BTC to establish press center
BANGSAMORO NEWS UPDATES • 20:15 PM Mon Mar 29, 2021
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By:
Nash B. Maulana
THE Bangsamoro Transition Authority will establish a Press Center to boost transparency starting with its interim administration, a ranking member of the BTA Parliament said.
Deputy Speaker Omar Yasser Sema on weekend said he had asked the BTA Information Office to look for a space on which to develop and establish a permanent Parliament Press Center (PPC).
BTA is the transitional mechanism toward establishing the governing policies and structures of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) under Republic Act 11054, the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).
Gilmhar Lao, director of the BTA Information Office, said he had earlier proposed for a space where members of the media can stay and do their works in covering the Bangsamoro Parliament.
Lao said the Parliament has imposed restriction on entry by outsiders to the session hall because of the pandemic. Only the audio-visual crew of the BTA-IO are allowed to take video footages of the legislative sessions for the FB live-streaming, he said.
Because of this, Lao said, he thought of proposing to the Parliament leadership that members of the press covering the proceedings of the Parliament sessions can be hosted somewhere within its premises.
Sema said the development and maintenance of a PPC can be integrated into the funding provision for the Support to Bangsamoro Transition Authority (SUBATRA).
A press center will be the region’s first, since the previous government tenures—15 years of LTP (Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook) and 32 years of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Sources said it will be equipped with a large screen for the live-streaming, a few units of desktop computers, working desks and bin fixtures for printouts, a coffeemaker and refillable provisions, a mini refrigerator, among others.
Sema said a PPC can also serve as the venue for regular press briefings by the Parliament Majority Floor Leader, and by other members concerning proposed policy measures they are pushing in the Parliament.
During Presidential Visits or State of the Region Addresses, a PPC can also be designated as a “press holding area” for smooth coordination on security protocols, as well as other concerns for the visiting press from the capital. Nash B. Maulana