Principles and Guidelines Governing the Appointment of MTRCB Deputies

December 22, 2015

MTRCB MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 013-15

PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES GOVERNING THE APPOINTMENT OF MTRCB DEPUTIES

Further to the inspection and enforcement functions of the Board further to Section 13, as well as its relevant powers under Section 3, both under Presidential Decree No. 1986, as well as Chapter XI, Implementing Rules and Regulations of P.D. No. 1986, not to mention the developmental mandate of the Agency under the same decree, the following principles and guidelines on appointment of deputies from the general public are hereby promulgated:

NATURE OF DEPUTY APPOINTMENT:

1. The appointment of an MTRCB deputy is purely discretionary. 1 Thus, regardless of any previous appointment and/or the length thereof, no applicant has an inherent right to be deputized. The notion therefore of an appointment being "renewed" is legally inaccurate. With no right, there is no corresponding duty on the part of the Board to grant any application. The appointment being a matter of trust and confidence in law and in fact, the Board reserves its right and authority to cancel any appointment, with or without cause, at any time. HTcADC

2. The Board has created a Committee on Deputization to screen and evaluate applications from the general public and/or various sectors, given the serious and heavy responsibilities of a deputy, as well as due to the heavy volume of expressions of interest.

3. It is the Board's policy to democratize appointments by splitting the applicants amongst various sectors (educational institutions, NGOs, government agencies, etc.) and granting considerable room for new applicants. In this connection, the Board will also consider the availability and competence of any applicant from the general public to assist the Board in regard to its other functions, particularly its developmental and empowerment initiatives, aside from the traditional inspection of movie houses and other venues and the monitoring of television shows, and other media content. Further, the abovementioned committee shall periodically review the application process, determining for the Board's information and guidance the trend and volume of interested parties/applicants from each sector.

4. Being appointed as a deputy is both a privilege and a responsibility. Such appointment is essentially revocable. 2 Also, it follows that the Board shall not be deemed to have waived any of its prerogatives under this memorandum circular and in law in the event of any perceived variation or omission on its part in regard to any provisions hereof. Moreover, in view of both regulatory and developmental functions of the Board and further to its power under Section 3 (h) and 3 (k), P.D. No. 1986, any deputy of the Board can be designated to perform any tasks other than the usual inspection of theaters and similar venues, as to which tasks said deputy must always be readily available.

DEPUTY APPLICATION PROCESS:

5. Those from the general public who wish to be appointed as MTRCB deputy shall submit a letter of intent, clearly expressing one's interest to be a deputy of MTRCB. This letter, bearing the original signature of the interested person, shall be addressed to the Chairperson of the Committee on Deputization (NOT the Chairperson of the Board). No letter of intent shall be accepted beyond 29 February 2016.

6. Without prejudice to any such further requirements that may be imposed by the Committee on Deputization in the course of the entire process so that it may be satisfied as to the fitness, availability, sincerity, competence, and such other factors or attributes of the interested parties from the general public, the letter of intent shall include the following:

a) commitment to participate in at least one Matalinong Panonood campaign during the term of appointment, and specifying in what capacity — as lecturer, facilitator, organizer, or other similar capacity, and with a brief description of one's area of competence or experience; aScITE

b) undertaking to submit at least two (2) reports a month in regard to compliance by regulated entities of MTRCB-related laws, rules and regulations; and

c) undertaking to attend all required seminars and conferences for continuous education and training, as well as the commitment to unreservedly assist the Board in any matter of concern and/or advocacy, especially, but not limited, as regards the film industry.

7. Upon approval of the letter of intent by the Committee on Deputization, the applicant shall be given a deputy application form upon payment of Five Hundred Pesos (Php500.00) to cover the processing cost. The applicant shall accomplish and sign the application form and shall submit the same not later than31 March 2016. Payment of the above-said fee shall not guarantee however the eventual issuance of the card and will be without prejudice to not giving due course to the application should the Committee on Deputization and/or the Board discover and/or determine that the interested person or applicant has misrepresented any fact in the letter of intent and/or application form, there will come to the fore any supervening information that will tend to establish the applicant's unfitness for the appointment.

8. While the Board remains fully committed to its regulatory and developmental functions, it likewise duly acknowledges its mandate to help the local film industry. As such, the Board shall endeavor to limit the number of deputy IDs to be issued and, hence, cannot possibly grant all expressions of interest and applications for appointment as MTRCB deputy.

This Memorandum Circular shall take effect immediately.

December 22, 2015, Quezon City.

(SGD.) EUGENIO H. VILLAREALChairperson

Footnotes

1.§1 Chapter XI, Implementing Rules and Regulations of P.D. 1986 categorically and unqualifiedly reads "(a)ny. n

2.Ibid. 

n Note from the Publisher: Copied verbatim from the official copy.