TV networks mandated to present all programs

Television networks are now mandated to present all their programs, including newscasts, with closed captions option or sub-titles superimposed on TV screens.

This is due to an enrolled bill, which lapsed into law after former president Benigno Aquino III left office on June 30 without signing it.

The measure requires television franchise holders or station operators and producers to use closed caption methods in their broadcasts or programs, allowing the hearing-impaired full access to information and opportunities.

This is contained under Republic Act No. 10905 or “An Act Requiring All Franchise Holders or Operators of Television Stations and Producers of Television Programs to Broadcast or Present Their Programs With Closed Caption Options.”

The measure was supposed to take effect 15 days after publication.

Closed captioning is the method of subtitling TV programs by coding statements as vertical interval data signals that are decoded at the receiver and superimposed at the bottom of the TV screen.

In an earlier statement, Sen. Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate committee on public information and mass media, said the measure is consistent with the Philippine government’s commitment when it ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2008,

The convention states that there should be full accessibility and recognition of the linguistic and cultural identity of persons with disability, Poe said.