Republic Act No. 3060: An act creating the board of censors for motion pictures

REPUBLIC ACT No. 3060

AN ACT CREATING THE BOARD OF CENSORS FOR MOTION PICTURES

Section 1

There is hereby created a board to be known as the Board of Censors for Motion Pictures, hereinafter called the Board, which shall have its principal office in the City of Manila, and which shall be under the Office of the President of the Philippines.

Section 2

The Board shall be composed of a Chairman and twenty-four other members to be appointed by the President of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments. The Chairman of the Board shall hold office for a term of four years: Provided, That the members first appointed to the Board shall hold office as follows: eight members for two years, eight members for three years, and the other eight members for four years, from the date they assume office, and, thereafter, the term of office of the Board members shall all be four years. Any person chosen to fill a vacancy in the Board shall serve only for the unexpired term of the member he succeeds. Each member shall receive a compensation of ten pesos per preview session payable every month and the chairman shall receive an additional compensation of fifty pesos a month.

No person shall be appointed to the Board unless he is a native born citizen of the Philippines, not less than thirty-five years of age, of good moral standing in the community, and not directly connected with the motion picture or television industries: Provided, That the President shall appoint as members of the Board at least three nominees from each of the following:

(a)Professional organizations;

(b)Religious organizations;

(c)Educational associations;

(d)Child and/or Welfare organizations;

(e)Civic associations;

(f)Cultural organizations;

(g)Associations of newspapermen. Section 3. The Board shall have the following duties and powers:

(a)To screen, censor, examine and supervise the examination of, approve or disapprove or delete portions from, and/or prohibit the introduction and exhibition of all motion pictures, imported or produced in the Philippines for non-theatrical, theatrical and television distribution which in its judgment are immoral, indecent, contrary to law, and/or good customs or injurious to the prestige of the Republic of the Philippines or its people;

(b)To classify the motion pictures approved for exhibition into those for general patronage and those for adults only;

(c)To screen, review, delete portion from, approve or disapprove and censor all publicity materials in connection with any motion picture including trailers, stills, and other advertising materials which in their judgment are immoral, indecent, contrary to law and/or good customs, or injurious to the prestige of the Republic of the Philippines or its people;

(d)Subject to the Civil Service Rules and Law, to appoint personnel and a technical staff when necessary for the effective execution and implementation of the provisions of this Act. The Board shall have a permanent Secretary who shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation of the Board. The Secretary shall keep the records of the Board; take charge of its office; see to it that the orders and permits of the Board are followed and perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the Board. The Board shall have the power to fix the compensation of the Secretary, technical staff and personnel of the Board; prescribe their duties; and specify their qualifications to the end that only competent persons may be employed;

(e)To promulgate its own rules of procedures and operation in general, including matters of quorum and of organization and appointment of sub-committees for censoring motion pictures and motion picture advertisements throughout the Philippines, and to keep a record of its proceedings with reference to the motion pictures examined by it, whether passed or not, and if passed the classification thereof; and (f) To charge a fee to be fixed by the Board for each film and other materials presented to it for review or examination, all such fees to be used for the operational expenses of the Board. Section 4. The decision of the Board either approving or disapproving for exhibition in the Philippines a motion picture, stills and other pictorial advertisements submitted to it for examination and review must be rendered within a period of ten days which shall be counted from the date of receipt by the Board of an application for that purpose, and actual receipt of the motion picture, stills or other pictorial advertisements to be reviewed. A decision of the Board disapproving a motion picture for exhibition in the Philippines must be in writing and shall state the reasons or grounds for such disapproval. No film or motion picture intended for exhibition at movie houses or theaters or on television shall be disapproved by reason of its topic, theme or subject-matter, but upon the merits of each picture considered in its entirety.

Section 5

Appeal from the decision of the Board shall be made to a committee composed of the Undersecretaries of Justice, National Defense, and Education, within fifteen days from receipt of notice of decision appealed from.

Section 6

Except members of the Board, members of its duly appointed staff, and two representatives each of the distributor and/or producer and exhibitor of the motion picture under examination and review, no person shall be allowed, or authorized by the Board inside the screening room during the examination and review of any motion picture.

