‘NewsWatch’ to go off the air; 200 RPN9 workers laid off

Radio Philippines Network, Inc. (RPN9) will soon pull the plug on one of the country’s longest-running English newscast, “NewsWatch,” which first aired in 1979, and will lay off 200 of its employees.

Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) told a briefing Tuesday at the Palace that the Aquino administration had no more say in the operations of the privatized network, including the retrenchment of 200 RPN9 employees.

Coloma said the government could not stop the retrenchment since its “participation is limited” to the two RPN board members representing the government: former press undersecretary Lourdes “Deedee” Siytangco and Antonio “Tonipet” Albano, former president of RPN.

RPN is no longer a government corporation. The government’s equity is only 20.8 percent while 66 percent, or two-thirds is already owned by private corporations, he said.

RPN management, now in the hands of Solar Entertainment Group and Far East Management and Investors Incorporated (FEMII), has already issued letters or notices of termination to some 200 employees of the network.

Based on the existing collective bargaining agreement between RPN management and its union, the notice period is 45 days.

“We continue to monitor the developments in RPN to ensure that all the rights of the employees under the Labor Code are adequately protected,” said Coloma.

Coloma admitted receiving reports that RPN management would soon ax “NewsWatch.”

“Whatever action (the new RPN management takes) is beyond government. All I can say is we will ensure that they (management) remain compliant to the law,” he said.

Under a debt-to-equity conversion scheme, Solar Entertainment became a blocktimer of RPN and the latter was left with only about two hours a day to air news and public affairs shows.

But Robert Rivera, the RPN’s officer-in-charge, clarified Tuesday that the news program would not finally sign off as earlier reported.

“We are business as usual here, and we continue our dialogue with (the) union. We continue to air ‘NewsWatch’ until such time all concerned parties are duly notified, including some sponsors,” said Rivera through an e-mail.

In Cebu City, four employees of the RPN got the biggest shock of their lives after they were served termination notices on Monday.

Two of the four terminated employees were Egmidio Bustillo, staff announcer of dyKC, and  Juan Ybañez, a news staff. The other two terminated employees asked not to be identified. With a report from Jhunnex Napallacan, Inquirer Visayas