DBM approves P200-M fund for Visayas media hub
MANILA - The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has approved the budget for the construction of another state-of- the-art media facility that will boost the capacity of government media in Visayas.
“We
are happy that the President finally approved this shortly after our success in
constructing the Mindanao Media Hub, the largest government media facility
outside of Metro Manila, and the largest in the country to date, which is under
the Duterte administration,” he said during an interview.
The
Visayas Media Hub will start its construction soon within the 3,000-square
meter property of the Department of Information and Communications Technology
(DICT) in Barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City.
Secretary
Andanar said that such an initiative would level the field in terms of
allocating programs and projects in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. It also
proves that the government, especially the current administration is stressing
the importance of communication to development.
“Sa
departamento ko masasabi ko na patas ang ating pagpapagawa ng radio station,
mga TV station and now we have the Visayas Media Hub that basically will become
the biggest media facility in the Visayas [In my department I can say that we
have a level playing field in fixing radio stations, TV stations, and now we
have the Visayas Media Hub that basically will become the biggest media
facility there in the Visayas],” he said.
A
Government Communications Academy is also expected to rise in Manolo Fortich
Bukidnon soon.
He
also emphasized the other policies of the PCOO which support the open
governance and free press that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and his
administration continue to promote, despite criticisms. Adding that these form
part of the Duterte administration's legacies in PCOO.
“This
Presidential Task Force on Media Security only happened under the term of
President Duterte. And because of this we were able to facilitate serving
justice for the victims of the Maguindanao Massacre case,” he said.
He
said that this was the reason that the Philippines was removed by French-based
Reporters Without Borders from its list of most dangerous countries in the
world for journalists.
The
PCOO also championed the Freedom of Information, which revitalized civic
participation in fighting against corruption.
“The
Executive Order No. 2 which created the Freedom of Information gave us
essentially the weapon to open documents under the national government for
scrutiny of not just the media but the rest of the Filipino public. It only
made the government more transparent in the fight against corruption,”
Secretary Andanar said.
He
also mentioned the Media Welfare Bill which has already hurdled Congress
approval and whose Senate version is currently pending.
“For
the first time, the PCOO participated in the policymaking process,” he added.
