The Bureau of Communications Services (BCS) is a government-owned information production agency in charge of producing content about the government’s policies that it disseminates through several publications of its own and news portals. They include Balita Central newspaper and Executive Action magazine and the digital portals of these publications.
Media assets
Publishing: Balita Central, Executive Action
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
BCS is a unit of the PCO, the Presidential Administration in the Philippines, its management being appointed by the President’s office. It was created by Executive Order No. 297 of 1987.
Source of funding and budget
Controlled by the Presidential Administration, BCS operates with funding from the state budget. In 2022, it has a budget of PHP 75.1m (US$ 1.3m), according to information from the government.
Editorial independence
BCS is a government propaganda unit created purposely to produce and disseminate information about the government’s policies.
No domestic statute and no independent assessment mechanism to validate the BCS’ editorial performance have been identified.
October 2023