BACOLOD CITY — Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar has emphasized the importance of truth in guarding press freedom in the era of the so-called “fake news”.
“A free press can only be guarded if the truth is at the center of the narratives of your stories,” Andanar said in a message read by PCOO Undersecretary George Apacible during the 82nd Induction and Oath-Taking Ceremony of the Negros Press Club (NPC), held at the SMX Convention Center here Wednesday night.
“The world of journalism has entered a strange arena where the truth has not only become elusive, but has often been compromised or substituted for perceptions, opinions, sensational applications and what is now called as ‘fake news’,” he said.
“Too many creeds have surfaced. A plethora of prejudices has been presented as judgments, and the elements of reality, of facts, of verified data, have been co-mingled with both personal and political biases and passed on as news to be consumed by the public,” the communication chief added.
The advances in communication, he said, have become both a blessing and a bane with social networking through Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and other social media platforms.
“It is imperative, therefore, that as you stand for the truth, the press is safeguarded to be free. There is no in-between,” Andanar said in his message.
He expressed hope that the new set of officers would be the “new voices of the noble profession of journalism” and would “rally to our President’s call for the extermination of poisonous narcotics, criminality, corruption, and acts of terrorism in all its forms.”
“All else, may the virtue of truth be your beacon of faith,” he said.
The event carried the theme, “NPC@82: Standing Up for the Truth, Safeguarding Free Press”.
Meanwhile, La Castellana Mayor Rhumyla Mangilimutan inducted into office the 2018-2019 set of officers led by president, Renato Duran of DYEZ Aksyon Radyo Bacolod. Duran is the first president to be elected for the second consecutive year in the club’s 82-year history.
Also sworn in were Erwin Nicavera (SunStar Bacolod) as vice president; Dolly Yasa (The Daily Guardian), secretary; Glazyl Masculino (SunStar Bacolod), treasurer; and Elsie Jolingan (Negros Daily Bulletin), auditor.
Other officers included Chrysee Samillano (The Visayan Daily Star), Edgar Lucasan (DYRL Abyan Radyo), Aquilino Ciocon (DYAF Radyo Veritas), Jemlo Victosa (RMN DYHB Bacolod), Merlinda Pedrosa (SunStar Bacolod), Eric Magbanua (DYEZ Aksyon Radyo Bacolod), Owen Bayog (Negros Daily Bulletin), Hernand Garciniego (The Visayan Daily Star), and Martian Muyco (ABS-CBN Bacolod) who compose the board of directors. (Nanette Guadalquiver/PNA)
