As 2015 comes to a close, the MTRCB has fortified its resolve to strengthen, rationalize and improve its system of appointing deputies to help monitor compliance with laws, rules, and regulations governing the film and television ratings and classification system. As of October 2015, around seventy percent (70%) of its deputies have already submitted reports. This does not count the other ways by which deputies and volunteers have assisted the MTRCB, e.g. participation in various seminars, workshops, and conferences for discerning viewership; consistent with the MTRCB’s vision of empowering the Filipino family as regards the media and entertainment it sees.
The MTRCB’s mandate is nationwide, and since it has only one (1) principal office in Metro Manila, with permanent employees of only around 50, the scope of its monitoring functions is daunting. Thus, the law creating MTRCB (Presidential Decree No. 1986) empowers the Board to appoint deputies. These deputies are not salaried employees of the government and the MTRCB simply relies on their spirit of service and volunteerism.
The above notwithstanding, the Board in the past months has introduced improvements in the appointment of deputies from the public, including the prior submission of a letter of intent even before one is given an application form. In this way, the Board’s Committee on Deputization can make a more studied determination as to who can be appointed a deputy. The MTRCB recognizes the need for a more effective monitoring system. In fact, it still continues to receive deputy reports via email and even text messages, and this to a certain extent is still consolidated manually.
Thus, aside from providing a facility for reporting in the agency’s website, the MTRCB early this year proposed to the national government as part of its Information Systems Strategic Plan (ISSP) a Deputy Management Information System. This system is meant to achieve effective management of all deputy-related transactions from data entry, generation and issuance of cards, the monitoring of monthly reports, and the cancellation of cards if warranted. The MTRCB is pleased to report that the Department of Budget and Management’s Medium Term Information and Communication Technology Harmonization Initiative (MITHI) Task Force recently approved the ISSP this November 2015.
Aside from the many discerning viewership seminars participated in by its deputies with various sectors the past months, the MTRCB will be holding a Media Literacy (including Updates on the Film and TV Rating System) seminar specifically for deputies this December 2015. On the administrative side, the MTRCB has been conducting adjudicatory hearings in regard to erring deputies and prosecuting cases involving alleged “fake” deputies.
With the above, the MTRCB can confidently say that it has actually been working on the ancillary observations in the agency’s 2014 audit report. Mindful though of their spirit of service, the Board is grateful to those deputies who have unselfishly devoted their time and effort to promote an environment of authentic self-regulation in the film and television industries.