MANILA, Philippines?I?ve always considered this as a temporary job. I?m a presidential appointee; this can be easily taken away from me. Anybody can take this post.?

Thus said Maria Consoliza Laguardia, who has been the chair of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) for the past seven years.

Laguardia was asked to take on the role of censors board chief by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in March 2003. Now that a new President, Benigno Aquino III, has been proclaimed, Laguardia claims she feels no bitterness relinquishing her post.

Laguardia, whose aunt is married to Arroyo?s first cousin, said she even felt fearful the first time she received a call from somebody from the Office of the President about the position.

Two nights to decide

?I was given only two nights to decide on whether to accept the job or not. I was afraid. I?ve never been a leader, even when I was in school,? she admitted. ?I told myself I?m lucky if I would last two weeks on this job. Two weeks later, there weren?t too many problems so I felt OK. A month came and I said, ?kaya pa.? One year later, even though there had already been lots of problems, nasanay na ako. Now I?m coming to the end of my term. I?m glad that I was able to survive.?

Laguardia was a member of the MTRCB board from March 2001 until her appointment as head of the agency. For 16 years, she worked as an investment trader for PNB (Philippine National Bank), a position she described as ?structured and almost boring.?

A regular day in the MTRCB office for Laguardia begins around 9 a.m. ?I do my paper work and monitor shows in the morning. Since I?m working on lowering my cholesterol, I use the treadmill before having lunch.? Meetings are usually set in the afternoon, she added. ?I don?t have a definite time to leave for home. I sometimes have to attend events at night as part of work.?

She cited the premiere of the Chito Roño film ?Emir,? which was also attended by Ms Arroyo, as an example.

?I?m still the same person I was seven years ago. Working in this office didn?t change me at all, even my lifestyle,? said the MTRCB chief, who is called Marissa by close friends. ?I?m really not after recognition, although it honestly feels good that people recognize me as MTRCB head. At the end of the day, it?s still who you really are that counts.?
Starstruck
She added that one reward she gets from her job is being able to rub elbows with show biz celebrities. ?Mababaw lang ang gusto ko?makakita ng artista. Even after being part of this industry all these years, I am still often starstruck. My favorites are Dingdong (Dantes) and Marian (Rivera), John Lloyd (Cruz) and Bea (Alonzo).?

Laguardia said she takes pride in being the chairperson who was able to ?strengthen? the agency?s monitoring system by hiring more special agents to keep watch for irregularities, especially in the provinces. It was also during Laguardia?s term when dialogues between MTRCB board members and industry key players became more regular.

Quick action

?Adjudication board meetings are held at the office almost every week. When somebody complains, even through text messages, we act on it immediately,? she said. ?We were also able to minimize the use of overly sexy outfits on television. Program hosts are now more careful with saying words that have sexual undertones,? she pointed out.

She considers the ?Da Vinci Code? controversy in 2006 the toughest problem she had to deal with. ?It became an international issue,? she recalled. ?There was an international uproar about nothing. It was really a test for me.?

The City Councilors of Manila passed a resolution to ban the screening of the film, which they said was ?offensive and contrary to established religious beliefs.? The move was seconded by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, saying that it was blasphemous not only to Catholics but to Muslims as well.

The Catholic Bishops? Conference of the Philippines, in a pastoral letter, expressed that novelist Dan Brown ?has created the impression that his fiction is historical fact.? The MTRCB eventually gave the film an R-18 rating (restricted to those under 18 years old).

Laguardia added that the rift between comedian Joey de Leon and TV host Willie Revillame?over comments they made on their shows ?Eat?Bulaga!? and ?Wowowee,? respectively, in August 2007?also gave her a headache.

Warring hosts

?I only wanted them to stop fighting and reconcile, but it sort of boomeranged on me,? the MTRCB chief said. ?I talked to Joey and explained my side. I guess everything is OK between us now. I visited Willie on ?Wowowee? three months ago and already made my peace with him.?

?How to have this building was the third toughest problem I had to hurdle,? Laguardia said of the newly built four-story MTRCB office on Timog Avenue, Quezon City. ?It took us more than four years to have a building of our own. At one point, all of us thought accomplishing this task was impossible.?

New home

After renting the sixth floor of the nearby President Tower for years, the MTRCB finally moved in to its new home in February.

Surprisingly, Laguardia did not consider criticisms she got from the film sector or the constant clamor for the agency?s abolition as roadblocks.

?If somebody criticizes you, you shouldn?t be disheartened. You should even thank your critics for telling you this. ?Di ka dapat napipikon,? she pointed out. ?If you abolish the MTRCB, who will watch out for the interest of the viewing public? Things will only become one-sided, in favor of the TV and movie industry leaders. We have to remember that the audience is the end-user of these products and should be protected.?

Now that Laguardia?s term is almost over, several names are being mentioned as her possible replacement: TV host-talent manager Boy Abunda; Movie Workers Welfare Foundation (Mowelfund) chair and actress Boots Anson-Roa; and Regal Entertainment matriarch Lily Monteverde, who was quoted in one report to have promised to endorse Laguardia?s retention in office.

Laguardia, who describes herself as ?neither conservative nor liberal, but someone always in the middle,? said an MTRCB head ?should have a lot of patience and understanding, and the courage to try different things that will be beneficial to the MTRCB.?

To the next boss, Laguardia has this advice: ?Being a leader is also being a servant of the industry. Being a leader is also being a mother to your subordinates. You have to be open to hearing all sides.?