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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 2995

Introduced by Rep. Precious Hipolito Castelo

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The intention of this proposed measure is to prescribe television rating codes for children
and to prohibit violent and sexually themed non-educational programming on television
during certain hours. In the case of those apparatuses equipped with technical capability for
blocking signals, the bill authorizes MTRCB and NTC to jointly prescribe the rules of
transmission.

As studies of the American Medical Association show, there are adverse effects of televised
violence on child development or a marked increase in the level of aggressive behaviour
among children who view it. This was based on the May 1999 Report of the Henry Frank
Guggenheim Foundation in the US where it found that there is an irrefutable connection
between the amount violence depicted in the television programs watched by children and
increased aggression among them.

Inasmuch as P.D. 1986 that created the Movie and Television Review and Classification
Board does not authorize the same to prescribe ratings for violence and non-educational
sexual themes in TV programming and rules for signals containing specifications for blocking
violent and sexually themed non-educational programming in apparatuses with such
technical capability and neither does RA. 7925 (also known as the Public
Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines) give such authority to the NTC for
broadcast operations of public communications entities, this proposed measure intends to
address this limitation.

Passage of this bill is thus most earnestly sought.



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. E20

Introduced by Rep. Precious Hipolito Castelo

AN ACT
LIMITING EXPOSURE OF CHILDREN TO VIOLENT AND OBSCENE PROGRAMMING
ON TELEVISION AND CABLE SYSTEMS

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines
in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the “Children’s Media Protection Act.”

SEC. 2. It is the policy of the State to protect the welfare of children by limiting their
exposure to violent and sexually-themed non-educational programming on television and
cable systems

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. — For purposes of this Act, the terms

a. Cable Operator — refers to any person or group of persons who (1) provides
cable service over a cable system and directly or through one or more affiliates
‘owns a significant interest in such cable system, or (2) who otherwise controls or
is responsible for, through any arrangement, the management and operation of
such a cable system;

b. Cable System — refers to any faculty consisting of a set of closed transmission
paths and associated signal generation, reception, and control equipment that is
designed to provide cable service which includes video programming and which
is provided to multiple subscribers within a community, but such term does not
include (1) a facility that serves only to transmit the television signals of one (1) or
more television broadcast stations; (2) a facility that serves only subscribers in
one (1) or more multiple unit dwelling under common ownership, control or
management, unless such facility or facilities use any public right-of-way; (3) a
facility of a common carrier, except to the extent such facility is used in the
transmission of video programming directly to subscribers; or (4) any facility of
any electric utility used solely for operating its electric utility system.

c. Programming — includes advertisements but does not include newscasts, news
interviews, and news documentation.

d. Public telecommunication entity - refers to any person, firm, partnership or
corporation, government or private, engaged in the provision of
telecommunications services to the public for compensation

SEC. 4. The MTRCB and the NTC shall jointly prescribe, in consultation with
television broadcasters, cable operators, concerned non-government organizations for
children, and interested individuals from the private sector, rules for rating the level of
violence and non-educational sexual themes in television programming, including rules for


rating the level of violence and non-educational sexual themes in television programming,
including rules for the transmission by television broadcast systems and cable systems of
signals containing specifications for blocking violent and sexually-themed non-educational

programming.

SEC. 5. The MTRCB and the NTC shall, within thirty (30) days from the effectivity of
this Act, pass rules and regulations prohibiting the broadcast on commercial television and
public telecommunications entities, including the broadcast by cable operators, from 6:00 am
to 10:00pm inclusive of programming that contains violent and obscene scenes for children
in accordance with the rating code established pursuant to the preceding paragraph.

SEC. 6. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in at least two
(2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,