MANILA -- Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar said a policy which will bridge the media industry and the government is highly needed.

"Mahihirapan tayo sa nation-building kapag walang media (Nation-building will be hard without media). Talagang importante na merongpolicy (It's really important to have a policy) to bridge media and government because it's the only way that government will understand the issues of our fellow workers especially in the regions," Andanar said during Tuesday’s induction and oath-taking ceremonies of the Nueva Ecija Press Club in Cabanatuan City.

Andanar, a former media practitioner himself, said his lifelong advocacies are strengthening media interests through policies, media engagement, and media solutions.

He cited the creation of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) and the issuance of Freedom of Information (FOI) as the first two administrative orders issued by President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

"We continue to support media policies that promote the greatest welfare of media workers, we continue to promote FOI," he said.

Andanar took pride in strengthening the bureaucracy, particularly the attached agencies under the PCOO, in his stint as PCOO chief under the Duterte administration.

The event is the fourth press club visit made by Andanar this year.

Andanar said he wants to personally meet local media workers around the country to hear the different concerns they have.

PTFoMS Executive Director, Undersecretary Joel Sy Egco and PCOO Assistant Secretary Kris Ablan also attended the gathering and shared their insights on media security and FOI, respectively.

Under the Duterte administration, the Philippines was delisted from the Reporters Without Borders’ (Reporters Sans Frontières) list of five most dangerous countries for journalists.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, another international journalism group, has also noted the Philippines’ “improved status” in the 2018 Global Impunity Index. (PNA)