Palace says up to MTRCB, DFA to decide on whether “Abominable” to be pulled in PH

October 15, 2019

Malacanang said on Tuesday it would be up to the concerned government agencies if it would pull out from theaters  "Abominable," a movie that showed China's internationally rejected nine-dash line.

In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that the showing of the movie depends on the assessment of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.

"I will leave that to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. I'll defer to him (Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.)," he added when pressed that allowing the foreign film was a question of policy.

The nine-dash line, which was the basis of China's historic and sovereign claim in almost the entire South China Sea and was rejected by the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal, appeared in Abominable, an animated foreign film.

Vietnam, one of the claimant countries in the South China Sea like the Philippines, pulled out the film from the theaters.

Aside from the Philippines, Vietnam and China, the other claimants in the South China Sea include Brunei, Malaysia, and Taiwan. Celerina Monte/DMS