WBA radio is PBS new affiliate station

Simple MoA signing ceremony between PBS headed by DirGen Rizal Giovanni "Bong" Aportadera Jr and Maluso mayor Hans Bud. (L to R) PBS accreditation committee chair Engr Rodentor Domingo, PBS DirGen Bong Aportadera Jr, Maluso mayor Hans Bud, WBA radio station manager Zia Ulhaq Basa and Maluso head of health office Dr Shalhua Sahipa-Yasin.

Maluso, Basilan (October 29, 2019) - The Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS) and Maluso local government signs a memorandum of agreement (MoA) is a simple ceremony at the Maluso town hall.

The MoA accredits the WBA 99.1FM radio station managed by Maluso local government on behalf of the Western Basilan Alliance (WBA), and which was inaugurated last October 14, 2019, located at the new town hall complex in barangay Taberlongan, this municipality.

As a PBS affiliate station, WBA 99.1FM will operate based on PBS standards for it's affiliate stations spread nationwide, receive technical support, including its registration with the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC).

Maluso mayor Hans Bud says that hosting the WBA radio station is an extra challenge that they heartily embrace as they believe this will have positive impact on local governance and the lives of ordinary citizens in this trading town. He added that his team had also been up to developmental challenges as he echoes their 3rd win for the national Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLC), among many Awards they have been recognized.

PBS DirGen believes that it is in the best interest of the country to support local governments and local alliances that have shown innovativeness, creativity and initiativeness in delivering public service and reaching out to their constituencies. He hope that other local governments in the countryside will follow the WBA lead.

According to Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) executive director Atty Benny Bacani, the partnership is a welcome initiative to sustain the radio station, which his agency donated to the WBA, and intended as a shared platform for social communication and community engagement.

The radio facility was made possible through the "Modelling Inter-LGU Alliance in Basilan" (MILAB), a project funded by AECID, the Spanish aid agency for international cooperation and development; while the station building was constructed by the provincial government of Basilan under the leadership of PGov Jim Hataman and Maluso local government headed by Mayor Hans A Bud.