The Kapisanan ng Social Media Broadcasters ng Pilipinas, Inc. (KSMBPI) has filed a criminal charge against It’s Showtime hosts and real-life couple Vice Ganda and Ion Perez.
In a report by entertainment news outlet PEP, one Atty. Leo Olarte, along with some members of the KSMBPI, submitted their complaints to the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office last Monday, Sept. 11.
It was reported that the case filed by the organization involved the violation of Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code, which is related to Section 6 of Article 201 and Republic Act No.10175, or Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
Under the Philippine law, Article 201 penalizes “immoral doctrines, obscene publications and exhibitions, and indecent shows”.
The complaints were reportedly related to the viral cake-icing-eating incident between Vice and Ion during the noontime program’s segment Isip Bata.
The entertainment news site quoted a statement from Atty. Olarte, “Nowadays, there have been countless proliferation of immoral, indecent, lewd, and vulgar shows, clips, TikTok, Vlogs etc. that are being streamed on social media and sometimes in the traditional media.”
“The worst part of it all is that these are unregulated and are accessible by any person including the youth, children, and even minors who are tech-savvy on various social media platforms. Just by the click of a finger, all these malevolent presentations are made easily available even on mere cellphones already,” it read.
The complaint of the organization of “social media broadcasters” also appeared to be in support of MTRCB, which had recently announced its decision to impose a 12-day suspension on It’s Showtime last Sept. 4.
Multiple news outlets also reported that the group held a meeting at the office of the MTRCB with the board’s chairman Lala Sotto last August.
On August 29, SPIN Media shared photos of the meeting where the group, together with Sotto, discussed “immoral” content from certain noontime shows and how they can “address moral decay in the entertainment industry”.
SPIN Media has recently become an affiliate of KSMBPI.
Meanwhile, ABS-CBN announced their intention to appeal for reconsideration of MTRCB’s decision, asserting that they did not commit any violations of the law.
As indicated in MTRCB’s prior statement, the respondents on behalf of It’s Showtime are allowed 15 days to ask for a reconsideration of the decision.
