Launched through a presidential order in 1987, the Presidential Broadcast Staff-Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM) is a news agency that provides media services for the President of the Philippines.
Media assets
News agency: RTVM
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
RTVM is a unit of the PCO, the Presidential Administration in the Philippines. It was created through Executive Order No. 297 signed by former President Corazon C. Aquino in 1987.
Source of funding and budget
Controlled by the Presidential Administration, RTVM is fully funded through government allocations. In 2022, RTVM is operating with a budget of PHP 171.9m (US$ 3.4m), according to data from the government.
Editorial independence
RTVM is a mouthpiece of the incumbent President in the Philippines, its activity consisting simply of documenting all official engagements of the President. The agency produces coverage of the President’s work, and publishes this output or shares it with other media outlets. According to RTVM’s Handbook, an internal set of rules, RTVM’s mandate is “to provide the necessary media services to the incumbent President.”
As a presidential news agency, RTVM is fully controlled by the presidential administration, which dictates all matters related to the outlet’s editorial agenda.
No independent assessment mechanism to validate the RTVM’s editorial performance has been identified.
October 2023