The Department of Budget and Management has approved the budget for the construction of another state-of- the-art media facility that will boost the capacity of government media in the Visayas.
Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar said yesterday that the DBM has approved the allocation of P200 million for the construction of the Visayas Media Hub.
“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 in 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 in Mandaue City.
Andanar said such an initiative would level the field in terms of allocating programs and projects in Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao, adding that the government is stressing the importance of communication to development.
Andanar also said the other policies of the PCOO support the open governance and free press that President Rodrigo Duterte and his administration continue to promote, despite criticisms.
“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 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.
He also said the Media Welfare Bill has already hurdled House approval and whose Senate version is currently pending.*PNA
