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The scene is straight out of a comedy.
“Officials of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) were conducting an inspection at the Araneta Center bus terminal in Cubao, Quezon City when they chanced upon a lewd film inside a Bicol-bound R. Volante bus with plate number EVP 120,” reports Jaymee T. Gamil in Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The report noted: “Ironically, MTRCB Chair Eugenio ‘Toto’ Villareal was explaining to the passengers and the driver that only films rated General Patronage (G) or Parental Guidance (PG) should be shown onboard when the inspection team turned on the vehicle’s DVD player and were shocked by a scene where a woman was taking off her clothes.”
As the report indicated, the racy snippet from the DVD “drew shrieks and laughter from MTRCB member and actress Gladys Reyes-Sommereux and some passengers.”
For the record, the DVD was titled Pinay Collection. MTRCB legal counsel Thania Ibañez later disclosed that it featured a series of amateur pornographic videos.
The report recalled that “in May 2011, the MTRCB and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) signed an agreement prohibiting PUVs from showing materials beyond the PG rating.”
As per Joint Administrative Order No. 2014-01, the exhibition of pornographic or violent films in public utility vehicles (PUVs) is considered a “franchise violation.”
The report pointed out that “bus operators will be fined PHP5,000 for the first offense while second-time offenders face a PHP10,000 fine and the impounding for 30 days of the vehicle concerned.” Then, on the third offense, the bus firm will be fined PHP15,000 on top of the outright cancellation of its franchise.
Meanwhile, the R. Volante bus’ driver — who claimed that the conductor was the one who put the skin flick into the DVD player — was sent off to the LTFRB office in Quezon City to undergo an investigation while his bus was grounded.
LTFRB Chair Winston Ginez later told the Inquirer in a phone interview: “But of course, we will properly investigate the circumstances [for the apprehended R. Volante bus first]. How did it happen? Was the film actually being shown to passengers? We will summon the operator and driver concerned.”
Photo: MorgueFile
