, injurious to free expression and sets a precedent for films to be hostage by imagined slights to our country’s reputation.
“If the state can tolerate free expression for trolls, fake news and historical revisionism without worrying about their effect on the country’s prestige, then the state can do the same for a work that members of the foreign press have regarded as mindless B-movie entertainment rather than a reliable commentary on our country’s affairs.
“We support allowing the film to screen, informing the public of any problematic claims it makes, inviting open debate, or simply ignoring the film altogether. But we stand against censorship or banning the exhibition of this film from screening.”