Gov't building P700-M state media hub in Davao City

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The government is building a P700-million state-of-the-art broadcast facility that will house its communication units serving different regions in Mindanao.

The 4-story Mindanao Media Hub will rise in Davao City by January 2019, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said during the groundbreaking ceremonies for the hub Thursday, May 3. 

“For all of those in Mindanao who have wished that the government would have its own state-of-the-art [media] facility, this is it,” he said in Filipino.

The PCOO chief was joined by Presidential Task Force on Media Security head Josel Egco and Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go in the ceremony held at the hub’s one-hectare grounds along C.P. Garcia Avenue.

Based on a video brief, the facility will be the government’s main broadcast hub for Regions 10 to 13, and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. It is envisioned to boost the government’s broadcast signal in the regions “while tailoring content specific to the people in the region.”

It willl be powered by a 10kW terrestrial transmitter and a 1kW digital transmitter which will facilitate the digital satellite news gathering.

It will feature 4 studios, each with its own production control.

PCOO’s satellite office will also find a home inside the hub, along with its units, the People’s Television Network, Philippine Information Agency, Philippine News Agency, and Philippine Broadcasting Service.

This development comes after President Rodrigo Duterte said he wanted to raise state media to a level that could compete with the broadcasting neworks of foreign governments. He said this in his first State of the Nation Address in 2016.  – Rappler.com