from abs-cbn news - R rating for Brillante Mendoza's "Ayos Ka", X-rating for Jeffrey Jeturian’s “Ganito Tayon Ngayon, Paano Na Tayo Bukas?”

MANILA, Philippines - The MTRCB on Monday changed its X-rating of Brillante Mendoza’s film “Ayos Ka” for ANC’s amBisyon2010 to R, but retained its X-rating for Jeffrey Jeturian’s “Ganito Tayon Ngayon, Paano Na Tayo Bukas?”

Jeturian says his film “challenges the administration’s economic claims.” It follows a newspaper printed with the administration’s recent controversial advertisements trumpeting their economic successe—from the time it is delivered to a homeowner, to when it is used to wipe feces from the foot of a cart vendor. The film ends with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s photo on the crumpled newspaper.

The previous MTRCB panel rated the film X because it “tends to undermine the faith and confidence of the people in their government and/or the duly-constituted authorities,” and is “defamatory to the good name and reputations of any person.”

At Monday's second review, the new panel added to the decision, claiming that the film "tends to threaten economic and political stability of the state” and "depicts excretory functions in a patently offensive and demeaning manner.”

AmBisyon2010 applied for a cinema permit to air the two films, along with eighteen others, in a one-time theater premiere. The premiere, scheduled for April 6, has since been moved from a Makati cinema to the Cultural Center of the Philippines because of the MTRCB rating.

The CCP is not under the MTRCB's jurisdiction.

The ABS-CBN News Channel is part of the ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs Group of ABS-CBN Corporation. abs-cbnNEWS.com is the online news department of ABS-CBN Interactive, a subsidiary of ABS-CBN Corp.