MTRCB suspends ‘Willing Willie’ for one month
The Movies and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) suspended the TV5 early evening game show "Willing Willie" for a month, inclusive of the three-week voluntary suspension imposed by the Kapatid network, the agency announced on Tuesday, May 3.
The show is also on probation or on a per episode permit until it has proven it will implement guidelines for treatment of children. It will have an internal child ombudsman to implement guidelines.
Suspension is limited to the program, and not the host, Willie Revillame. Suspending the host is not under the jurisdiction of the MTRCB, said Jonathan Presquito, chief of the MTRCB legal affairs division in a press conference at the agency's offices in Quezon City on Tuesday.
The decision considered TV5's admission of liability but still held the network accountable for the Jan-Jan Suan incident, said Noel del Prado, chairman of adjudication committee.
Whether there is a crime in the broadcast of the Jan-Jan episode is beyond their concern, the MTRCB said. The agency's only concern is if the show violated the charter of the MTRCB, Del Prado said regarding the show's other cases.
The show was penalized for allowing the six-year-old contestant Jan-Jan perform an erotic dance on-air.
Probation of the show means it is granted a permit to air only on a per episode basis. During the course of the probation, the MTRCB will monitor the show's adherence to its self-regulatory measures. Deliberation for future offenses will be on a case to case basis.
The probation, the MTRCB said, is open-ended. Duration of the probation will depend on the decision of the adjudication committee.
