The first leg of the Presidential Communications Office roadshow took place in Davao City on Saturday, January 14, 2017.
No less than the Presidential Communications chief, Secretary Ruperto Martin M. Andanar, formally opened the event, which was held at the Royal Mandaya Hotel.
“Kami po sa Presidential Communications Operations Office bilang tagapangasiwa ng komunikasyon ng Malakanyang ang mapalad na nabigyan ng pribilehiyo upang ipaabot sa ating mamamayan ang tampok na agenda at programa ng pamahalaang Duterte,” Secretary Andanar said in his keynote speech.
Andanar highlighted four significant government milestones:
1. ASEAN Summit 2017
2. Task Force on Media Security
3. Freedom of Information
4. Use of Social Media for National Disasters
Administrative Order (AO) No. 48 signed in 2016 created the National Organizing Council (NOC) for the country’s hosting of this year’s Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, with the Secretary of the PCOO as council member.
Likewise, AO 48 established the Committee on Media Affairs and Strategic Communications, which designated the PCOO as chair.
“Kaya naman malaking karangalan po para sa akin, ng aming tanggapan — ang Presidential Communications Office — ay nabigyan ng mahalagang tungkulin para sa paghahanda at pagsasagawa ng ASEAN 2017,” Andanar said.
The second milestone underscored the importance of ensuring the protection of media against threats, harassment, and violence in carrying out their duties.
Andanar assured the Duterte administration regards “media people as partners in the pursuit of truth, responsible and accurate information, accountability and transparency.”
The Freedom of Information (FOI), on the other hand, was meant to heed the public’s call for public disclosure of information and transparency in government.
Memorandum Order No. 10 was signed in December last year, mandating the PCOO as the lead agency in the implementation of FOI for the Executive Branch that President Rodrigo Duterte signed on July 23, 2016.
“To date, 131 agencies of government have complied with FOI manuals and 15 agencies have put up a mechanism for the online access of information required or requested by the public,” the PCOO chief announced.
The fourth milestone is about tapping the wider reach and potential of social media in disseminating information to the public.
The Duterte administration is planning to use social media in its disaster preparedness and awareness campaign. “Kaya naman ay ine-extend po natin ang case study ng matagumpay na paggamit ng social media sa kampanyahan sa paggamit po nito pagdating sa disaster preparedness,” Andanar disclosed.
More than 300 attendees from different government agencies and various media outfits witnessed the event. PCOO officials and representatives of its bureaus and offices came in full force.
Speakers during the event included Undersecretary Joel Sy Egco of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security, Presidential Communications Assistant Secretaries Michel Kristian Ablan and Joseph Lawrence Garcia, and Department of Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Hellen Dela Vega of the Office of ASEAN Affairs. ###MARO-Content
