PCOO chief bares priority projects for attached agencies

By Lucia F. Broñio

CALOOCAN CITY, Feb. 11 (PIA) — Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar on Wednesday bared that priority projects are in place for attached agencies to support the national government and amplify its efforts.

In a radio interview, Andanar said an P800 million budget has been set aside for the construction of the Visayas Media Hub in Metro Cebu to provide information suited for the Visayas audience.

Also, the approved construction of a Government Strategic Communications Academy in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon will have its groundbreaking ceremony in June 2021, he announced.

“We will finally have the first communications academy in the Philippines, where information officers from the barangay level up to the national government can convene for [capacity-building programs],” he said.

Secretary Andanar highlighted the need to establish a Philippine Broadcasting Corporation that will transform government media and pattern it after British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC).

“We need to be able to establish institutional changes like the Mindanao Media Hub, the Visayas Media Hub, the Government Communications Academy, so that our information officers in barangays will not be apprehensive in front of cameras,” he said.

Meanwhile, the PCOO chief also discussed the institutional reforms championed by the agency in the bid to improve the delivery of accurate and relevant information to the public, as well as the welfare of the media workers.

He said the government’s commitment to become more open to the public is in line with the signing of the executive order on Freedom of Information (FOI) and the creation of Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMs), among others. (PIA NCR)