Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 11) — The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) has allowed the screening of the “Barbie” movie in the country despite criticism over a scene supposedly featuring China’s disputed “nine-dash” line claim.
In a letter to Senate foreign affairs committee chairman Francis Tolentino, the MTRCB said it found no basis to ban the live-action adaptation as there is “no clear nor outright depiction of the nine-dash line.” The MTRCB is firm, as per its mandate under Presidential Decree No. 1986, that when there is a clear portrayal in films/television of scenes injurious to the prestige of the Republic of the Philippines such as the ‘nine-dash line’ we will not hesitate to ban said materials,” the board said. “Conversely, if the material does not pose such a threat, then, in the spirit of fairness and objectivity, we will not impose a ban on such materials,” it added. According to the MTRCB, the film underwent “meticulous screenings” and consultations with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Solicitor General to determine if the lines in controversial world map in the movie depict the nine-dash line. It noted that the lines are “not U-shaped and has eight dots/dashes instead of nine,” and that the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia are not visible on the map in question. The board also said that it has requested the film’s distributor Warner Bros. To blur the contested lines in order to avoid further misinterpretations.
Tolentino lamented the board’s decision to screen the full movie, particularly in light of the seventh anniversary of the landmark judgment from The Hague disproved China’s claim that it has historical sovereignty over the waters within its “nine-dash line” boundary.
“Ginagalang natin ang MTRCB kung ito man ay eight-dash line, seven-dash line, or nine-dash line – ang nakikita po rito ay iyong patuloy na pagkamkam ng China sa karagatan ng Pilipinas,” Tolentino said.
“At ito po ay maliwanag na pagyurak sa karapatan ng ating mga mangingisda, maging ng ating Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas at ang ating Philippine Coast Guard,” he added.
[Translation: We respect the MTRCB whether it is an eight-dash line, seven-dash line, or nine-dash line – what we see here is China’s continued encroachment on Philippine waters. And this is a clear violation of the rights of our fishermen, even of the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard.]
Tolentino further said that the MTRCB should have just removed the controversial scene that led Vietnam to ban the live-action adaptation.
Over the weekend, the Warner Bros. Film Group addressed the alleged inclusion of the nine-dash line in the much-anticipated film.
