SENATOR Francis Tolentino urged the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRB) on Wednesday to block the upcoming screening of Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Barbie” movie after the film’s digital illustration of a scene with the so-called “nine-dash line” claim of the Chinese government of their supposed militaristic expansion in the entire South China Sea (SCS) region, including the zone along the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
In an interview with CNN Philippines, Tolentino warned that allowing the local screening of the film will only lead to “injurious” consequences to the prestige of the Philippines.
“This will not just be an injurious to the Republic of the Philippines but would be contrary to what our country fought for and achieved under that Arbitral Ruling in 2016,” Tolentino said.
“What the effect would be? Something that would dilute our sovereignty,” he added.
In 2016, The Hague Tribunal invalidated Beijing’s “nine-dash line'” claim over the entire SCS region following an arbitration case filed by the Philippine government on January 22, 2013. China’s nine-dash line unilaterally encroached on territories of other member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“The Arbitral Ruling clearly stated that the claim of China here has no legal basis,” Tolentino stressed.
The Vietnamese government already decided to ban the screening of Barbie following a review, in which, the depiction of the nine-dash line scene was first noticed.
In 2022, the Philippines banned the movie “Abominable” and “Uncharted” for the same reason.
