Cable TV champions recognized

THE PHILIPPINE Cable Television Association, (PCTA) Inc.  Will confer posthumous awards on media mogul Eugenio “Geny” Moreno Lopez Jr. and former Communications Secretary Josefina “Josie” T. Lichauco on April 13 during its annual convention.

Lopez, also popularly known as “Kapitan,” is cited for “his pioneering efforts to bring community antenna television (CATV) technology in the country and his enduring legacy in Philippine broadcasting.”

Through a resolution, the PCTA Board  expresses the “profound gratitude” of the country’s cable television industry to Lopez, who passed away in 1999,  for his “commitment to excellence and seeing the potential of TV in reaching and linking Filipinos across the archipelago and the world.”

In another resolution, the PCTA board expresses the Philippine cable television industry’s “profound gratitude to Secretary Lichauco for being its champion.”

It says the late secretary left behind a solid legacy that had a significant impact on the cable TV sector.

Lichauco, who died in 2010, is honored for her “leadership role in demonopolizing the Philippine cable television industry in the country.”

The 1987 EO 205 that demonopolized the Philippine cable TV industry  allowed for the entry of new players and encouraged competition, according to PCTA.

The PCTA Inc. is the umbrella organization of cable television operators in the Philippines. It has 358 regular members and 30 affiliate members.

Together, they serve 75 percent of the total cable TV subscribers in the Philippines.

After Edsa, through the initiative of Jake Almeda Lopez (Nuvue Cablevision,Inc.),  Cesar Valenzuela (Subic CATV), Wilfrido Enverga (Quezon CATV), Camilo Quiazon  and Ramon Magsaysay Jr. (Colorview), the association worked for the repeal of the presidential decree granting an exclusive national franchise to only one company.

On June 30, 1987, President Corazon C. Aquino signed EO No. 205 amending the decree and democratizing the industry.

The PCTA resolution honoring Lopez notes that the late media mogul, the eldest child of Don Eugenio “Eñing” Lopez of Iloilo, is widely acknowledged as the “Father of Philippine Broadcasting.”

The Lopez family, through ABS-CBN, established the country’s first cable company and first CATV system in the Far East, Nuvue Cablevision, Inc., in Baguio City. The family also founded The Manila Chronicle.

ABS-CBN is a merger of the Alto Broadcasting Company, which introduced television in the country, and the Chronicle Broadcasting Network.

LOPEZ

Lopez went into exile in the United States during Martial Law after the family businesses were seized by the dictatorship.

On his return after the People Power Revolution in 1986, Lopez rebuilt, with his brothers Oscar and Manuel,  the family-owned ABS-CBN Broadcast Corp., turning it into the country’s largest network.

Lopez served as president and chief executive officer of ABS-CBN Corp., the entertainment and media conglomerate of Lopez Holdings Corp., from 1956 to 1993 and chair emeritus, 1993-1997.

In a 1997 book commissioned by De La Salle University, Lopez was described as “a billionaire with perhaps the most far reaching influence in Philippine society, being the leader in strategic industries, such as electric power generation and distribution, broadcasting and cable, film making, toll expressway, water services, telecommunications, real estate and banking.”

Lopez is also recognized for working tirelessly all his life “in the service of the Filipino” as a patriot, media magnate and philanthropist.

In honoring Lichauco, meanwhile, PCTA cites her almost two decades in government  that featured “landmark accomplishments that mirror her visionary thinking and technical and legal expertise in the field of telecommunications that cover various areas as convergence, e-commerce and universal access.”

LICHAUCO

Lichauco, a lawyer, is also recognized for her efforts “to advance the cable television sector” even after she left the government.

She started in government service in 1979 in what was then the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, as legal services chief. She was appointed in 1986 undersecretary for communications of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

From 1989 to 1991, she served as commissioner of the National Telecommunications Commission.

Lichauco became DOTC secretary in 1998, then resigned from government service two years later, in 2000.

The PCTA says, after Lichauco left the government, she continued to  distinguish herself as a “columnist, staunch reformist, highly respected woman leader, fearless political activist and outspoken human rights advocate.”

The two resolutions were signed by the PCTA board’s Ralph B. Casiño,  Gerik Caesare A. Paderanga, Felipe B. Bince III, James A. Dumlao, Ferdinand C. Sillona, Jose L. Lobregat, Jose Luis E. Dabao, Jose D. Pimentel Jr., Ma. Isabelita Sy-Hollite, Efren T. Arayata Jr., Pompeyo R. Abregas, Wesley C. Selda, Marita Zerrudo-Corrales, Glenn R. Tansiongco and Joseph M. Arguelles.