The cat is out of the bag on Erap’s XXX video - Malaya 10.04.2006

MARIA Consoliza Laguardia, chair of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), yesterday told a Senate budget hearing that "politics" was behind the "triple X-rating" on the video-documentary on the life of President Joseph Estrada.

Laguardia said the review panel of the MTRCB found the biopic as "destabilizing, undermining faith and confidence to government, defamatory to government and constitutes contempt."

Laguardia said the film material also contained "defamatory" claims against personalities and those who have died.

"Cardinal (Jaime) Sin is already dead," she told the Senate committee on finance chaired by Sen. Franklin Drilon.

Laguardia said the "triple X" rating meant the video was unfit for public viewing.

Drilon said there was nothing new on the "four counts" of violations found by the MTRCB.

"It (undermining faith in the government) is done by the opposition everyday. I have seen the Erap movie and no one in his objective mind would make it triple X. You just made it more popular," Drilon said.

He added: "How did the Erap (Estrada) film get an triple X? Nag-burlesque ba si Erap dito?"
Drilon said "slighted" personalities featured in the film could always sue for libel.

"You imposed arbitrary standards in order to classify this as ‘triple X’," Drilon said.

Laguardia said the panel’s recommendation has been submitted to Malacañang.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada has said the biopic in DVD form will be directly released to the masses despite the triple-X rating.

The neophyte senator said he and his family were not at all surprised by the action of the MTRCB.The documentary "Ang Mabuhay Para sa Masa," produced by Public Asia Inc., features Estrada’s childhood, school days, his movie career and his rise to the presidency. – Dennis Gadil