PCOO recruits info warriors

To arrest fake news spread

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, June 25 (PIA)—There is so much good news, but these are drowned by the noise of the opposition, said Secretary Jose Ruperto Martin Andanar, as he basically recruits Bohol and regional media as well as government secretaries and information officers to take on the mission as information warriors arresting the spread of fake news. 

Sec Andanar, who heads the Presidential Communications Operations Office bemoans why so many good and real news are not even printed while the noise of the opposition is that which gets the coverage. 

Did you know that in 2015, foreign direct investment inflow was $5.6B? But if we compare it with 2017 when Duterte came in, from $5.6 B in 2017, it went to 10 billion, almost double the amount, he pointed out. This however is not seldom cites in mainstream media. 

PCOO chief, Secretary Andanar was at the Bohol Tropics June 22 to launch the Provincial Communication Officers Network (PCONet) ang offer them training to spot fake news and dismiss lies and disinformation. 

PCONet is a PCOO initiative to expand its information warriors as the government noticed that the nature of commercial media has pushed news items to highlight on the negative news and that which sells, he explained. 

As the PCOO saw more people are engaging on social media, there are already indications that people are starting to read and be critical, PCOO Director Princess Pebbles Duque explained during the launch attended by information officers, secretaries and the media. 

Along this, Sec. Andanar urged the audience to do service to the country by fighting fake news, giving correct information and dismissing dis-information by twisting information to spin news into controversies. 

If you compare the numbers from July 2014 to April 2016, or before Duterte came to power, total crime volume in the whole country reached 1.2 million, according to statistics the secretary cited. 

When Duterte came in, July 2016 to April 2018, the figure went down 21% to 962,000, there is huge improvement and this is the reason why investors are coming in to the Philippines and Japanese Prime Minister Abe pledges one trillion Japanese yen equivalent to P500 billion. 

Of the amount, about P137 billion has been released to the country, Andanar cites the Philippine Growth Story which he promised to share to everyone. 

Why is it that the Japanese government is investing in the country?

The first quarter 6.8% Gross Domestic product growth, which is high as we expected only 6.5 and the BIR tax collection for the first quarter of 2017 as to first quarter 2018, there is 14.9 to 15.8% resulting to 19% increase in Revenues from 996 million to 1.1 billion collections this year. 

We had to tell them that the efforts for the Build, Build, Build is 117 billion dollars in the next six years. The expected infrastructure expenditure from 5.4 % in 2017 will go all the way to 7.3% of the GDP, will result in so many jobs for our people. 

These are good news, real news that you who are connected to the internet world in Tagbilaran can help, Secretary Andanar urged. 

These are the things that are happening that, for sometimes is drowned by the noise of the opposition, who could not accept defeat. 

We must really join the war against fake news because it destroys the principles of fairness in a democracy, the secretary who traced hos roots in Bohol added. 

We had to relay the information on what happened in government and give them the right news, he stressed. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

Bohol bishop Alberto Uy walks with PCOO Secretary Jose Ruperto Martin Andanar before the start of the pontifical mass on the Feastday of Saint John the Baptist in Garcia Hernandez, Bohol. Andanar, who traces his roots here, homed after 43 years, after PCOO events in Bohol allowed him the spare time to meet his relatives. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)