Leading the charge vs disinformation in a fast-paced world
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. continues to look out for the nation’s welfare as he discusses his plans on improving the lives of Filipinos. Working with the President is the Presidential Communications Office, which has the herculean task of bringing Marcos’ vision to the public.
The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) remains as the lead government agency tasked with informing the public of the President’s policies and the steps taken by the administration, ensuring that the welfare of Filipinos remain on top.
On paper, this task is simple, but in reality, the current information landscape is marred by fake news, mis- and disinformation, which have plagued the country, therefore making the mandate of the PCO a bit hard to fulfill.
A President’s job is never ending, and he makes sure that he reaches out to leaders in local government units to bring forth his ideals to the masses.
Under the leadership of Secretary Dave Gomez, this is not the case.
A former journalist himself with more than a decade of experience — combined with a leadership background honed in the private sector — Gomez appears to be the answer in the government’s fight against “fake news.”
As he assumed his role in July, he insisted that the story is not about him but rather the government’s action. He is the fifth person to hold the position in just three years of the Marcos administration, but he stands more than ready to be up to the task of ensuring accurate and timely information from the Palace to the people.
Overseas Filipino workers’ welfare is also a priority of the Marcos administration. the President regularly meets with them to listen to their suggestions and plights.
“As I said when I assumed office just a little over two months ago, my overarching policy is to promote government transparency, safeguard press freedom, and defend every citizen’s right to free speech and information,” Gomez told DAILY TRIBUNE.
He stressed that a properly informed citizenry is one of the cornerstones of a thriving democracy.
“Our goal is simple but enormous — to make sure that the policies and programs of the government are made known, understood, and appreciated by the Filipino people, so that the President and the entire government can earn and keep their trust and confidence,” Gomez said.
Children are especially close to the President’s heart as he focuses on ways to empower them with proper and sustained education to ensure the country’s improved future.
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But how can you convince millions of people about what you do and where you are doing it and how you are doing it? By listening to the public, and of course, being everywhere.
“Our task is to make and keep 116 million Filipinos accurately, properly and constantly made aware not only of what the government is doing for them but of the numerous issues affecting their lives, their livelihood, their communities, their security and well-being and their freedoms,” Gomez said.
“To this end, we are employing all resources, all available media, platforms, and technologies to get our message across to as huge an audience as we can reach every day, every hour, every minute,” he added.
Like the media giants, the PCO is not shy to flex its ability to keep up with the times.
Apart from its attached agencies and offices such as the Integrated State Media, traditional mediums such as TV and Radio, it is also online and ready on the go, even going through the lengths of being present in podcasts.
“As we all know, technology has changed the communications landscape. Not only does government — like any other societal institution — have to deal with the speed of communication. We also have to, as you put it, deal with the spread of ‘fake news,’” Gomez said.
PCO Secretary Dave Gomez.
Keeping the human touch
Not only is the PCO filling the space with factual information, but Gomez also understands that the role of the PCO is to get the message across well while at the same time embracing modernity.
“Just as technology is shaping the landscape, we need to leverage technology ethically and embrace innovative strategies. But we must keep the ‘human touch’ by aligning our messages with our people’s concerns, needs, and expectations. Communications is a two-way street — we send our messages to the people, but we also listen to them,” he said.
Balancing speed and accuracy
In the journalism world, it is more important to be right than to be fast, but it is not seldom to maintain this trait regularly.
“In our hyper-connected world, news travels at the click of a button, which means we at PCO are also constantly on our toes to deal with disinformation and ‘fake news,’” Gomez said.
“But while we must respond with speed, we need to strike a balance between what is hasty and what is deliberate. We are not going to sacrifice facts and accuracy for speed, which means we must always keep our facts correct at all times,” he added.
Empowering those who consume information remains to be what drives the country’s premiere communication arm so the public can make informed decisions and “to be able to tell fact from fiction, and truth from lies.”
“By keeping our people properly informed, by providing them access to government information, we are empowering them,” he said.