Tulfo demands salary increase for gov't-employed media practitioners

Senator Idol Raffy Tulfo has urged the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) to increase the salaries of reporters and journalists employed in government-owned media networks to boost their performance.

Tulfo, during the organizational meeting of the Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, Monday, August 15, also said that the government should swiftly process the overdue unpaid compensation or benefits of state-employed media practitioners, particularly those who were employed at PTV 4.

"Ang mga taga-gobyerno na mga reporters, tulad ng PTV 4, ay ang frontline pagdating sa disseminating proper information from the government kaya dapat sila ay well-paid at well-taken care of, pero sa nangyayari ngayon, hindi po, eh. Sila po ay aping-api. Ayusin natin ang pasweldo sa kanila," said Tulfo,

"Tulad ng reporters sa PTV 4, bakit below industry standards ang pasweldo sa kanila? Kung hindi sila bibigyan ng maayos na sweldo, how can they properly disseminate correct information to the masses kung sila ay demoralized?" added Tulfo, a veteran broadcast journalist who briefly worked for PTV 4 before.

Tulfo directed her concern to Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles, who acknowledged Tulfo's statement and agreed with him that government-employed press people are indeed not being paid enough, with some still awaiting their unpaid benefits.

The Senator from Isabela pointed out that the low salary of media practitioners from state-owned networks could lead to biased reporting because some of them may be forced to rely to politicians for financial aid.

"There are some instances na dahil kulang ang pasweldo at kulang ang benepisyo, marami sa kanila ay napipilitan na lumapit po sa politiko sa mga taga-gobyerno para sa pang-gamot sa kanilang mga anak, pambili ng bigas or sometimes kapag mayroon silang emergency, they need help for their family," he shared.

"Once that happens, sila po ay indebted sa politiko na tumulong sa kanila so nagiging bias na po minsan ang kanilang reporting," he added.

Tulfo further suggested that government-owned networks like PTV 4 should strengthen their news and public affairs programs to increase their viewership.