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WHEREAS, the Board of Censors for Motion Pictures (BCMP), the predecessor of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), used to collect a Legal Research Fund (LRF) fee on every application and petition filed with it, as mandated by Letter of Instructions No. 1182 in relation to R.A. No. 3870.

WHEREAS, the collection of the LRF fee was inadvertently suspended as a consequence of the re-organization of the BCMP into the MTRCB.

WHEREAS, the collection of the LRF Fee was imposed by Republic Act No. 3870, which created the U.P. Law Center, to provide financial support for the latter. Section 4 of R.A. 3870 mandates the imposition of the LRF Fee, as follows:

“Section 4. In order to provide for the support of the UP Law Center and the University of the Philippines Law Complex, the additional amount of one percent (1%) of the filing fee imposed, x x x but in no case lower than ten (10) pesos in the case of all x x x agencies or tribunals exercising quasi-judicial functions and those enumerated in Letter of Instruction No. 1182 x x x shall be collected by their respective clerks or equivalent functionary, for each action or special proceeding filed therewith and for which fees prescribed in x x x any statute or regulation are due and payable. For this purpose, ‘special proceeding’ shall include any petition or application, paper or document seeking official action to establish a status, right, privilege or particular fact or command the performance of a duty. Such additional amounts shall be receipted for as part of a special fund to be known as the ‘Legal Research Fund’ , and shall upon collection, be immediately remitted to the University of the Philippines and deposited in a separate account in any authorized government depository bank in the name of the National Treasurer as Ex-Officio Treasurer of the UP x x x”

WHEREAS, as early as 13 April 2013, the Board issued Memorandum Circular No. 06-2013 on the renewed collection of the LRF Fee on the occasion of, but separate and distinct from, the fees and charges imposed by the MTRCB in the discharge of the latter’s functions as mandated by law.

WHEREAS, the implementation of Memorandum Circular No. 06-2013 re imposing the LRF Fee was deferred upon the request of some sectors of the movie and television industries for time to study the LRF fee.

NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to Section 4 of R.A. No. 3870 in relation to the relevant powers and functions of MTRCB, and after considering the inputs made and position papers submitted by movie and television industry stakeholders on the LRF fee, it is hereby directed:

1. an LRF fee in an amount equivalent to one percent (1%) of the fee imposed but in no case lower than ten (10) pesos shall be collected on every review fee, processing fee, registration fee, permit fee, checking fee, and/or any such other fee, imposed by the MTRCB in the exercise and discharge of its regulatory functions. However, no LRF fee shall be collected on surcharges as well as on the fees for title verification, permit retrieval and still photos.

2. The LRF fee shall be on top of, and separate from, whatever fee is payable to the MTRCB under its Schedule of Fees and Rules and Regulations, the former being due under the R.A. 3870. The LRF fee shall be clearly written and entered on the Official Receipt as a separate item payable.

3. Pursuant to Treasury Circular No. 4-2003 dated 01 August 2003, the MTRCB Cashier shall collect the LRF Fee and shall deposit it directly to the Bureau of Treasury for the account of the UP System (UPS Agency Code AO 823, Fund Code 187). The MTRCB Cashier shall furnish the UP Law Center with a monthly report on the LRF collections and remittances to the Bureau of Treasury.

4. All MTRCB circulars or rules inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. This Memorandum Circular shall take effect on 01 June 2014.

For your proper guidance.

BY AUTHORITY OF THE BOARD:

(SGD.) EUGENIO H. VILLAREAL
Chairperson