‘ASAP’ to attend MTRCB probe on Anne Curtis

Representatives of the weekly variety show ‘ASAP’ will attend an investigation arranged by government censors’ board on March 5 in connection with Anne Curtis’s alleged “provocative number and outfit” last Sunday.

This develops as Bong Osorio, head of ABS-CBN Integrated Corporate Communication Division, confirmed receipt of a summons from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) on Feb. 27.

Curtis, one of the ABS-CBN show’s hosts, sang Rihanna’s ‘Diamonds’ while wearing what appeared to be a strapless black gown with a slit up to her waist, revealing her left leg and thigh.

She clarified things through tweets, meanwhile, by revealing that she was actually wearing a skin-coloured bodysuit underneath the wet-look gown, both of which were designed by Boom Sason. She said the daring part was just for illusionary purposes.

“We will see if the programme was indeed gender-insensitive, which may be a violation of the Memorandum of Understanding on Portrayal of Women in Media and Film that the MTRCB signed with networks including ABS-CBN,” Eugenio Villareal, MTRCB chairman, said.

Written in Filipino, the MTRCB summons said it expects the co-operation of the network during the course of the investigation.

It may be recalled that MTRCB has recently put GMA-7’s ‘Party Pilipinas’ on a six-month probation and asked its staff to undergo a gender and development training over an inappropriate dance number in one of its episodes. The said episode featured the award-winning singer actress Lovi Poe and Rocco Nacino simulating on bed what appeared to be a sexual act.

“This is meant to enable the programme to effectively engage in self-regulation in terms of gender sensitivity,” Villareal said earlier. MTRCB had also asked GMA-7 for a public apology, to be published in a newspaper of general circulation.