WHEREAS, paragraph 4, Section 4 of Presidential Decree No. 1986 dated 5 October 1985, creating the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), provides that "[t]he second decision of the Board shall be final, with the exception of a decision disapproving or prohibiting a motion picture or television program in its entirety which shall be appealable to the President of the Philippines, who may himself decide the appeal, or be assisted either by an ad hoc committee he may create or by an Appeals Committee herein created";

WHEREAS, paragraph 5, Section 4 of Presidential Decree No. 1986 further provides that "[a]n Appeals Committee in the Office of the President of the Philippines is hereby created composed of a Chairman and four (4) members to be appointed by the President of the Philippines, which shall submit its recommendation to the President";

WHEREAS, there is a continuing influx of appeals from MTRCB decisions disapproving or prohibiting a motion picture or television program in its entirety; and

WHEREAS, it is deemed more efficient to constitute the Appeals Committee created under Presidential Decree No. 1986 and for it to submit its recommendations to the President.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

SECTION 1.  The Appeals Committee in the Office of the President created under Presidential Decree No. 1986 dated 5 October 1985, to be known as the "MTRCB Appeals Committee in the Office of the President" (the "Committee"), is hereby constituted, to be composed of:

Representative of the
President

-

Chairman

Representative of the
Press Secretary

-

Vice Chairman

Representative of the
Presidential Council for
Youth Affairs

-

Member

Representative of the
Movie Industry

-

Member

Representative of the
Television Industry

-

Member

SECTION 2.  A decision of the MTRCB, after a second review, disapproving or prohibiting a motion picture or television program in its entirety shall be appealable to the President of the Philippines. Said appeal shall be coursed through the Committee which, after conducting its own review, shall submit its recommendations to the President. The Committee shall have no other jurisdiction or function than that mentioned in this Section.

SECTION 3.  The Chairman of MTRCB shall ensure that the affected party is apprised of the remedy stated in Section 2 hereof.

SECTION 4.  The Committee shall, within thirty (30) days from receipt of the appeal, submit its recommendations to the President, stating the reasons therefor.

SECTION 5.  Pursuant to Section 4 of Presidential Decree No. 1986, the Office of the Assistant Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs shall serve as the Secretariat of the Committee.

SECTION 6.  The persons designated in Section 1 hereof shall function as such until he or she is replaced by the President.

SECTION 7.  The MTRCB shall extend such assistance and cooperation as may be required by the Committee.

SECTION 8. A representative of the MTRCB Chairman shall be present during the review and the deliberations of the Committee as an observer and who may be consulted by the Committee on matters pertaining to MTRCB rules and regulations and on the circumstances pertaining to the MTRCB's decision on the case under deliberation.

SECTION 9.  The vote of at least three (3) concurring members of the Committee shall be required for the validity of a Committee decision.

SECTION 10.    The Committee shall promulgate its own rules of procedure.

SECTION 11.    This Memorandum Order shall take effect immediately.

Adopted: 27 Sept. 1993