PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar says his work is an adventure of knowledge, studies, training, experience, long days and sleepless nights.

The Rotary Club of Metro Surigao has awarded Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar with the prestigious Outstanding Surigaonon Award award for his commendable government service.

“There is a volume of grateful emotions that are contained in the words thank you. Let me summarize them by acknowledging that the Rotary Outstanding Surigaonon Award includes the people I am honored and privileged to serve,” Andanar said as he accepted the Rotary Outstanding Surigaonon Award (ROSA) on Friday evening.

“The work of information communication, as a media man, is the fulfillment of a dream I have endeavored to attain, the fulfillment of which, is the office I now hold, in the service of our government and the public. The journey was an adventure of knowledge, studies, training, and experience; of long days and sleepless nights; of writing and transmitting the good news and their beneficial relevance to specific and general concerns,” he added.

Other awardees were Evelyn M. Fetalvero for public education; the Caraga Regional Hospital for government hospital services; and the Surigao City Pilot School as a pioneering public elementary school.

The ROSA in Surigao del Norte recognizes individuals and institutions “that go beyond oneself, create a real difference and touch the lives of many.”

Andanar spearheaded the establishment of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), which was tasked to protect the media from all forms of harassment and to look into the killing of journalists.

Under Andanar’s leadership, the media services and facilities of PCOO-attached agencies People’s Television Network (PTV), Radyo Pilipinas (RP) 1, RP-2, RP Worldwide, RP Podcast, Radio-Television Malacañang (RTVM), and Philippine News Agency (PNA) improved significantly.

This includes the ongoing construction of the Mindanao Media Hub, a state-of-the-art broadcast center that seeks to strengthen communications services in the southern Philippines. The Visayas Media Hub, meanwhile, is targeted to commence construction in 2021.

Andanar was a television news executive, news anchor, radio commentator, podcaster, audio blogger and voice-over artist at TV5 before joining the Duterte administration. (PND, PNA)