Section 7

It shall be unlawful for any person or entity to exhibit or cause to be exhibited in any motion picture theater or public place, or by television within the Philippines any motion picture, including trailers, stills, and other pictorial advertisements in connection with motion pictures, not only passed by the Board; or to print or cause to be printed on any motion picture to be exhibited in any theater, or public place or by television, a label or notice showing the same to have been officially passed by the said Board when the same has not been previously authorized, except motion pictures imprinted or exhibited by the Philippine Government and/or its departments and agencies, and newsreels.

Section 8

The motion picture exhibitors shall post and/or display the certificate or label of approval of the motion picture by the Board, and shall post or display, or cause to be posted or displayed the said certificate or label at conspicuous places near the entrances to the theaters or places of exhibition, and shall include in all their cinema advertisements announcements stating the classification as provided in Section three (b) hereof, of the motion pictures being exhibited or advertised.

Section 9

It shall be unlawful for any person below eighteen years of age to enter, to make use of any misrepresentation or false evidence about his or her age in order to gain admission into, a movie house or theater or the showing of a motion picture classified `for adults only' by the Board. And it shall be also unlawful for any employee of a movie house or theater to sell to, or receive from, another person known to the former to be below eighteen years of age any admission ticket to the exhibition of motion pictures classified as "for adults only". In case of doubt as to the age of the person seeking admission, the latter shall be required to exhibit his or her residence certificate or other proof of age.

Section 10

For purposes of this Act the following terms shall mean:

(1)Motion pictures a completed composite print of any silent and sound motion film or tape, either black and white or in color, that can form visual moving images on the projection screen or television screen through the mechanical application of the projection equipment.

(2)Non-theatrical distribution:

(a)Public showing of long and short motion pictures through the use of mobile projection equipment not imposing admission fee.

(b)Showing of long or short motion pictures to organizations, societies, clubs, groups, etc. such as films for children, educational, documentary, cultural, scientific, newsreel, industrial, sales, public relations, and instructional films.

(3)Theatrical distribution: Public showing and/or exhibition in any cinema or theater or in any other place of motion pictures imposing admission fees to persons for entertainment, education, information and advertising.

(4)An Adult is any person eighteen years of age or over.

(5)Preview session shall mean the examination of films by the Board, the duration of which shall not be less than two hours.

Section 11

Any violation of Section seven of this Act shall be punished by imprisonment of not less than six months but not more than two years, or by a fine of not less than six hundred nor more than two thousand pesos, or both at the discretion of the court. If the offender is an alien, he shall be deported immediately. The license to operate the movie theater or television shall also be revoked. Any other kind of violation shall be punished by imprisonment of not less than one month nor more than three months or a fine of not less than one hundred pesos nor more than three hundred pesos, or both, at the discretion of the court. In case the violation is committed by a corporation, partnership or association, the criminal liability shall devolve upon the president, manager, administrator, or any official thereof responsible for the violation.

Section 12

In the event a motion picture, after examination and review by the Board, is declared unfit for exhibition in the Philippines, the said motion picture shall be returned by the importer or distributor thereof to the country of origin or to any other place outside of the Philippines within a period of thirty days, which shall be counted from the date of receipt by the importer or distributor of the decision of the Board banning the motion picture for exhibition in the Philippines, and all customs duties and internal revenues taxes paid by the importer of distributor on account of the importation to and entry into the Philippines of the said motion picture shall be automatically refunded by the government office concerned to the said importer or distributor. A copy of the decision of the Board banning a motion picture for exhibition in the Philippines shall be furnished to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and to the Collector of Customs of the port of entry of the said motion picture, and the same shall constitute a sufficient authority to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the Collector of Customs concerned to refund the internal revenue taxes and customs duties paid by the importer or distributor on account of the importation of the banned motion picture.

Section 13

Act Numbered Thirty-five hundred eighty-two, as amended, and all other Acts or parts of Acts inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed.

Section 14

This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 17, 1961

For information and research only, and not legal advice. This text may not reflect later amendments. For certified copies, refer to the Official Gazette or the issuing agency.

In plain language