The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board has held a compliance seminar for the producers of Coco Martin’s primetime action-drama series Sigabo after receiving more than 10 complaints over alleged excessive violence in the program.
The seminar was held Monday, July 6, at the MTRCB office in Quezon City, following complaints lodged since the show premiered on June 22.
According to the board, viewers raised concerns over the series’ repeated depiction of fistfights, physical aggression, torture scenes, and strong violent language. Some complainants also urged the agency to look into other primetime programs with heavy violent content.
Representatives of CCM Film Productions, led by Martin, who serves as the show’s writer, director, and lead actor, attended the seminar with other production officials. Sigabo, which also stars Julia Montes, is co-produced by CCM Film Productions and ABS-CBN’s Dreamscape Entertainment.
MTRCB Chairperson Lala Sotto said the seminar was meant to help producers better understand the board’s content standards while supporting the local television industry.
“I just want to make it clear that the reason why we are having this compliance seminar today is because we want to help you, we want to help drive the production. We want you to understand where we are coming from and we want a better understanding also of the production,” Sotto said.
Sotto acknowledged that the series tackles socially relevant themes but stressed that television content must still observe limits.
“Magiging very socially relevant, I’m sure, ’yung mga scenes at ’yung mga magiging storyline. Which we understand and we fully support. But there are always limitations. Lahat ng bagay, may limitasyon,” she added.
The seminar was conducted under the MTRCB’s “Responsableng Paggabay” initiative and was facilitated by Vice Chair Juan “Johnny” Revilla and board members Ricardo “Jojo” Salomon, Eloisa Matias, and Robert “Bobby” Andrews.
Malu Sevilla of CCM Film Productions welcomed the dialogue, saying it allowed both the board and the production team to better understand each other’s perspectives.
“We are all here to help this industry. So kung itinataas mo ang level ng entertainment at medyo nagfa-falter kami, we appreciate the help,” Sevilla said.
The MTRCB said Sigabo carries a Strong Parental Guidance rating, which means it contains mature themes that may not be suitable for children without the guidance and presence of a parent or responsible adult.
The board said the SPG classification was based on several factors, including theme, violence, language, horror, drug references, sexual content, genre, treatment, and timeslot.
Sigabo follows Gabo, a devoted son and former convict played by Martin, who accepts a secret mission in exchange for his freedom before crossing paths with Sam, a lawyer and investigative agent portrayed by Montes.