President Duterte on Thursday, Feb. 23, applauded the groundbreaking of the Visayas Media Hub which he said will boost the government's communication service across the country.
In a recorded video message, Duterte congratulated the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) following the groundbreaking of the Visayas Media Hub in Mandaue City, Cebu.
"I welcome the creation of this new facility and its state-of-the-art equipment that will boost government's communication service across the country," Duterte said.
"I am certain that this hub will be a beacon of excellence as we modernize our government media for the improved welfare of our people in the Visayas and the rest of the nation," the President added.
PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar led the groundbreaking ceremony of the media hub in Barangay Subangdaku that will serve as the main broadcast center for Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, and Western Visayas.
Some P300 million was allocated in the 2022 national budget for the construction of the media facility to boost the capacity of government media in the Visayas.
Another P300 million was also included in the PCOO's 2022 budget for the various equipment needed for the operations of the media hub.
The construction of the Visayas Media Hub is one of the Duterte administration's flagship projects that aims to promote effective government communication operations.
It will house the different PCOO attached agencies such as the People’s Television Network (PTV), Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS), Philippine Information Agency (PIA), Philippine News Agency (PNA), and Presidential Broadcast Staff - Radio Television Malacañang (PBS-RTVM).
The Visayas Media Hub will be the second media hub of the PCOO outside Metro Manila next to the Mindanao Media Hub in Davao City which conducted its pilot live broadcast in December 2020.