Muzzle men
I think we should rename MMDA to Moral Majority Defense Association. Or maybe Mindless Morals of the Dark Ages. Not the Metropolitan Manila Development Association, which is what its original name is. After all, what's the agency responsible for coordinating the different cities comprising Metro Manila doing policing billboards?
MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino seemed so comfortable with its moralizing role too, announcing it had requested a clothing line to take down its sexually suggestive taglines, purportedly in defense of the morals of society.
Not much controversy arose, since the clothing line, so obviously referring to retail giant Bench, simply pasted red cloth or tape over the taglines, but still retaining the striking black and white images of beautifully fleshed bodies meant to promote its underwear show.
What triggered this moral policing function, you might ask? Chairman Tolentino says it was because some Catholic bishops had called his attention to the billboards, and so as a good member of the flock, he had conveyed the message to the clothing company. In a Rappler article, Tolentino was quoted as saying "We cannot afford this kind of profane language being used in billboards to go unabated because this might lead to the breakdown of the morals of the public."
But why is MMDA regulating billboard content? Fine, if it were safety concerns, like the threat of giant billboards crashing down on highways, I would understand MMDA's intervention. But the language inside a billboard? What next? Will they step in if an advertiser decides to use the image of a soft porn star, never mind if she's fully clothed, on the ground this would lead to a breakdown of morals as well? Why doesn't MMDA focus on solving traffic? What's it doing becoming the spokesperson for Catholic bishops?
And you might wonder, what were these "profane" taglines anyway? Let's see. These were, (according to Rappler): "Come and Play", "Temptation Calls" and "Express your Hidden Desires." (Apparently, the same report tells us that the real taglines were actually "Temptation Awaits" and "Confess your Desires")
In what context are these profane? I guess if the billboard was of a priest wearing a benevolent smile and hands outstretched saying "confess your desires", no issue would have been made. But because it was paired with a hunky boy with chiseled chest and abs, then some bishop experienced real discomfort and became all hot and bothered, and it became "profane."
But here's the thing. Even if it were sexually suggestive, what's the big deal? Since when has suggesting sexuality been so bad? Every time a beautiful actress or model is used, whether to sell tuna or slippers, or watches or shampoo, there's always the suggestion of sex conveyed. From the bare chest to the skimpy dress, from the hip hugging jeans to the slit in the skirt. So what exactly is it in these tag lines that crossed the line into prohibited, objectionable territory?
Well, that's exactly the danger here. No one knows. There are no guidelines. It's how the dear bishops and Chairman Tolentino interpreted it, and I guess that's the final word on the matter. Which is exactly the danger tried to be prevented by the right to freedom of speech. Arbitrary standards, the muzzling of ideas on the fear they will be found to be objectionable, silence.
If Bench had resisted and dug in its heels, then perhaps we would be in the middle of an ideological debate. Freedom of speech, constitutional rights, rah rah rah. We could be discussing the shielding of minors from the idea of sex. Or what kind of exposure is good or bad (and certainly I would be arguing that just because there's an element of sexuality does not necessarily mean that it is bad). But Bench, true to its non-confrontational nature, simply tried to adopt the best solution with its red pasties. (If you were to ask me, that red mask could symbolize repression of speech though.)
But debate is what we need, if only to underscore MMDA's misplaced priorities. Not just misplaced, but mistaken. As they say, in the marketplace of ideas, the truth will emerge. Perhaps it is so apt then, and perhaps this is what caused the bishops' discomfort, that the billboards sought to promote its show entitled "The Naked Truth."
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