Social media buffs Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go and Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar take a selfie at an event. Secretary Martin Andanar has got many things on his mind.

In fact, his mind has not stopped whirring ever since President Rodrigo Duterte gave him the job to head the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) on June 30, 2016.

“When I was in the private sector, I was managing TV5 Everywhere, and that was just one. I had other responsibilities — as TV and radio anchor and official voice-over of TV5 news. But to handle over six agencies? Talagang na-overwhelm ako. ( I was really overwhelmed).

In fact, when the President appointed me that night, I wasn’t able to sleep in Davao,” he reveals, adding with a laugh, “I was busy googling all of the agencies.”

As PCOO secretary, Andanar supervises both the operations of the government’s news and information agencies, which includes the Philippine Information Agency, Philippines News Agency, People’s Television Network, Philippine Broadcasting Service-Bureau of Broadcast Services, Bureau of Communications Services, National Printing Office, APO Production Unit and Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp.

“It was the first time that I actually went blank. That night, I just went blank,” he tells the Daily Tribune. “So I started writing. It was the first time I got to know the Bureau of Communications Services (BCS), in charge of the print materials of the President and other journals.”

From the get-go, Andanar knew he would need to upgrade the existing systems and platforms for government communications. His background in broadcast media, as well as an interest in new technology for communications, drove him to explore ways to expand the government’s communications reach.

So he started to work. He spearheaded the formulation of a National Communications Strategy focusing on the rehabilitation of existing government media and communications resources, and explored new platforms for communicating and engaging with the public.

“It feels like we are an octopus sometimes,” he laughs.

“Wherever we go, we document. It started out as field work, and then it developed into an on-the-side job — Cabinet support, Cabinet interviews. These are short documentaries which we show on social media. We always document, lahat (everything)!” he relates. “I can write, but I’m a better video producer.”

In fact, on the day of this interview, he is busy directing a small crew about proper lighting and audio. His energy is palpable – one can see that he enjoys the work behind the cameras just as he does in front of it.

“What I believe in is that since the medium has changed, and press is not the only medium that everybody relies on, …we need to be more omnipresent. We also need to focus on social media,” he says.

The use of the Internet to bring government’s messages across is something the PCOO secretary continues to be amazed by.

He shows a video of his interview with Secretary Art Tugade in an actual subway station in Japan, in which they talk about future plans to replicate the same in the Philippines. “This video is just five minutes, 422,000 views. It was just four days old. It has had 8,700 likes, 9,000 shares. It has more shares than likes. So you know the impact.”

Andanar believes “eyeballs” are most important – the more they get views, the more people know how their government is working. For him, communication has a key role in nation-building.

“For me, maraming mga (I get plenty of) criticisms about me as secretary of PCOO,” he says. “Those criticisms, the really tough ones, come from traditional columnists. Those that are really mean are from legacy media. It’s normal to get criticisms, but we are focused on delivering information. I told our staff – we get all these criticisms. At the end of the day, our videos are viral.”

“(Palace spokesman) Harry Roque is already focused on the Manila media. I feel that we also need to reach out to the regional media,” Andanar says.

The PCOO secretary deems it important to reach the audience. It has been his goal to maximize the role of information officers in the regions so that information from national government may cascade more effectively to all parts of the country.

His work takes him around the country, revving up the local information offices, as well as outside the country, where he tries to beef up the technology and staff by inking agreements with countries like Japan, South Korea, China, Cambodia, Australia and Russia, among other countries, in the realm of communications technology and high-level exchanges of knowledge.

Andanar, unfazed by criticism targeting his numerous trips abroad, does not defend himself by speaking about it in media. What he has done instead has been to continue his work – making it possible for the Philippines to get the latest technology for effective communications, enabling communications staff to get an exchange of knowledge with Asean partner countries and so on.

Among his most important work, PCOO chief announces that the new government satellite network will be launched during the State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“This is the legacy project of RTVM. This is RTVM 2.0. Because RTVM was conceptualized and was born during the time of Tita Cory. So now, it’s 2.0.,” Andanar describes.

“What is good about our satellite network is that it delivers Internet connection. This coming SONA, we hope to be able to launch that, …and stream the President’s speech in the highland barangay, in the island barangay, where there is no TV, no cellphone or mobile. By having a satellite network, they can watch the President’s speech,” he adds.

The PCOO secretary, thus, disclaims recent flak his office had gotten following a number of gaffes in media.

“Most of the opposition would say that the PCOO has a big budget of P1.3 billion. When they say that the PCOO itself has the biggest budget of P1.3 billion, and that’s it, is to say that it is fake news. You know why? Because P1.3B is the budget of all the agencies under the PCOO. And you don’t just say PCOO. Andami nito (There are so many). In politics, people tend to just spin these things. It is really unfair to say that. You know, if we had P1.3B here in PCOO proper, we can do so much,” he says.

Again, Andanar chooses to quietly and systematically go about his work, this time setting state-of-the-art media facilities in Mindanao and the Visayas.

“For such a long time, government communications was also centralized. The Mindanao media hub is now 40 percent up. It is a state-of-the-art media facility that will house TV, radio, online, print, lahat – and it’s in Davao diversion road. That’s an upcoming one. Next is the Visayas media hub. We are decentralizing government communications. We have one in Luzon, we have one in Mindanao, and we will have one in Visayas. Once those are built, I can quit already and relax because I think we have done so much for government media,” he laughs.

“That’s why I believe some people, magkaroon lang kami ng konting mali (we just make one little mistake, then they), pounce. Because they know that government media is effective now. Not in distorting news, but just giving the facts,” he states.

“I like it when they nitpick. I like it when they criticize. Because it is through constructive criticism that we can do an introspection and really see if we are not doing good in that field,” he notes. “We just have to accept all the criticisms constructively, and face the challenge. Solve the issues, find the solution until we get to a plane where we can confidently say that we have improved the services of the Presidential Communications Office. Nobody’s perfect.”

Andanar enthuses about what they have done to improve the system and bring government communications to the current times. “We changed the processes, we tried to level up the services,” he relates, adding how they also refurbished Malacanang’s conference areas and upgraded the equipment.

As an example of the unheralded changes he had helped bring to fruition, tune in to government stations.

“You listen to Radyo Pilipinas (and our FM stations). You will really hear the stark difference – hindi na siya tunog gobyerno (now it does not sound like a government radio). It sounds international now. You watch PNA news, and you wouldn’t even think that it’s a government news agency,” he says.

Thankful for the “elbow room” President Duterte had given him to manage government communications, Andanar ends. “To me, it’s not rocket science. To me, it’s just about putting words into actions. As long as you focus on what you want and you just want to see it happen, I think that is what is needed not only in government, but life in general. We just stick to our objectives. Of course, maraming mga (there are several) unintentional mistakes and it hurts when these small things happen, but it’s part of the territory. And I can look at every Filipino in the eye and I can tell him that I did my best. And look at your government media now – it is stronger than it ever was.”