The interim replacement for ‘It’s Showtime’ is reportedly fully prepared for the 12-day suspension handed down by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) due to the incident in which Vice Ganda and Ion Perez licked icing from their fingers.
The network had the option to appeal to Malacañang but opted not to, and the suspension is scheduled to run from October 14 to 27, as previously reported.
ABS-CBN has also issued an official statement on the matter, stating, “After careful consideration, ABS-CBN has decided not to appeal to the Office of the President the decision of the MTRCB on ‘It’s Showtime’ and instead serve the 12-day suspension starting October 14.”
“We respect the authority of the MTRCB, but we believe that ‘It’s Showtime’ did not violate any laws. We are deeply grateful to our viewers for their unwavering love and support for ‘It’s Showtime,’ which will return to the airwaves on October 28, stronger and better.”
Reportedly, among the hosts of the “new program” will be Luis Manzano and Melai Cantiveros.
However, ‘It’s Showtime’ submitted a lengthy appeal to the MTRCB.
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The Motion for Reconsideration, said to be 16 pages long, provided a detailed account of the incident that occurred during the ‘Isip Bata’ segment on July 25, which resulted in the suspension of the show. It included a letter from a psychologist who asserted that there was no sexual connotation in licking icing from a cake with one’s hand.
According to the psychologist: “This is about the licking of icing incident at Showtime last July 2023, allegedly an indecent act of Vice Ganda.”
“A person’s individual experience or circumstance shapes his or her perception, including that of sexual activity or malice.”
“In this case, a person, especially a child, who does not yet have sexual awareness, will not perceive the act of licking food/icing from one’s finger as malicious or sexual.”
“Therefore, the children present during the subject show (who were seven years old and below) and even the children watching will not ordinarily perceive the subject conduct as sexual or malicious,” stated Camille C. Garcia, a psychologist.
