Manila: The lawyer of former president Joseph Estrada will ask the Supreme Court to decide on the legality of a film review panel's decision to place restrictions on his controversial biopic.
Lawyer Rufus Rodriguez says he will let the Supreme Court decide on the fate of Ang Mabuhay Para sa Masa (To Live for the Masses), the controversial film about the life and times of the detained leader.
Rodriguez believes he has no other recourse but to ask the court to decide on the issue because Estrada supporters could not accept the conditions set by the appeals committee of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).
Earlier this month they ruled the controversial 58- minute biofilm could be shown in public subject to "certain conditions".
Rodriguez said that while the MTRCB had allowed the showing of the biopic, the film ratings board appeals committee imposed certain conditions that Estrada supporters deem "unacceptable", including deleting portions of the video concerning matters prejudicial to the ongoing plunder trial of the former president.
They were also unhappy at the condition which forced the documentary's private producers to include the side of parties allegedly "defamed" and "libelled" in the biopic.
The controversial film covers Estrada's life as a child, an actor and a politician until his ouster by a military-backed people's uprising in 2001.
The film had earlier been banned by the government in 2006 due to its politically inflammatory content with the MTRCB giving it an "X" rating, meaning it cannot be screened in public or shown over broadcast or cable television.
President Gloria Arroyo had ordered the formation of the MTRCB in November for the purpose of hearing the arguments as Estrada supporters called on the Appeals Committee to reconsider its initial ruling.
