PNA, Hungarian media network sign news exchange accord

FILE: MOA SIGNING. Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin M. Andanar (2nd from left) and Hungarian Ambassador to Manila Dr. Jozsef Bencze (2nd from right) show the memorandum of agreement between the Philippine News Agency (PNA) and the Media Support and Asset Management Fund or the Médiaszolgáltatás-támogató és Vagyonkezelő Alap (MTVA) of Hungary in a signing ceremony at the New Executive Building in Malacañang on Monday (August 6, 2018). Also in the photo are News and Information Bureau (NIB) Director Virginia Arcilla-Agtay (left) and David Ambrus (right), Deputy Head of Mission of Hungary to the Philippines. (PNA photo by Jess M. Escaros Jr.)

MANILA — The Philippine News Agency on Monday forged a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Hungarian media network, Media Support and Asset Management Fund (MSAMF), to bolster the Philippines-Hungary ties through news exchanges and cooperation.

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar and Hungarian Ambassador to the Philippines Jozsef Bencze led the signing of the “historic” agreement at the New Executive Building of the Malacañang Palace.

“With the signing of the historic MOA which we are about to witness, it is an honor for us to bridge our government news agency and Hungary’s media network through an all-encompassing official document that details the electronic delivery of news services to and from the Philippines and Hungary,” Andanar said in his opening statement.

Bencze, for his part, said the agreement aims to give the Hungarian people access to positive news about the Philippines such as the government’s massive infrastructure “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program and the recently-signed Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).

“According to my job, I have to read news from the Philippines and Hungary and my experience, there are only bad news from the Philippines and the Hungary people read only about catastrophe, typhoon and earthquake,” Bencze said.

“Nobody knows about the BBB program, nobody knows about the BOL. There are a lot of goods news that disappear,” he added.

MSAMF or MTVA (Médiaszolgáltatás-támogató és Vagyonkezelő Alap) is the cooperation of the two Hungarian government media namely Duna Médiaszolgáltató (DUNA) and Magyar Távirati Iroda (MTI).

DUNA-MTI is the national public service television, radio, news agency and online media service provider of Hungary.

Under the agreement, DUNA can acquire “non-exclusive and non-transferable right” to use the English content of news from PNA, a web-based newswire service of the Philippine government.

The PNA, on the other hand, can also use the English content of the DUNA’s news services.

“Basically, the agreement is news exchange and cooperation by sharing best practices and information. It will be a symbiotic (relationship),” News and Information Bureau (NIB) Director and PNA head Virginia Arcilla-Agtay told Palace reporters.

Agtay said the agreement is vital in promoting other agreements between the Philippines and Hungary, such as in the field of trade and investment, culture and education.

“Based on statistics, Hungary is the Philippines’ 48th trading partner while the Philippines is fourth partner of Hungary in terms of importing vegetables and fruits among others,” she said.

Andanar said the news exchange and cooperation with Hungary was just one of many agreements that the PNA has signed with various media groups in different countries.

Under President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, Andanar said the PNA has existing partnership agreements with government media groups in Russia, Japan, China, South Korea, Myanmar and Thailand.

He said the PCOO is also talking with news agencies in Australia and in Malaysia, particularly the Malaysian’s Bernama news agency.

“We are all open to forging agreement with all countries. We kept on moving forward in improving our government media,” Andanar said.

Andanar said the agreement also provides for exchanges of visits for journalists, media technicians, photographers and other media practitioners.

“The reality of what we are doing today will reverberate for future generations,” Andanar said.