A sex scene from Sawsawan, a recent Philippine film released in 2026 that became a global talking point due to its extreme eroticism—sparking speculation like “They’re actually having penetrative sex.” Newcomer Filipina actress Amor Lapus bares it all.
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The History of the Ban on Philippine “Bomba Films” Under Martial Law
The Philippines has a lineage of sexually explicit films known as “Bomba films.” Following the relaxation of censorship in 1967, the 1970 release Uhaw became a massive hit, spawning numerous imitations and establishing the genre. However, when the Marcos regime imposed martial law in 1972, the government established a film censorship board and banned Bomba films one after another; the genre survived by transforming into “Bold films,” which featured less explicit nudity.
The current film classification body, the MTRCB, was established in 1985; it assigns an R-18 rating to films containing sexual content that is not considered excessive—a classification that does not equate to “obscenity.”
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