Japan to give P16M for PTV4 improvement

MANILA, Philippines – Viewers of the People’s Television Network (PTV4) should expect major changes in the state-run television network after Japan committed 38.20 million yen (P16.428 million)* to improve its programs.

Japanese Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa and Foreign Affairs Secretary Jose Rene Almendras signed the Cultural Grant Aid for PTV4 on Friday, June 17. 

In a statement, the Japanese embassy said the grant will cover the acquisition of programs produced by the NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster. 

The goal is to “expand and broaden” the range of PTV4’s educational, cultural, and foreign programs, “with an eye to transition to digital terrestrial broadcasting.”

New programs will be introduced on PTV4, including 167 documentaries and 522 shows about Japanese culture, disaster preparedness, and deepening the understanding of the human condition. 

More Filipinos are expected to tune in to PTV4 in the next years after President-elect Rodrigo Duterte decided to boycott the media and instead course his announcements through PTV4 and Radio Television Malacañang.

Incoming Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar said that he is eyeing a former ABS-CBN executive to become the next news director of PTV4.

“I promise you, I will do that. The person that I am hiring as GM (general manager) and the person I’m hiring as the news director, in fact, come from ABS-CBN,” Andanar told ANC’s Headstart. – Mara Cepeda/Rappler.com 

P1 = 0.43 Japanese yen