2464: artists beware

ei guys, have you heard of the Senate Bill No. 2464, the ANTI-OBSCENITY AND PORNOGRAPHY ACT OF 2008? i have just read some recent posts from the blogosphere about this and read the actual documentation from the senate website, and man, this is quite an interesting bill they are trying to pass here.

some excerpts:

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SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. -As used in this Act, the following terms shall mean:

(a) "Obscene" refers to anything that is indecent or offensive or contrary to good customs or religious beliefs, principles or doctrines, or tends to corrupt or deprave the human mind, or is calculated to excite impure thoughts or arouse prurient interest, or violates the proprieties of language and human behavior, regardless of the motive of the producer, printer, publisher, writer, importer, seller, distributor or exhibitor such as, but not limited to:

(1) showing, depicting or describing sexual acts;
(2) showing, depicting or describing human sexual organs or the female breasts;
(3) showing, depicting or describing completely nude human bodies;
(4) describing erotic reactions, feelings or experiences on sexual acts; or 2
(5) performing live sexual acts of whatever form.

(b) "Pornographic or pornography" refers to objects or subjects of film, television shows, photography, illustrations, music, games, paintings, drawings, illustrations, advertisements, writings, literature or narratives, contained in any format, whether audio or visual, still or moving pictures, in all forms of film, print, electronic, outdoor or broadcast mass media, or whatever future technologies to be developed, which are calculated to excite, stimulate or arouse impure thoughts and prurient interest, regardless of the motive of the author thereof.

(c) "Mass media" refers to film, print, broadcast, electronic and outdoor media including, but not limited to, internet, newspapers, tabloids, magazines, newsletters, books, comic books, billboards, calendars, posters, optical discs, magnetic media, future technologies, and the like.

(d) "Materials" refers to all movies, films, television shows, photographs, music, games, paintings, drawings, illustrations, advertisements, writings, literature or narratives, whether produced in the Philippines or abroad.

(e) "Sex" refers to the area of human behavior concerning sexual activity, sexual desires and instinct, and their expressions.

(f) "Sexual act" refers to having sex or the act of satisfying one's sexual instinct.


SEC. 4. Punishable Acts. following acts are declared illegal and punishable:

(a) Producing, printing, showing, exhibiting, importing, selling, advertising or distributing obscene or pornographic materials in all forms of mass media;

(b) Causing the showing or exhibition, distributing or the printing, publication or advertising, or the selling of obscene or pornographic materials in all forms of mass media;

(c) Showing, exhibiting, selling, or distributing obscene or pornographic movies in whatever format, whether produced in the Philippines or abroad, in any restaurant, club or other places open to the public, including private buildings, places or houses where the viewers are not limited to them owners thereof and the members of his family;

(d) Writing any obscene or pornographic article in any print or electronic medium;

(e) Performing, demonstrating, acting or exhibiting any obscene or pornographic act in any form of mass media; and

(f) Performing, or allowing the performance of, live sex or live sexual act in public, public places or any place open to public viewing.

SEC. 5. Penalties. - The following penalties shall be imposed upon any person found guilty of committing any of the prohibited acts under Section 4 of this Act:

(a) For producing, printing, showing, exhibiting, importing, selling, advertising or distributing obscene or pornographic materials in all forms of mass media, the penalty of prison mayor, imprisonment of not less than six (6) years and one (I) nor more than twelve (12) years and a fine of not less than Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,OOO.OO) nor more than One million pesos (PI ,000,000.00) shall be imposed;

(b) For causing the showing or exhibition, distributing or the printing, publication or advertising, or the selling of obscene or pornographic materials in all forms of mass media, the penalty of imprisonment of not less than three (3) years nor more than six (6) years and a fine of not less than Two hundred thousand pesos (P200,OOO.OO) nor more than Five hundred thousand pesos
(P500,OOO.OO) shall be imposed;

(c) Showing, exhibiting, selling or distributing obscene or pornographic movies in whatever format, whether produced in the Philippines or abroad, in any restaurant, club or other places open to the public, including private buildings, places or houses where the viewers are not limited to the owners thereof and the members of his family, the penalty of imprisonment of not less than three (3) years nor more than six (6) years and a fine of not less than Two hundred
thousand pesos (P200,OOO.OO) nor more than Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,OOO.OO) shall be imposed;

(d) For writing any obscene or pornographic article in any print or electronic medium, the penalty of imprisonment of not less than three (3) years nor more than six (6) years and a fine of not less than Two hundred thousand pesos (P200,OOO.OO) nor more than Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,OOO.OO) shall be imposed;

(e) For performing, demonstrating, acting or exhibiting any obscene or pornographic act in any form of mass media, the penalty of imprisonment of not less than one (1) year nor more than three (3)years and a fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos (PlOO,OOO.OO) nor more than Three hundred thousand pesos (P300,OOO.OO) be imposed; and

(f) For performing, or allowing the performance of, live sex or live sexual act in public, public places or any place open to public viewing, the penalty of imprisonment of not less than one (1) year nor more than three (3) years and a fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,OOO.OO) nor more than Three hundred thousand pesos (P300,OOO.OO)

***

interesting, right?

i mean, so now it is fucking obscene to depict or describe completely nude bodies? it is now fucking obscene to describe erotic reactions, feelings or experiences on sexual acts? there goes hundreds of nude paintings (or sketches, etc) from artists all over the philippines. there goes all the galleries showing all these art pieces. there goes hundreds of art films being shown in indie film festivals. there goes all the novels that describe this things inside their pages. there goes thousands of sessions from well known models and photographers.

there goes an artist's freedom.

and it does not stop in artist circles. what about many major publications? fhm or maxim anyone? do you collect those? well, if the bill would be passed and approved, there goes your collections pal. oh wait, what about cosmo? they also have monthly articles on sex positions, sexual encounters and all that. well, there goes cosmo. byebye.

i really can't believe that this bill is actually there right now. i can't believe that there hasn't been any talks about it on public. i gonna check about this from my friends in the artist circles and see if they know anything about this piece of crap bill.

if you guys wanna read the whole documentation about this bill, go here. tell it about your friends, discuss about it.