Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. questioned yesterday the government’s move to privatize television stations IBC-13 and RPN 9 amid questions of ownership.
“I thought sequestration did not mean the ownership of government. Sequestration was only to safeguard the assets of a certain company. I did not know that the government now owns those sequestered companies,” Marcos said.
He said the government’s announcement came as a surprise to him since this might also involve other sequestered properties being claimed by his family.
Marcos’ reaction came following reports that the Aquino administration is reviewing proposals to privatize two government-sequestered television stations as well as make the state-run NBN-4 at par with global network giants like the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC).
Secretary for Operations Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Office, under whose jurisdiction the government media networks fall, said their policy direction is geared toward the privatization of sequestered networks RPN-9 and IBC-13.
“Maybe they can finally come to a decision on how to dispose, how to handle those properties, not only the two stations but also the other sequestered properties. Look at the legal situation, they are all in limbo. The status is not clear. Let’s look at the other sequestered properties,” Marcos said.
He urged the government to look into the real legal situation rather than rushing the sale.
“Why are these corporations still under control of government when in fact they were supposed to be sequestered? Why is it that government behaves like they owned these assets? Sequestration does not mean ownership,” Marcos said.
He said the administration may want to reconsider its position, and give back the two stations to their rightful owners.
Too much of nothing
But Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, former defense minister during the dictatorship, has no qualms over the proposals, noting that the government can still retain NBN-4.
Enrile said there is even no need to “overhaul” the two TV stations to make them more attractive to investors.
“Why don’t you sell it as is and let the buyer buy the kind of equipment he wants to modernize the station? Just sell the franchise and assets,” the Senate President said.
Sen. Joker Arroyo, human rights lawyer during the martial rule, noted that there are no takers for the two TV channels because of their huge debts.
He added that the privatization proposals always crop up at the start of every new administration. “It won’t materialize,” Arroyo said.
Sen. Marcos said the “large percentage of sequestered properties that the government alleged belong to his family” have not been resolved in the last 24 years since the ouster of his father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos.
Twenty-four years since the downfall of the dictatorship, Marcos said his family has long been open to negotiate with government over the alleged ill-gotten wealth but to no avail.
A call for transparency
Meanwhile, Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, chairman of the House committee on public information, supported the move to privatize the two TV stations but said the Palace should ensure transparency so that the proceeds would go to government coffers and not line private pockets.
“While I fully agree to the proposal to privatize RPN-9 and IBC-13, it would only be realized if the Aquino government will be able to muster enough political will,” Evardone said.
“All past administrations have vowed to pursue the privatization also. But because of their desire to beef up their propaganda machinery, the privatization was no longer a priority,” he said.
Evardone said the government can retain NBN-4 for information dissemination purposes but immediately dispose of the two other stations, which rely heavily on subsidies.
There could be interested buyers
PCGG commissioner for asset management Ricardo Abcede, on the other hand, said that any move to sell the two stations was welcome considering that government already operates Channel 4.
Abcede pointed out that other countries only maintained one government station such as in the case of the United Kingdom, which has their lone government network, the BBC and the United States, which has PBS.
He noted that the current network war and the effort of telecommunications tycoon Manuel Pangilinan to build up TV 5, coupled with the privatization of the two networks, opened up opportunities for employees.
He said the PCGG, through its membership in the Privatization Council, has supervised an in-depth study conducted by its financial advisor, CLSA Philippines, for the sale of the two stations, which came up with fair valuations.
“If I’m not mistaken, IBC-13 was valued at P1.2 billion, and RPN-9, around P800 million,” Abcede said, expressing confidence that there could be interested buyers for the two stations.
“I am sure there will be interested buyers from among our big conglomerates who have big marketing budget. For example, San Miguel, they don’t have TV station, and they have diversified companies. Another would be Globe,” he said. – Paolo Romero, Rainier Allan Ronda