By Gabriela Baron
Filipino directors expressed opposition to the proposed banning of Hollywood action film “Plane.”
In a statement, the Directors’ Guild of the Philippines, Inc. (DGPI) stressed that “free choice” must remain with the public, rather than imposed by politicians.
“To outrightly ban the film, especially one already approved by the [Movie and Television Review and Classification Board], is a cure much worse than the illness itself, injurious to free expression and sets a precedent for films to be held hostage by imagined sights to our country’s reputation,” the statement read.
“If the state can tolerate free expression for trolls, fake news, and historical revisionism without worrying about their effect on the country’s prestige, then the state can do the same for a work that members of foreign press have regarded as mindless B-movie entertainment rather than a reliable commentary on our country’s affair,” it further read.
This after Senator Robinhood Padilla said during a Senate session on Feb. 15 that the film should be prohibited in the country.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri backed Padilla’s statement, saying the Philippines should send “regrets that this is not the real situation on the ground.”
READ MORE: MTRCB to reevaluate ‘Plane’ film after senators air concerns
The Filipino directors, however, reiterated that they support allowing the film’s screening.
“[We] stand against censorship or banning the exhibition of this film from screening,” they added.
Starring Gerard Butler, the “Plane,” centers on a pilot allying with a prisoner to save his passengers from a hostile territory they landed. -ag
