PCO chief vows to fix PTV facilities after Mike Abe’s on-air blast

Photo from PTV Facebook page

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Dave Gomez on Sunday vowed to address the dysfunctional facilities of the government-owned People’s Television Network, days after veteran broadcast journalist Mike Abe criticized him on-air for poor maintenance and alleged corruption.

In an interview at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, Gomez said he was aware of the network’s complaints and had pushed for funding to rehabilitate it.

“This is my first visit to PTV4, and I immediately saw the reported leaking roofs and broken air-conditioning units. That’s true. So when I testified before Congress to present and defend our budget about three weeks ago, we already recommended that PTV4 really needs funding for rehabilitation,” he said in Filipino.

“The new management, under GM Malou Choa-Fagar and Chair Vivian, I had them prepare a proposal on what needs to be fixed. I already received their proposal last week, so it’s with me now. It details how much will be needed and what should be done at PTV4. We know the situation, and we are addressing the problem—we will fix it,” he added.

The statement came after Abe challenged Gomez to investigate the alleged misuse of funds at the network.

“Where have you seen a building with leaks from the top floor all the way to the ground floor? Why are there leaks? Poor maintenance! Here, the rooms don’t even have air-conditioning,” Abe said in Filipino on his program on September 4.

READ: Malou Choa-Fagar takes over as general manager of PTV-4

He further lamented how PTV employees have yet to receive their allowances for covering the 2025 midterm elections./mcm