SkyCable vows to fix GMA signal disruption

 Economy
Feb 092013
 
SkyCable vows to fix GMA signal disruption

MANILA, Philippines – SkyCable Corp., a unit of broadcast giant ABS-CBN Corp. of the Lopez clan, has vowed to cooperate with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to resolve its difference with publicly-held GMA Network Inc. over signal disruptions. “SkyCable, together with GMA Network and NTC, has been working hand-in-hand to explore necessary procedures to be undertaken in order to resolve the signal disruption issue at hand,” the company said in a statement. In the meantime, SkyCable said subscribers who are experiencing the said DigiBox problem could fix this manually by rescanning their DigiBox. “We regret this temporary inconvenience and extend our apologies for any difficulty brought about by this system upgrade,” the company said. GMA has filed a complaint against SkyCable over the unilateral change in channel assignment for the second time in less than four months. Butch Raquel, consultant to the chairman and chief executive officer for corporate communications, said the company filed a complaint before the NTC for the rechanneling undertaken by SkyCable last Feb.1. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “GMA Network expresses its concern as to why it gets to be affected by whatever SkyCable is doing or modifying in its system,” Raquel stressed. Last Feb. 1, SkyCable conducted a system upgrade to enhance signal clarity for GMA from channel 12 to channel 99, Shop TV from channel 13, SKY Preview Channel from channel 21, and ABN from channel 163. In a letter to NTC commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba, GMA vice president for legal Read More …

GMA Network asks SC to stop airtime limits on pol ads

 News
Feb 082013
 
GMA Network asks SC to stop airtime limits on pol ads

(Updated 5:44 p.m.) Broadcast giant GMA Network Corp. on Friday asked the Supreme Court to stop and declare as illegal two Commission on Elections (Comelec) resolutions limiting political advertisements in television and radio. In a 56-page petition for certiorari, the network said Comelec Resolution 9615 issued in January and Resolution 9631 in February imposing limits on the total number of minutes for a national or local candidate’s broadcast campaign were “too restrictive.” “We raised that the aggregate airtime for political advertisements is restrictive considering that it inpinges on the right to suffarge and the right of the people to be informed on important matters and the right of the people to free speech and expression,” said one of the network’s lawyers, Maria Estelita Arles. Under the January Comelec ruling, which was upheld by the February resolution, the following guidelines were set: For all national candidates, 120 minutes in all TV networks and 180 minutes in all radio stations For all local candidates, 60 minutes in all TV networks and 90 minutes in all radio stations. GMA Network also asked the high court to issue a temporary restraining order or a writ of preliminary injunction against the Comelec ruling. It also said the Comelec ruling should be declared unconstitutional and unlawful for having been promulgated in excess or without jurisdiction. “Section 9(a) of the new rulesis a cruel and oppressive regulation as it imposes the unreasonable and nearly impossible burden on the broadcast mass media of monitoring a candidate’s or political Read More …

Mostly fair but cold weather expected after warm weekend

 News
Jan 272013
 
Mostly fair but cold weather expected after warm weekend

Despite relatively warm weather last weekend, Filipinos should still keep those sweaters handy, state weather forecasters said Monday. PAGASA forecaster Buddy Javier said the cold weather is still likely to last until February and even possibly to early March. “Asahan natin susunod na araw makaranas tayo lamig siguro till March,” Javier said in an interview on dzBB radio. “There’s no low pressure area inside nor immediately outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) at the moment. The northeast monsoon affecting Luzon is the only significant weather system in the archipelago,” explained resident GMA meteorologist Nathaniel “Mang Tani” Cruz. Satellite image as of 8 a.m. Javier said Metro Manila’s lowest temperature on Sunday was 21 degrees Celsius, nearly three degrees higher than the 18.1 degrees Celsius last Jan. 24. Even temperatures in Baguio City Sunday were lowest at 12.4 degrees, nearly three degrees higher than the record-low 9.5 degrees earlier this month. On the other hand, Javier said Mount Pulag in Extreme Northern Luzon has experienced zero-degree weather, with vegetables there in danger of frost damage. “Ang vegetables nila doon nagfe-freeze na rin … May mga gulay na nag-freeze at nasisira na,” he said. Javier also said the water there is freezing. Meanwhile, Mang Tani said that the country can expect generally fair weather, with only light rains over some areas.  “Light rains will continue to be felt over eastern section of the Philippines, from Cagayan Valley southward to the Bicol Region. Meanwhile, eastern Visayas and the whole of Mindanao, particularly Read More …

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