House Bill Offers Incentives for Public Service Programs

News & Issues

A proposal in Congress to require broadcast stations to devote a minimum of two hours of their airtime to “positive news” has been scrapped in favor of a bill that would grant tax incentives to both broadcast and print media that allocate more than 10 percent of their airtime or print space to public service programs or advertisements. The incentives would also cover advertisers who sponsor of public service messages (PSA’s) on broadcast, print or outdoor.

The proposal is contained in a new bill sponsored by Rep. Alfonso V. Umali, Jr. and Al Francis Bichara to replace House Bills No. 1556 and 2172, which were opposed by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) and other media organizations as a violation of press freedom, an intrusion into the prerogative of media to determine content, and for imposing an unnecessary burden that could result in financial losses for broadcasting stations. The KBP also pointed out that the government already controls a substantial amount of broadcast media facilities that can be utilized in performing the tasks envisioned by the original bills. It said the privately-owned media already renders substantial public service.

The new bill does not state what types of tax incentives will be given but instead leaves this to be determined by the Department of Finance “in coordination” with the Office of the Press Secretary. The bill also directs the Office of the Press Secretary to formulate the implementing rules in coordination with the KBP, the Philippine Press Institute (PPI), the National Press Club (NPC), and the Philippine National Association of Advertisers (PANA).