Vote count to be televised to ensure transparency

In the name of public service and transparency, the government-run Nation Broadcasting Network (NBN-4) will continue its live airing of marathon sessions in Congress on the canvassing of votes.

Press Secretary Milton Alingod told The STAR yesterday that Malacañang would keep up the eight-hour long live broadcast of Congress conducting its daily canvass of votes for president and vice president.

This developed even as the administration has complained of too much "grandstanding" of the legislators before the media and dilatory tactics being resorted to by certain opposition personalities to delay the canvass proceedings.

Despite being hobbled by financial woes, Alingod said the state-owned NBN-4 will have to carry out its mandate of public service in terms of information dissemination.

"We want everything to be transparent. We want the canvass to be seen by the people because we have to show the people that we believe the President won the elections," Alingod said, apparently referring to suspicions raised over President Arroyo’s seemingly impending victory against her closest rival, Fernando Poe Jr., as shown in unofficial quick count tallies.

"There is no room for doubt or any effort to hide the results of the canvass. We want to share with them the true picture," Alingod pointed out.

Since Congress first convened as a National Board of Canvassers last Monday, NBN-4 started airing the joint sessions and in the process preempted the network’s scheduled programs.

TV shows that earn money from commercial advertisements for the cash-strapped network were bumped off.

"Despite limited resources of NBN-4, we strive and we hope to do it (broadcast Congress sessions) up to the end of the proceedings so that the people will be properly informed," Alingod said.

He, however, could not quantify in terms of peso figures how much the government spends for such broadcasts.

"Of course, we are spending for the people who cover these events, pay for the electricity and commercials and programs that were preempted, but this is public service," Alingod said.

Even as Palace officials like the President’s spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, complained about too much "grandstanding" before the media by certain lawmakers, Alingod told The STAR this is no reason for the government to stop the live airing of the canvassing of votes, which have yet to take place as pro-administration and opposition solons hotly debate over the rules and procedures on the canvass.

"We want the opposition to ventilate their thoughts. We want the public to know what their thoughts are," he said. "We want this effort by Channel 4 and government to give the people a ringside view of what’s happening in Congress so that the people can judge for themselves," he said.

NBN-4 is among the government media firms under the supervision of the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) although it has a corporate charter of its own and gets subsidy from the annual budget.

NBN-4 general manager Jose Isabelo told The STAR yesterday that revenue losses of the station foregone by this eight-hour daily marathon live broadcast of the canvass could be quantified in terms of its "primetime" rate card on the time slots of TV programs preempted for this public service.

Isabelo cited that an NBN-4 "primetime" rate card goes as high as P250,000 per hour to a low of P100,000.

"We air this (canvass) because we don’t want the people to accuse us of not doing our job on information (dissemination). Other private TV networks would not air this en toto for obvious reasons," Isabelo pointed out.

"We will continue to do this because it’s in our mandate, even if we’re losing (money) here," he said.

Isabela said the two-hour "Tele-Diaryo" will continue with its regular airing to unload their commercials and advertisements in between breaks of Congress’ canvassing.