Gov’t agencies urged to help media firms amid health crisis

By Pigeon Lobien  

 

MEETING WITH MEDIA. Communications Secretary Martin Andanar meets with local media at the Philippine Information Agency-Cordillera office in Baguio City on Saturday (May 23, 2020). Andanar has asked government agencies to help private media through advertisement placements amid the economic impact of the coronavirus disease 2019. (PNA photo by Liza T. Agoot)

BAGUIO CITY – Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar urged government agencies to allocate funds for advertisement to help media companies survive from the economic impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

 Andanar made this remark after receiving reports that some private media companies have started reducing manpower due to quarantine measures imposed in the entire Luzon on March 16 to contain the Covid-19 outbreak.

“Ipaglaban niyo ang iyong advertising budget niyo, allocate niyo and distribute equally sa private media (Fight for your advertising budget, allocate it and distribute it equally to private media),” Andanar said in a meeting with the heads of private media in Baguio City on Saturday.

Andanar, who has been making rounds in the countryside to meet with the media organizations, said some media companies in the provinces have reduced pay of their stringers by at least 50 percent.

“After two or three weeks later, I started hearing that this media company, big ones from Manila, started downsizing,” said Andanar, a former broadcast journalist.

He said private media’s capability to find news and disseminate them has been affected due to economic reasons.

“Pag sarado ang negosyo, walang advertisement, walang pangkabuhayan ang media company. Kung walang pagkukunan ng revenue, walang pangpasweldo (If businesses are closed, there is no advertisement, so media company has no source of income. If there is no revenue, there is no funds for salaries),” Andanar said.

He also encouraged the government media to help their private counterpart in disseminating news and information.

Andanar said the PCOO has been conducting virtual “Laging Handa” presser since March 16 to serve as source of information on the government’s response against the Covid-19 pandemic that has infected over 5 million worldwide.

During his meeting with media officials in Baguio City, Andanar distributed relief packs for media through the Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club (BCBC) and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP)-Baguio chapter.

BCBC president Aldwin Quitasol, a stringer for the Daily Tribune, said the club has undertaken various programs to help its more than 200 members aside from assistance they get government offices including the PCOO.

The 62-year old BCBC set up help desk in its temporary office at the Baguio Public Information Office to provide assistance to its members.

Andanar along with Undersecretary Joel Egco and Assistant Secretary Ramon Cualoping also met media officials in Dagupan, Pangasinan on Saturday. Assistant Secretary Marie Rafael joined the meeting in Baguio. (PNA)