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MTRCB allows 'Barbie' screening in PH amid 9-dash line controversy

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Jauhn Etienne Villaruel, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Australian actor Margot Robbie (right) signs autographs during the pink carpet event for the movie " at="" Parque="" Toreo="" in="" Mexico="" on="" Thursday.="" Isaac="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/entertainment/07/07/20230706-mexico-barbie-movie-epa-2.jpg"/><figcaption>Australian actor Margot Robbie (right) signs autographs during the pink carpet event for the movie &#x27;Barbie&#x27;, at Parque Toreo Central, in Mexico City, Mexico on Thursday. Isaac Esquivel, EPA-EFE</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA (UPDATE) -- The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) has allowed the screening of the movie &quot;Barbie&quot; in the Philippines as it found &quot;no clear nor outright depiction of 9-dash line&quot; in the film.&quot;The Board believes that all things considered, it has no basis to ban the film &#x27;Barbie&#x27; as there is no clear nor outright depiction of the nine-dash line in the subject film,&quot; MTRCB said in its letter to Sen. Francis Tolentino, who sought the banning of the film.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/07/04/23/senators-clash-on-barbies-ph-release-over-reported-9-dash-line-scene">Senators clash on Barbie&#x27;s PH release over reported 9-dash line scene</a></li></ul>MTRCB said the movie &quot;underwent two meticulous screenings,&quot; the second one with representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Solicitor General &quot;in order to fully ascertain and determine if the said lines depict the nine-dash line.&quot;&quot;We have similarly sought the opinion of a legal expert on the West Philippine Sea during the deliberations in order to gather as much resources to arrive with a fully-informed decision regarding this matter,&quot; MTRCB explained.Meanwhile, Tolentino, who called for the banning of the movie in the Philippines, said he was saddened by MTRCB&#x27;s decision.&quot;Tayo po ay nalulungkot dahil bukas (July 12) &#x27;yung ika-7 anibersaryo ng pagkapanalo natin sa Arbitral Court na pinawalang-bisa iyung 9-dash line,&quot; he said.The July 12, 2016 decision on the arbitration case by The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration recognized the Philippines&#x27; sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone in the resource-rich waters, which China claims in near entirety, often represented by the so-called &quot;nine-dash line.&quot;The movie &quot;Barbie&quot; was recently banned in Vietnam due to scenes that supposedly feature a map with the 9-dash line, which represents China&#x27;s territorial claims in the South China Sea. According to an exclusive report from Variety, the representative of the film group stated that the inclusion of the map in the movie was not meant to convey any specific message.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/07/03/23/vietnam-bans-barbie-movie-over-south-china-sea-map">Bye bye &#x27;Barbie&#x27;: Vietnam bans movie over South China Sea map</a></li></ul>“The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing. The doodles depict Barbie’s make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the ‘real world.’ It was not intended to make any type of statement,” the spokesperson for the Warner Bros. Film Group said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/07/09/23/warner-bros-speaks-up-on-controversial-map-in-barbie-movie">Warner Bros. speaks up on controversial map in &#x27;Barbie&#x27; movie</a></li></ul>

MTRCB allows 'Barbie' screening in PH amid 9-dash line controversy

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MTRCB allows 'Barbie' screening in PH amid 9-dash line controversy

Jauhn Etienne Villaruel,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 11, 2023 06:25 PM PHT

|

Updated July 11, 2023 09:51 PM PHT

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Barbie

Barbie movie

Barbie film

MTRCB

9 dash line

China

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Movie and Television Review and Classification Board

Francis Tolentino

DFA

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