NEWSFLASH

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I DID NOT OK SMUT TABLOID PHOTOS -- ARMIDA

Manila, Sept. 23, 1998 - Board of Censors Chief Armida Siguion-Reyna hit back at critics who have blamed the Motion and Television Review and Classification Board for the proliferation of lewd movie publicity shots that have become the main circulation booster of some highly profitable tabloids.

"Bold pictures appearing in tabloids are neither reviewed nor passed by the Board," Armida said in a statement issued from Toronto where she was invited as a resource speaker for the Toronto Film Festival.

She issued the clarification in response to statements made by Surigao del Norte Rep. Prospero Pichay, to the effect that photographs published in the tabloids were taken from still shots of movies approved by the censors body.

Pichay, is known to have been the publisher of several tabloids which print bold photographs described by some as lewd and highly graphic.

Armida said her office has no jurisdiction over the print media and that the approval for movie stills apply only to exhibition in theater lobbies and must meet the standards for General Audience classification. She also replied to detractors who insinuated that the censors' body should be blamed for the spate of sexually-oriented films now showing in the theaters.

"The so-called titillating films are classified for their audience suitability and restricted for adults, unlike the often lurid photographs appearing in the front pages of some tabloids that are easily accessible to children who may happen to be walking by a newspaper stand," she countered.

She also challenged anyone to "compare the tabloid photos with those approved by the censors board for lobby displays to see the difference." "

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