By Earl Jed Roque/PNA
MANILA — Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar on Saturday cited the administration of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s programs and plans to protect and forward the interest of media workers in the country.
In an interview with reporters in Tacloban City, Andanar said he wants to personally distribute the copies of the Handbook on Personal Security Measures for Media Practitioners to local media workers around the country to hear the different concerns they have.
“It’s my responsibility to find out kung ano yung sentimiyento ng press natin sa iba’t-ibang rehiyon. (It’s my responsibility to find out what are the sentiments of the press in different regions.),” he said.
Andanar said President Duterte’s creation of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security has improved the ranking of the Philippines from the 2nd most dangerous country for journalists in the previous administration to fifth in the New York-based Committee for the Protection of Journalists’ (CPJ) 2018 Global Impunity Index.
Andanar said the PCOO will conduct a “Press Freedom Caravan”, which will offer passport processing for media workers and one family member after observing that majority of media workers do not have valid passports.
“Nalaman ko na (I recently learned that) more than 50 percent of media workers do not have Philippine passports,” Andanar said.
Andanar said the caravan will also include an update seminar on the Freedom of Information (FOI).
