The government is ready to transmit information to the public in times of calamities, officials of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said Wednesday.

People’s Television Network, Inc. General Manager Analisa Puod said the state-run TV station is one of the entities tasked to digitalize broadcasting and communications for the national government.

Puod said the early warning broadcast system (EWBS) is one of the means to transmit information, assuring that one of the priorities of the Marcos administration is to set it up in a nationwide scope.

“Right now, kapag may lindol, bigla pong tutunog ‘yung mga telepono natin. Tunog lang po siya nang tunog hanggang pansinin mo siya. So, ‘yung EWBS po na ‘yun pine-perfect ngayon (during an earthquake, our phones will suddenly sound an alarm. It will go on until we check it. So, that EWBS is currently being perfected) under this digitalization,” she said during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media at the Senate.

The committee’s chair, Senator Robinhood Padilla, expressed concern on the readiness of the national government in alerting the public during a possible massive power and communication blackout should natural or man-made calamities strike.

“So, baka po sa panahon ng gyera magagamit na rin po ‘yun ng pamahalaan kasi ngayon nakatuon po ‘yun para gamitin dun sa bagyo, lindol, at sa iba pong (So, maybe the government can also utilize it in times of war because right now, it is being used during typhoons, earthquakes and other) natural calamities,” Puod added, noting that the EWBS is not dependent on electricity, television or radio frequencies and uses a different technology in transmitting information to a wider scope of the populace.

Meanwhile, PCO Assistant Secretary Michael Andre Del Rosario also shared to the panel one of the agency’s projects called the Bagong Pilipinas Digibox.

“I recall that PCO has a shift to digital na program wherein we will actually provide digiboxes to align with the digitalization nga na sinasabi po ni GM Ana Puod na matagal na rin po sanang programa ni presidente (that GM Ana Puod was saying and this is one of the programs of the President),” Del Rosario said.

When connected to a TV, the digibox enables users to receive digital satellite broadcasts.

The PCO initially distributed 1,000 units of the digibox for free during the Bagong Pilipinas kick-off rally at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila last Jan. 28. In that same event, Secretary Cheloy Garafil announced that the agency would distribute more this year.

Besides having many channels and clear reception, the digibox has additional features, such as an early warning device channel. (PNA)