QUEZON CITY -- Philippine Information Agency Director-General Ramon Cualoping III, during his interview with PIA XI Deputy Regional Head Frances Mae Macapagat on the One Davao Virtual Presser, said that one of the greatest legacies of President Duterte during his administration is strengthening government communications – infrastructure wise, the digital pivot, and development communications in the grassroots level.

 “The past six years under President Duterte, we have seen the relevance and importance of government communications in enabling the policies and programs, not just of the president but of the entire government.”

 “Since the pandemic began, we’ve seen a very strong partnership between government communicators and the private media as well,” Director General Cualoping added.

As government and private media enable one another, communications assets are maximized to make the Filipino people understand the issues we face.

“We, in the PIA, will help our media friends to make sure the people understand what is happening,” Cualoping said.

He once again urged the media and the public to fight fake news and for balanced reporting to help the Filipino people make sound decisions.

Director-General Cualoping also announced PIA’s partnership with PTV for a Presidential Town Hall Meeting series. The said show is now under discussion with the Commission on Elections.

On Task Force on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflicts (ELCAC), the Director-General emphasized that the ELCAC is an important election issue; it is not only about military operations but about the entire functionary of the government.

He once again urged the public to ask their candidates about their stand in ending the longest communist insurgency in the world.

“If there’s a change of policy again, the reign of terror will once again happen,” DG Cualoping said.

The virtual presser ended with a discussion on how government communications, moving forward, may cohesively communicate the key messages of the government to the people.

Director-General Cualoping mentioned plans of strengthening PIA and dreams of creating the Department of Public Information.

He hopes to have a strong legislation in the next administration to streamline all government communications.

“Your government communications team did everything they could to protect the president, to protect the republic, to defend the integrity of the nation and the Filipino people,” Director General Cualoping said. (MC / ODG)