MANILA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Philippine police have arrested 34 Filipino moviegoers for sitting out when the Philippine national anthem was played in a cinema, a police report released on Friday said.

The report said the Filipinos went to see the screening of the movie "The House of Us" at a cinema inside a mall in Lemery, a town in Batangas province south of Manila, on Thursday.

The national anthem called "Lupang Hinirang" is played before every screening in cinema but the 34 reportedly remained seated while the anthem was being played.

The 34 were detained at the town's police station while appropriate charges were prepared for filing in a local court.

Police said the 34 violated RA 8491 or an Act Prescribing the Code of the National Flag, Anthem, Motto, Coat-of-Arms and other heraldic items and devices of the Philippines. It is also known as the "Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines."

"As a sign of respect, all persons shall stand at attention and face the Philippine flag, if there is one displayed, and if there is none, they shall face the band or the conductor," it said.

According to the law, any person or judicial entity which violates any of the provisions of the law shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than 5,000 pesos (roughly 93 U.S. dollars) not more than 20,000 pesos (roughly 371 U.S. dollars), or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court.