Eastern Visayas State University, Tacloban City
February 20, 2024
The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) underscores the importance of strengthening its Media and Information Literacy (MIL) campaign and countering false information among Filipinos in the Visayas Region as it continues the PCO CommUnity Caravan at the Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU) in Tacloban City, Leyte on February 20, 2024.
Together with news agencies and broadcast networks under the PCO umbrella, the second day of the CommUnity Caravan at the EVSU opens with a forum that provides crucial insights and discussions on the government’s initiatives and services, including the whole-of-government approach to combat misinformation and disinformation amidst modernization in the country.
In her speech, PCO Undersecretary for Digital Media Services Emerald Ridao emphasizes the crucial participation of every Filipino in the fight against the rampant spread of false information, highlighting the role of the youth as government agents for self-regulating against fake news, as encouraged under the ‘Maging Mapanuri’ campaign launched by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. last year.
“Each of you have a very important role to play in media information literacy when you enter the professional world… That is our call to action. That is our call to you. Sana maging mapanuri kayo sa mga impormasyon na nakikita ninyo bago niyo i-share,” she conveys.
“Together, your collective effort to fight against fake news will change the digital landscape of information in Leyte, and hopefully around the Philippines, and hopefully around the world,” Undersecretary Ridao continues.
The PCO CommUnity Caravan is pursuant to Proclamation No. 308, series of 2023 signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. declaring the month of October each year as ‘Communication Month.’ As the lead Agency, PCO plans to take the caravan to different schools and universities across the country to inspire the Filipino youth in grassroots nation-building initiatives in support of the Administration’s “Bagong Pilipinas.”
This is the first leg of the PCO CommUnity Caravan in Visayas following its successful launch last December 2023 in Manila.
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