MTRCB denies 'It's Showtime' motion for reconsideration

The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) has denied the Motions for Reconsideration (MOR) filed by the GMA Network, Inc. and ABS-CBN Corporation. 

In a statement released on Thursday, Sept. 28, MTRCB said that the noontime show It's Showtime has violated Section 3 (c) of Presidential Decree No. 1986 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations. 

The statement reads, "The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) released a resolution dated 28 September 2023, denying the Motion for Reconsideration (MR) filed by GMA Network, Inc. and ABS-CBN Corporation."

"Said MRs sought relief from the Board's ruling dated August 17, 2023, regarding the July 25, 2023 episode of the live noontime television program 'It's Showtime!' Specifically, during the show's 'Isip Bata' segment in which hosts Ryan Bang, Vice Ganda, and Ion Perez allegedly acted indecently or inappropriately in the presence of children, which is alleged to have violated Section 3 (c) of Presidential Decree No. 1986 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations."

In the said segment, hosts and real-life couple Vice and Ion were being sweet toward each other, with the latter holding a cake and using his fingers to taste the icing.

Ion can be seen closing his eyes as he slowly licks the icing off his fingers. He then approaches Vice, who takes some of the icing from Ion's fingers with her own before tasting it.

In view of all of this, MTRCB said that the decision of its board committee to suspend the day for 12 days last Aug. 17 "is affirmed."

The denial of the entertainment company's MR comes after MTRCB chairperson Lala Sotto-Antonio said that the show and its producers failed to hold a discussion with the board after it filed the MR.

"We gave them a 15-day period for them to be able to file a motion for reconsideration because we wanted to give them the chance to cooperate with us, to enter into a dialogue at least or to coordinate, but that did not happen, and we also wanted to give them due process," Sotto stated during the discussion of the proposed budget of MTRCB for 2024.

MTRCB issued the suspension order to It's Showtime on Sept. 4 after receiving multiple complaints concerning the show's July 25 episode. 

The show's producer, ABS-CBN Corporation, on the same day, retaliated with a Motion for Reconsideration on the belief that "there was no violation of pertinent law."

ABS-CBN and GMA have yet to release a statement as of this writing.