ORLY MERCADO:​​ Secretary Martin, good morning.

SEC. ANDANAR:​​ Hi good morning ka Orly. Good morning sa lahat po ng nakikinig sa atin dito sa Radyo Singko. Mabuhay po kayong lahat. Happy Independence Day.

ORLY: ​​​​It’s nice to see you. I’m hearing your voice now that—ngayon ay Independence Day. Ano bang magiging activities ng ating Pangulo ngayong araw na ito?

SEC. ANDANAR:​​ Well, the President is scheduled to raise the flag diyan sa Manila, while the Cabinet Secretaries ay assigned po naman na mag-raise ng flag din sa ibang sulok ng Pilipinas. Yours truly, dito po sa historical place in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon.
ORLY:​​​​Ah nasa Bukidnon ka ngayon?

SEC. ANDANAR:​​ Opo ka Orly. Well alam mo naman siguro the history of Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon may airstrip here kung saan po ay nagpunta si General Douglas MacArthur. And it was here that where he said ‘I shall return’ to Filipinos before flying to Australia at nandito pa rin iyong airstrip. Nandito pa rin iyong landmark; pero we will be raising the flag here at the munisipyo ng Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. While si Secretary Bello naman ay nasa Cagayan de Oro City at iba’t-ibang mga Secretaries – nandiyan si Secretary Dureza is in Zamboanga at iyong iba’t ibang mga Secretaries ay naka-assign sa iba’t ibang sulok ng Mindanao.

​​​​But the importance given is that—they call it as independence and why we were assigned also sa iba’t ibang lugar ng Mindanao is to show the entire nation at world that iyong nangyari sa Marawi, iyong gulo diyan, yung conflict, bakbakan diyan ay sa gitna ng gulo diyan ay tuloy-tuloy pa rin po ang kalakalan, ang buhay at maiparating ang negosyo sa iba’t ibang lugar, sa iba’t ibang sulok ng Mindanao.

ORLY: ​​​​Ah para makapag-concentrate diyan sa mga nangyayari, na-cancel na daw iyong reception for the Diplomatic Corp sa Malacañang?

SEC. ANDANAR: ​​Yes, iyong ambassadors. Yeah, ito po iyong kinansela ng Pangulo because he has to go back to Mindanao after the flag raising sa Luneta.

ORLY:​​​​ Okay. So mayroon bang mga mangyayari sa the noon time? Mayroong mga reports na radio and televisions stations will read the names, say tributes to all of those who have passed away dahil sa laban at bakbakan diyan sa ka-Mindanaoan; church bells will also ring at taps will be played on radio and television.

SEC. ANDANAR:​​ Opo, the government station, sa abot po ng makakaya nila, will be covering the flag raising ceremonies sa buong Pilipinas and also the private media also I think would be covering the different event in the entire nation. We will be raising the flag together from Manila to Visayas and Mindanao.

ORLY:​​​​ Thank you very much, Secretary Martin. Ano po ba ang final message ninyo ngayong Araw ng Kalayaan natin, sa mga nakikinig?

SEC. ANDANAR: Well itong ang Araw ng Kalayaan natin ay dapat talaga nating i-celebrate, ipagbunyi natin ang Araw ng Kalayaan natin, we are a very, very independent nation. Our democracy is very vibrant, everything in our Constitution works for society, works for the citizens. Maski man ang Pangulo private his word is that—they are called civic responsibility. Kasi sa gitna po ng karahasang nangyari pong ito marami pong mga false, fake news na kumakalat po sa buong bansa natin. And if we continue to even give justice to this false or fake news by sharing them online, we are doing our country a disservice. So it’s very important to us to practice our civic responsibility by protecting the nation, by spreading the right information. Ka Orly, maraming salamat po at mabuhay po kayong lahat. Happy Independence Day.

ORLY: ​​​​Secretary Martin Andanar of Presidential Communications Operations Office.
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