MANILA, June 29 — Presidential Communications Operation Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin M. Andanar on Thursday commended the Philippine-China cooperation to boost the country’s communications skills.
In his opening remarks during the courtesy call of Chinese delagation in Malacanang, Andanar admitted that he has learned a lot in his recent visit to China with regards to new technology used in broadcast, print and news wire agencies, and would like to apply these to the government’s integrated media arm — People’s Television 4 (PTV 4), Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS), Philippine News Agency (PNA), and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA).
“Since it is the mandate of PCOO to cultivate a well-informed and enlightened citizenry, we are committed to ensure that through this forum, all our agencies may be able to communicate to our citizens the basic programs that they can avail of, as well as present our accomplishments,” he said.
Internally, Andanar said the PCOO has established the Comprehensive Communications Committee (CCC), which is in charge of setting the narrative of the country by promoting the government’s projects and initiatives thru its own communications channels.
“We have partnered with various Departments and agencies from the Executive branch, and civic groups to produce campaigns that will highlight the achievements of this administration such as ‘Dutertenomic’, ‘Real Numbers PH’, and ‘ASEAN 2017’,” he said.
For her part, Yang Xiuping, secretary general of the ASEAN China Center and head of the delegation, said the cooperation between ASEAN member countries and China is a chance to have exchange of ideas, information and experiences among different media entities.
It is also a chance to boost stronger relations between China and ASEAN nations and hopes to serve as “bridges” for the young generations.
Meanwhile, Andanar thanked the Chinese government for the USD1.4 million donation which will fund the upgrade of Radyo Pilipinas, a government-run radio station.
The PCOO chief also announced that by September, PNA, which is the only government news wire agency, will start operation of its Digital TV channel.
“We will ensure that through our various assets and media, we will disseminate the good news of genuine change to the most number of Filipinos. After all, this is what we are all here for — we owe our countrymen hope for a more prosperous future,” he noted. (PNA / By Lilybeth G. Ison)
