Filipino artists and activists protested the X-rating given to a documentary about the abduction of an activist in 2007. Photo from the Facebook page of Chantal Eco. Used with permission

Artists, academics, and human rights advocates protested the decision of Philippine government censors to give an X-rating to two films, and described it as an attack on freedom of expression.

The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) gave an X-rating to the film “Dear Satan” and the documentary “Alipato at Muog” (Flying Embers and a Fortress). An X-rating means a film is not suited for screening in public theaters.

“Dear Satan” is about a child who misspelled Santa Claus and instead sent a letter to Satan, who eventually becomes a good character at the end of the film. “Alipato at Muog” is about a family’s search for activist Jonas Burgos who was abducted in 2007.

The banning of “Alipato at Muog,” which was awarded the Special Jury Award for a full-length film in this year’s Cinemalaya independent film festival, a prominent Philippine film festival, drew outrage from various stakeholders. After an appeal was filed, the MTRCB’s second review removed the X-rating which allowed the screening of the film in theaters.

The head of MTRCB defended the X-rating for the film “Dear Satan,” saying it went against Christian values:

I have seen the film. I joined the board. I am offended as a Christian. It is not demonic, but it has a different depiction of Satan becoming good. But Satan will never ever be good.

In the case of “Alipato at Muog,” the MTRCB head insisted that “freedom of expression is not absolute nor limitless.” Reviewers noted that “the film tends to undermine the faith and confidence of the people in their government and/or duly constituted authorities.”

But “Alipato at Muog” writer and director JL Burgos, who is the brother of the disappeared activist Jonas Burgos, asserted that “there is nothing subversive about a family’s search for justice.” He added that the documentary is “a stand against enforced disappearance and human rights violations.”

Burgos successfully appealed the decision of MTRCB and got the support of artists, scholars, journalists, and activists. While waiting for the second review of MTRCB, his team organized special screenings in universities and promoted the message that “truth deserves to be seen.”

An online statement initiated by the Concerned Artists of the Philippines highlighted the importance of the documentary:

Works like Alipato at Muog are indispensable for fostering informed public dialogue and must be made accessible to all. The MTRCB's X rating serves only to hinder essential discussions on critical human rights and societal concerns.

Scholar Lisa Ito pointed out that it is crucial to resist censorship and to reject the legacy of tyranny.

The struggle against censorship is certainly also a struggle against forgetting and collective amnesia. What we see today is our recent history of repression on repeat: the kind of throwback no one finds nostalgic or takes pleasure in.

She is referring to the Martial Law era (1972–1981) which led to the curtailment of civil liberties and the passage of laws that created the MTRCB.

The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers is calling for the repeal of the law that expanded the censorship powers of the government. It expressed concern that the X-rating of “Alipato at Muog” is “not an isolated incident but a symptom of a larger, more grievous attempt to control the narrative and to sanitize the history that those in power find inconvenient.” It added:

It does not bear the visible scars of physical violence, but it wounds all the same. It may not disappear the filmmakers, but it seeks to erase their voices and bury their work in obscurity where it cannot challenge, provoke, and inspire.

The Directors’ Guild of the Philippines said that the X-rating represents “an alarming overreach of the MTRCB's mandate, reflecting an unsettling imposition of political and religious biases on creative works.” It urged the MTRCB to be fair and objective.

The role of the MTRCB should be to evaluate films based on their content and merit rather than imposing subjective moral judgment that can stifle creativity and freedom of expression.

Meanwhile, the producers of “Dear Satan” clarified that the film is not really about glorifying Satan.

The film is a narrative about the power of faith and the triumph of good over evil. We wanted to illustrate that, despite the presence of evil in the world, faith and virtue can prevail.

In the end, the “Dear Satan” producers recognized the concern of MTRCB reviewers and agreed to amend the title of the film.