Action on ‘Abominable’ up to DFA, MTRCB — Palace

MANILA, Philippines — It’s up to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to decide whether to pull out the animated movie Abominable from local cinemas, Malacañang said yesterday.

The Palace issued the statement after the government of Vietnam stopped the showing of the movie to protest a scene which showed a map of China’s “nine-dash line” in the South China Sea. 

“It’s up to the MTRCB, on their assessment,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said at a regular press briefing.

Panelo said the matter involving a scene showing the questionable map would be up to the DFA secretary.

Abominable is about a Chinese girl who discovered a yeti on her roof. It was jointly produced by the Shanghai-based Pearl Studio and Comcast-owned DreamWorks Animation. It was first shown in Vietnam on Oct. 4.

The movie will be shown today in cinemas in Metro Manila.

The U-shaped dash line is a feature used on Chinese maps to illustrate China’s claim over a vast expanse of the South China Sea, including large areas of what Vietnam claims as its continental shelf.

China and Vietnam have been locked in a standoff over the disputed territory after a Chinese vessel conducted a survey within the waters controlled by Vietnam in July.