MANILA, Philippines – Alipato at Muog director JL Burgos on Friday, August 23, appealed to the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to reconsider the X rating that the film received.
In an open letter to the agency posted on social media, Burgos said that while they were happy to learn that movie-goers had flocked to cinemas to catch Alipato at Muog over the past few days, their “hopes were quickly dampened” upon learning that the MTRCB had given the film an X rating classification.
“Films that were given such rating [are] deemed NOT SUITABLE FOR PUBLIC VIEWING according to the [MTRCB]. A week ago, we applied for a permit for Alipato at Muog to be classified fit for public viewing, unfortunately, the result was not what we hoped for,” Burgos wrote.
Burgos shared that the MTRCB reviewers who assessed Alipato at Muog said that “the film tends to undermine the faith and confidence of the people in their government and/or duly-constituted authorities.”
With this, Burgos and the rest of the team behind Alipato at Muog are seeking to have the film reviewed by the MTRCB for a second time, in hopes of reversing the X rating.
“We will abide by the processes of such undertakings as we have done from the very first day of the search of my brother. We will also submit the documents of the Jonas Burgos case that they are asking from us,” Burgos said.
Burgos also called on the MTRCB to “open [their hearts and be the voice of the voiceless.”
“Please stand for what is right and what is just. Because when that happens we can truly say we live in a democratic country where there is no censorship and there is freedom to express one’s thought without fear or favor,” the director said.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, August 24, the Alipato at Muog’s official page announced that the film’s screenings at the UP Film Center in Quezon City will still push through as scheduled. In the same post, the film’s team also named the MTRCB reviewers who gave it an X rating: Fernando C. Prieto, Glenn B. Patricio, and Jose V L. Alberto.
Alipato at Muog tells the story of the enforced disappearance of Burgos’ brother, Jonas. It previously won the Cinemalaya 20 Special Jury Award for Full-length Film.
This comes just weeks after independent film festival Cinemalaya canceled the screenings of the documentary film Lost Sabungeros due to “security concerns.” – Rappler.com