BY NEIL RAMOS
*
ABS-CBN president and CEO Carlo Katigbak maintained ABS-CBN TVplus was rolled out in response to the government’s mandate to shift from analog to digital terrestrial broadcasting.
“The sale of the TVplus boxes is in compliance with the directive of NTC to migrate our broadcast to digital,” said Katigbak at the House of Representatives’ panel hearing on the network’s franchise renewal, Thursday.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) released the country’s framework for the Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting (DTT) Migration Plan in the Digital TVSummit 2017, enjoining broadcasters like ABS-CBN to have expedient migration from analog to digital broadcasting by 2023.
Note TVplus has partnered with government agencies such as the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) to disseminate relevant information to the public via its INFOplus feature.
TVplus viewers also have access to the built-in emergency warning broadcast system (EWBS) that will show warning messages and safety alerts during times of disasters. This service was used during the MMDA earthquake drill in 2015.
Meanwhile, ABS-CBN legal counsel Atty. Cynthia del Castillo, at the same House panel hearing reiterated holders of ABS-CBN Holdings’ Philippine Deposit Receipts (PDRs) are merely “passive investors” and do not have the right to own and manage the company.
“PDRs are purely financial instruments. Hindi po ito shares. Hindi po sila nakakaboto sa ABS-CBN Broadcasting at hindi po sila nakakapag-participate sa management ng ABS-CBN,” Del Castillo said.
Katigbak added ABS-CBN Holdings acted in good faith by going to the SEC to secure approval before offering the PDRs to the public in 1999.
