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MTRCB's new ratings system in use on ABS-CBN Channel 2's Eyeshield 21 - Season 3, screen captured yesterday.

But implementation of SPG rating deferred until further notice.

Last Thursday, all TV channels in the Philippines would have to use a new classification ratings system for TV programs devised by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).

The new ratings system was formally launched on October 05 with the implementation of the Board’s Memorandum Circular No. 05-2011, which states that the new TV ratings are, in order of increasing strictness:

• General Patronage (G)
• Parental Guidance/Patnubay at Gabay (PG)
• Strong Parental Guidance (SPG)
• Disapproved for Airing on Television (X)

Under the said memorandum, all programs of all TV channels must show:

• a standard 3D animation/motion graphics of the program’s rating before the start of the program, and
• a standard pictogram advisory of the program’s rating superimposed on screen all throughout the airing of the program. The pictogram must be color-coded: green for “G,” blue for “PG” and red for “SPG.”

The color scheme for each rating is similar to Taiwan’s own “traffic light” system which is shown occasionally in movies on HBO Asia.

In a statement signed by chairperson Grace Poe-Llamanzares, MTRCB says that the memorandum “was promulgated by the board on 25 August 2011 after a series of public consultations and information campaigns with the different stakeholders in the television industry” and that it was designed “to empower parents to exercise caution and vigilance with the viewing habits of their children.”

However, the implementation of the SPG rating has been deferred until further notice. In the memorandum, MTRCB says that it “will announce the actual implementation of “SPG” and its guidelines after the completion of a public awareness campaign.”

But in an interview on DZMM radio programme Mismo, hosted by Jobert Sucaldito and Ahwel Paz, Llamanzares had said that they target to implement the new TV rating by December.

As of press time, only ABS-CBN Channel 02, Studio 23, Music channel MYX, and Government network PTNI Channel 04 are implementing the new ratings system. The anime Eyeshield 21 Season 3 aired on Channel 2 was classified under G, a change from the a rating of PG.

Below is a sample of ABS-CBN’s unified TV ratings classification bump.

SOURCES: ABS-CBNNews.com, MTRCB website