In response to Sen. Robinhood Padilla’s call to ban and condemnation of the film Plane, a Gerard Butler-starrer, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) stated today, February 16, that it will re-evaluate the Hollywood film after lawmakers claimed that it portrayed the Philippines in a “bad light.”
Padilla in a manifestation seconded by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri noted that allowing a foreign film to present a negative image of the Philippines on the global stage is “unacceptable.”
MTRCB wrote and signed by its chairperson Diorella Maria G. Sotto-Antonio, “We acknowledge the sentiments expressed by our honorable Senators concerning the film Plane. Although the film is fictional, we still would not want our country to be portrayed in a negative and inaccurate light. The MTRCB will re-evaluate the film in view of these concerns and will take all necessary measures if found to be in any way injurious to the prestige of the Philippines and its people.”
During a Senate plenary session, Padilla said, “Ginoong Pangulo hindi po dapat ito tanggapin (This should not be allowed) Sana po, nakikiusap po tayo sa ating MTRCB na sana po sa mga ganitong ganap kumakatok tayo sa opisina nila, di po dapat ito pinapalabas sa PH (I hope the Senate will ask the MTRCB that this should not be shown). DIto po dapat sa ating bansa pinagbabawal ito at kino-condemn po natin ito (I hope our country will ban its showing and condemn it).
“Reputasyon po ng Inang Bayan ang pinaguusapan dito Ginoong Pangulo (The reputation iof our Motherland is st stake). Alam nyo po, pagka tayo pag pinaguusapan natin ang bayan natin at mga diprensya, ok lang yan kasi trabaho natin yan (When we talk of differences in our country, we take it as part of our job). Pero pagka ibang bansa na po ang bumabanat sa atin dapat di dapat tayo pumapayag (I will not tolerate any country to criticise us),”
Plane is a 2023 American action thriller film directed by Jean-François Richet from a screenplay by Charles Cumming and J. P. Davis. The film stars Butler, Mike Colter, Yoson An, and Tony Goldwyn.
The plot centers on a pilot (Butler) allying with a prisoner (Colter) to save his passengers from a hostile territory they landed in for an emergency landing.
The film was announced in 2016, acquired by Lionsgate in 2019, sold to Solstice Studios in 2020, and re-acquired by Lionsgate in 2021. It was shot in Puerto Rico. It was released in the United States on January 13, 2023. It received generally favorable reviews from critics and has grossed $46 million worldwide.
