Source: ABS CBN NEWS
ABS-CBN to appeal ruling; show still on
MANILA, Philippines - The Movie & Television Review & Classification Board (MTRCB) has ordered a 1-month suspension of ABS-CBN's hit talent show "Showtime."
In its ruling, the MTRCB said the uncalled for utterances of actress Rosanna Roces in the episodes aired on January 4 and 7, 2010 violated its rules and regulations.
The suspension also applies to "Magpasikat, the show that temporarily replaces "Showtime" when it's not on air, and any other similar shows.
The MTRCB also directed the filing of criminal charges against Florida Tan, ABS-CBN vice-president for programming, and other officers "responsible for the violation."
In an official statement sent to abs-cbnNEWS.com, Bong R. Osorio, head of ABS-CBN's Corporate Communications said the MTRCB's decision is not yet final. He said the network will appeal the decision before the Office of the President.
He said the penalty cannot be enforced yet, despite the fact that the decision states it is "effective immediately."
"The decision was not totally unexpected. The MTRCB committee hearing the case could not have contradicted the Chairman, who had earlier issued a preventive suspension order of Showtime," Osorio said.
"ABS-CBN questioned the validity of the preventive suspension order and filed a complaint with the Ombudsman against the MTRCB chairman for violation of the anti-graft and corrupt practices act."
"The MTRCB decision is not final and executory. ABS-CBN disagrees with the decision and will appeal such to the Office of the President. Meantime, SHOWTIME goes on!," Osorio said.
Suspension
Last January, the MTRCB placed "Showtime" on a 20-day preventive suspension after Roces made controversial statements against teachers and co-judge Vice Ganda.
In the episode, Roces encouraged students who appeared on the show to ask questions from their teachers. She went on to describe teachers as "repeaters."
"Huwag kayo makukuntento sa mga itinuturo ng libro at ng teacher. Kung magtatanong kayo, hindi masama iyon. Dahil ang mga teacher, they were just repeaters. Tinuturo lang nila kung ano ang itinuro sa kanila. Hindi na nila itinuturo kung ano ang gusto malaman ng mga bata," she said.
(If you ask questions, that's not bad. Because teachers, they're just repeaters. They just teach what was taught to them. They don't teach what the children want to know.)
Her co-judge on the show, Vice Ganda, later reminded the audience that there are many good teachers, and that people should not generalize when they criticize the failures of educators.
Osang removed but show still suspended
On January 8, ABS-CBN announced that Roces had been removed as a judge of the show, as part of the network's self-regulation policy.
Despite this, the MTRCB still slapped Showtime with a 20-day preventive suspension.
For almost a week, "Magpasikat," replaced Showtime in its noon time slot until a court granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Court of Appeals against the 20-day preventive suspension by the MTRCB.
On January 18, Kapamilya's "Showtime" was back on air.
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