ANGARA: MORE EDUC, CULTURAL PROGRAMS IN GOV'T TV STATIONS

Senator Edgardo J. Angara today urged government stations RPN9 and IBC-13 to invest in more educational and cultural programs on local television.

"There is limited allocation for less advertising-intensive educational programs in private and profit-oriented networks, that is why we need increased airtime in government stations devoted to children's educational shows," stressed Angara, former president of the University of the Philippines.

Angara said that this move should be incorporated to a general overhaul of the two sequestered networks in ensuring they are in good condition, amid talks of privatization.

He lamented that the economics of TV advertising has overshadowed the noble intention of creating a more stimulating medium for children to learn from. "Instead of simply showing cartoon characters and animation as entertainment to our children, we must keep in mind that their values are honed from what they see onscreen. Hence, the need to provide materials with more educational value on air," he added.

Along with the privatization of RPN and IBC will be the composition of a new leadership board, which Angara hopes will share his advocacy for more child-friendly shows. The Office of the President and the PCGG will respectively nominate and appoint a new set of board of directors.

Currently children are exposed to programs like Knowledge Channel but network operators are not able to maximize the programs due to limited advertising revenues.

In 2006, Angara spearheaded the Educational Television (ETV) Adopt-a-Hometown School project in his hometown Aurora, where 112 public elementary schools in the province were provided with television monitors, DVD players and educational video materials for use as reference material in daily classroom discussion.

The project aims to upgrade the quality of education in English, Math and Science through instructional videos. Angara also integrated the promotion of environmental consciousness among the students by producing ETV episodes on the environment. This project is made possible through ABS-CBN Foundation, Inc. (AFI) in cooperation with the Department of Education, the local government of Aurora and Angara's office providing funding.

He urged to "maximize our capability to reach our children both in the urban and rural areas and provide high-quality educational and cultural programs. They need to learn early and with the modern challenges and trends in multi-media, we must develop more creative and intellectually-stimulating materials."