BAGUIO CITY—Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin M. Andanar has vowed to strengthen the information network of the national government with local government units to combat the proliferation of fake news being spread through social media.
This move, Andanar said during his visit to this city last week, seeks to effectively cascade the public policies and reform agenda of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte through establishing rapport with information officers of LGUs, who will be in the frontline of disseminating true information to the people in the countryside through various forms of media.
In meeting with executives of regional and provincial offices of national government agencies, chief executives of LGUs and their information officers, Andanar expressed elation for the overwhelming response of Cordillera leaders in his second official visit to the city.
“I really appreciate your presence. President Duterte will know of the support from Cordillera,” Andanar said, as he lauded the active participation of regional leaders and information officers to the gatherings.
Andanar revealed the PCOO will be conducting capability training of information officers to equip them with the skills and knowledge to handle the dissemination of true information using the various media platforms. In turn, they would train more information officers who will be the government’s partner in cascading the right information to the public.
The agency will also create a regional pool of trainers who will take charge of the capability needs of information officers in their areas, and update them on the latest trends of information dissemination.
This, he said, will assure that “no misinformation will be transmitted to communication outlets,” which puts malice to the reform agenda of the national and local administrations.
Andanar said numerous fake news are being disseminated by irresponsible individuals on social media, that is why there is also a need for information officers to be aggressive in correcting whatever negative impression fake news has created, for people to understand the real score on the prevailing issues confronting various agencies and local governments.
He called on local officials to appoint information officers in their respective municipalities, cities and provinces, so they will be responsible in cascading to the grassroots the true information regarding the various programs and projects of the government they stand to benefit from.
He said the provincial communication officers will be organized into one formidable network for the healthy exchange of true and reliable information in the countryside.