Gatchalian wants MTRCB to regulate video and online games

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has filed a bill seeking to expand the power and functions of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to include the regulation of video and online games.

Senate Bill 1063 or the proposed Video and Online Games and Outdoor Media Regulation Act seeks to amend Presidential Decree No. 1986, which created the MTRCB, to uphold the safety and well-being of children amid their exposure to new technologies.

Gatchalian cited the 2020 gaming statistics which showed that 43 million gamers drove the unprecedented rise in the Philippine gaming industry and across Southeast Asia, with 74% of the Philippine online gaming population playing on their mobile devices, 65% on PC games, and 45% playing on the classic console games.

Aroound 43 million gamers in the country spent $572 million on games in 2019, making the Philippines the world's 25th biggest market by game revenues as well as a key driver in Southeast Asia's overall games market during the said period, Gatchalian added.

The senator proposed that the MTRCB will likewise reguate outdoor media, which includes advertising signs, Light Emitting Diode (LED) signs and billboards, ground signs, roof signs, and sign infrastructures.

In approving and disapproving the exhibition of video and online games, and outdoor media, Gatchalian is suggesting that the procedure that applies on a motion picture, television program, still and other pictorial advertisements will be applied.

The procedure on examination and review, as well as banning of media deemed unfit for consumption in the Philippines, will also apply to video and online games, and outdoor media.

SB 1063 also seeks to prohibit the sale or distribution of any video game that has been rated "Adults Only" by the MTRCB.

Buying or receiving games rated “Adults Only,” and using false evidence of age to obtain copies of these video games will be considered unlawful under the bill.

The measure also provides that the packaging of any video game and any printed or digital publicity material that is sold and distributed in the Philippines must display its rating in an easily viewable, legible manner, on the front side in the style and manner prescribed by the Board.

Meanwhile, digital copies of games must display the rating label on the menu screen.

“Habang patuloy na nagbabago at lumalawak ang paggamit natin sa teknolohiya, dapat din nating tiyakin na nabibigyan ng kaukulang proteksyon at paggabay ang ating mga kabataan, lalo na mula sa mga hindi magagandang impluwensya at epektong maaaring idulot ng mga teknolohiyang ito,” Gatchalian said in a statement.

(While the way we use technology evolves, we must also ensure that children are given proper protection and guidance, especially against the ill effects of this technology.) —Hana Bordey/KBK, GMA News