GENERAL SANTOS CITY (PIA) -- The Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Director General, Usec. Ramon Cualoping III recently addressed youth leaders attending the Philippine Young Leaders’ Convergence (PYLC) held in this city.

Cualoping, who spoke on capacitating the youth in media and information literacy, told them about the government efforts to combat fake news, saying that youth has the capacity to contribute in the fight against fake news.

“You are very empowered already…you know you are young and you know you have a voice and you know you are powerful, right?”  

According to him, the government cannot do the fight alone nor the private sector because everyone must get involved and work hand-in-hand to counter fake news describing it as a global problem, with no boundaries.

But he also believes that more than capacitating the youth, it is important that they appreciate their communication role in the crusade that they are embarking on, especially in the fight against fake news.

“You are leaders. You as the future movers and shakers of the country should learn to appreciate ano 'yung role niyo in combating fake news di ba sometimes you all know fake news, ‘yan mali ‘to but what do we do?”

The director-general also pointed out that youth nowadays have changed the mindset of fighting fake news and disinformation, acknowledging “that clamor, that inner fire” that threatens to come off at any point in youth’s life.

“You know you are very powerful that’s why what I am saying that you have to appreciate that and use and channel that fire to help correct certain narratives without disrespecting other people,” DG Cualoping told the young leaders who are mostly student leaders on October 13. 

Cualoping, who was once an active youth leader himself, reminded them further that “we can always convey what we think is right what you believe is right based on the facts that you have, based on the evidence that you have, but always be mindful on being respectful to other people.”

He then encouraged them to help government stop fake news, saying that this counters “that good narrative that we all have, I mean who’s to say what is really fake or what is true but we can always say what is the good narrative for the country, right?”

Also he urged the youth to take on a leadership role of mayor, governor, congressman, or a senator or even the role of a president or vice president at some point in their lives someday, challenging them to join politics not for a certain personality or serving someone, but for the country, for principles and to be that change for the country.

“You know why I asked this because I want all of you to run someday I want all of you to become politicians because you know the problem right on your Twitter on your Facebook you complain right so be part of the solution. Be the one to act on things-- you run, lead this country that is the only way.”

Meanwhile, DG Cualoping also took pride to introduce the agency he is leading, the PIA to the young participants, discussing its ole in government communications thru its premier campaign strategy #explainexplainexplain.

DG Cualoping said that PIA is different from other communications group of the government such as the Office of the Press Secretary, which function is to speak for the personality, the politics of the president, and his policies.

The PIA, on the other hand, he said is tasked to convey information, to communicate public policies of the government. It is the communicator for the entire bureaucracy of government, its institutions, and mandates.

“In the PIA, the vision is very simple. We have to communicate. We have to engage with our stakeholders. And since I took over the leadership of the PIA in the previous administration under former President Duterte, it has become my personal advocacy that we should not just inform, we should explain explain explain,” said the official. 

Speaking on responsibility and accountability, DG Cualoping urged the youth to be responsible and accountable content creators, stressing that not all social media users and influencers have those innate virtues. 

“So kaya kami sa PIA, we push for explain explain explain…we have to make sure at least from our end that we put context on things. That is the only way for people, for our stakeholders to understand, merely informing people is not enough,” he said, urging the youth to also give context to their contents or narratives.

DG Cualoping explained: “Once you are able to provide that proper context to your people then they are truly able to understand things and once they are able to understand things they become thought leaders because they are critical thinkers now so when they are critical thinkers they become thought leaders they get to decide they get to choose what is right, what is wrong, and right there and then they would become truly empowered Filipinos to help us steer the nation.”

“If you [audience] do not understand then may problem tayo but the problem lies with us communicators if people do not understand, hence, we take that initiative that extra step we have to make people understand and we curate and conform content for content-based on what is needed especially the younger people,” he added.

The PIA chief also said that his office should instead be a communications agency “because information is the output I would rather focus on the process to reach that output and that social science is called communication” and to go a step further into development communication (DevCom) as a government communicator.

Gauging the young leaders their understanding of DevCom, Cualoping asked one volunteer participant to explain, to which DevCom student John Ray Cahaminatian obliged.

“For me development communication, Sir, because… it’s like in every problem there is a root cause and that root cause can be often solved by information and communication,” the young student answered, which DG Cualoping lauded.

“It’s true you know you are right. There is a root cause and there is always a solution to a problem and communication is part of the solution. Now simply put, DevCom is communicating something that has social impact, that impacts the lives of each one of us.”

Also present in the event was Freedom of Information Program Director Krizia Casey Avejar, who served a resource speaker on “e-governance as harbinger of economic development and social transformation.”

The event, which carried the theme, “Makigbisug, Kabatan-unan: Regenerating Youth-Centered Impetus Towards Helping Achieve Sustainable and Inclusive Development Post-Pandemic” was held on October 12-15. It was organized by the Global Institute for Youth Development, Inc. in support of Global Goals Week. (CTA/PIA 12-General Santos City)