P400-M media hub to rise in Davao City

A MULTI-MILLION state-of-the-art Mindanao Media Hub will soon rise in Davao City and will house the different government communication agencies.

The media hub is aimed to boost the government’s communication services and to strengthen the delivery of reliable information to the public.

Presidential Communications and Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar said in an interview on Thursday, May 3, during the media hub’s Hard Hat and Groundbreaking ceremony at its location in C.P Garcia Avenue, Bangkal, the building will serve as the government’s main broadcast hub in Regions 10 to 13.

“First of all this is historic and also kasabay ito na nangyari sa World Press Freedom Day,” he said.

Attached agencies under PCOO will now be housed in one roof including the Philippine Information Agency News and Information Bureau, Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation, People's Television Network, Inc., RTVM - Radio Television Malacañang, Bureau of Broadcast Services, Bureau of Communications Services, National Printing Office, and

Apo Production Unit. PCOO will also have its office here.

“Lahat po ng taga Mindanao na matagal ng pinapangarap na magkaroon ng isang state-of-the-art facility na pagmamay-ari ng gobyerno, ito na po yon (to all the Mindanaoans who have long dreamed to have a state-of-the-art facility that is owned by the government, this is it),” he said.

Andanar added that they are expecting the building to be completed by the end of the year or January 2019 and will begin its operation by the second quarter of 2019.

“Very exciting ito lalong-lalo na sa mga media practitioners at ‘yong mga nagnanais na maging media practitioner in the future,” he cited.

The budget allocated in this project is about P400 million. It’s a four-storey building situated in more than one-hectare area.

Andanar likewise said President Rodrigo Duterte also wants to build the same structure for Visayas Media Hub.

“For such a long time already, we’ve been waiting for our facility in Mindanao kasi yong media facilities nasa Manila. So now we have in Mindanao and hopefully in 2019 in Visayas also we can start,” he said.

This hub will also function as an emergency broadcast station in times of calamities, disaster, and emergencies. Should the main office in the National Capital Region (NCR) will shut down, the Mindanao Media Hub has the capacity to take over.

In his speech, Special Assistant to the President Bong Go who was the event’s guest of honor said that the expansion of PCOO through construction of the Mindanao Media Hub here in Davao City is timely with the rise of fake news in social media.

“For the longest time, we relied on different media to address our need for worthy and reliable news, and yet we have to admit the fact that some of these sources do not show as much accurate information as we need. To add to this we, we lack credible and reliable news sources in many different parts of our country while mainstream media have chosen to focus their coverage in Metro Manila and other large cities,” Go said.

With this, not only the development happening in Metro Manila will be broadcast but the feat of other provinces as well.

“Our people can also use this facility to tell the government what they need. They can also come here to report any wrongdoings and issue complaints against government officials,” Go added.

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