QUEZON CITY, (PIA) -- Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Director-General Ramon Lee Cualoping III on Wednesday, Sept. 28, cited the relevance of listening to government communicators, such as PIA, whose mandate is to provide accurate, reliable and science-based information during disasters.
“We are responsible #ExplainExplainExplain all the necessary information that they need to do,” Cualoping said during the opening ceremony for a short course on emergency broadcasting.
“As government communicators, we should be more vigilant in giving accurate, relevant, and reliable information to our countrymen,” he added.
Led by the Australian Embassy Manila, thru the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the short course runs that Sept. 27 to 30 is very timely since it is being held days after the onslaught of Super Typhoon Karding in Central Luzon.
Australian Embassy Development Counsellor Thanh Le, ABC Program Trainer Andrew Fisher, and ABC Project Director Robert Batten graced the event that was attended by various government communicators who deal in disaster preparedness, prevention, mitigation, and response communication.
Participants include personnel from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Office of the Press Secretary, IBC, People's Television, Philippines Broadcasting Service, RTVM, Freedom of Information, Bureau of Communication Services, and PIA.
The DG Cualoping also discussed the advantages of proper dissemination of safety messages,
“By being able to #ExplainExplainExplain, the important safety messages in times of emergencies, we will be able to provide the public the adequate security and government services essential to those who need these the most,” he said.
Apart from these, Cualoping said governmentt communicators also prevent the spread of fake news as they obtain science-based data from agencies like the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), with its attached warning agencies, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).
During the recent hit of Super Typhoon Karding in the country, emergency warning broadcasts from the NDRRMC, and disaster preparedness by local government units and partner agencies were seen as early as Friday, Sept. 23.
ST Karding, considered as the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year, left the Philippine Area of Responsibility on the evening of Sept. 26.
Based on a report by the NDRRMC, its death toll rose to 10, which is 99.83 percent lower than Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013 with the same intensity of Signal No. 5, leaving at least 6,000 people dead. (PIA-NCR)
