Government eyes single broadcasting network before President Aquino steps down in 2016

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma

MANILA — The government is eyeing the privatization of the television stations it controls before the term of President Benigno Aquino III ends in 2016, said Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. on Thursday.

Two TV stations are currently under the administration: IBC-13 and RPN-9.

IBC-13, a sequestered asset, is 100-percent government-owned.

Coloma said in a press briefing in Malacañang that the government is working on the privatization of IBC-13, and that the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations has decided to allow the Development Bank of the Philippines to become the privatization manager of the station.

“Sa aking pagkabatid ay inuumpisahan na ang prosesong ito at ang target ay matapos ito sa pagtatapos din ng termino ni Pangulong Aquino,” he said.

He noted that RPN-9 is already privatized, with the government owning only 20.8 percent of the station.

Coloma said the administration has since 2010 wanted only one government-owned broadcasting network, which includes television and radio.

The state-run radio station is dzRB Radyo ng Bayan, and aside from IBC-13 and RPN-9, the government also runs PTV-4.

The PCOO administers these stations pursuant to Executive Order No.

4.