House body OKs 25-year franchise for SLSU
THE House committee on legislative franchises on Tuesday approved twin bills seeking to give 25-year franchise for the Southern Luzon State University (SLSU) to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain for educational and commercial purposes radio and television
broadcasting stations.
With unanimous affirmative votes, the panel voted to pass House Bill (HB) 7071 and 7478 authored by Quezon Reps. Angelina “Helen” Tan
and. Wilfrido Mark Enverga, respectively.
In her sponsorship, Tan said “the franchise will allow the SLSU to deliver its services to marginalized students who are living in areas without internet connectivity. The franchise to operate a television and radio station will be part of SLSU’s response to the need to device ways to deliver educational services amid the (coronavirus disease-19) COVID-19 pandemic.”
Tan thanked panel chairman Franz “Chicoy” Alvarez and the members of the franchise committee for expediting the passage of the bills, which will serve to broaden the SLSU’s coverage and capacities as an effective instrument in information dissemination geared largely to promote community development and facilitate better public service.
Under the bill, the SLSU will also provide adequate public service time to enable the government to reach the population on important public issues, provide at all times sound and balanced programming, and assist in the function of public information and education.
Tan, who also serves as chairperson of the House committee on health, stressed that “the current COVID-19 pandemic has affected the higher education institutions (HEIs) in the country, which forced the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to allow schools to adopt
flexible learning options that reflect the best assessment of their students’ outcomes.”
She explained that granting the TV and radio franchise to the SLSU, the premier higher education institution in Quezon Province, is important in light of the UNESCO’s assessment of COVID-19 impact on education, which reveals that 3,589,484 students enrolled in various
HEIs in the Philippines had been affected by the school closures caused by the pandemic.
“Overall, there are a total of 28,451,212 affected learners in the country based on the global monitoring of school closures caused by COVID-19,” Tan said.
