ONE of the country’s top information officials pushed for initiatives that will promote awareness on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) as a regional community that offers opportunities for its member-states and citizens.
Undersecretary Noel Puyat of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), chairman of the 2017 Asean Senior Officials/Ministers Responsible for Information (Somri), said during a press conference at the SMX Convention Center Bacolod Tuesday that the role of PCOO, as the lead of the Committee on Media Affairs and Strategic Communications, is to spread awareness and educate the public about Asean.
For two days, March 22 and 23, Bacolod is hosting the 15th Meeting of the Asean Somri.
Puyat said that increasing engagement in social media can further strengthen awareness on the initiatives of the Asean to further improve the welfare of its citizens.
He added that the Asean is aiming to increase its online presence in various social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to create awareness.
“We are sharing information on different platforms just to push the awareness,” Puyat said.
He added that the initiative is in line with the Asean Strategic Plan for Information and Media 2016-2025 that will guide the development and cooperation of information and media sector towards supporting other community pillars and sectors with their communication needs.
It will also advocate the policies and initiatives implemented by Asea, and communicate with the peoples through different platforms to promulgate the benefits of Asean’s development, he added.
Under the said plan, Asean aims to utilize information and communication technology (ICT) across different groups as a means to connect with the regional and global community.
Among the measures to be implemented include using new media in disseminating information on Asean consolidation, solidarity, diversity and unity; facilitating development of ICT apps to promote the creation and production of digital content and dissemination of Asean content to different groups; engaging managers of new media platforms with Asean integration content; and collaborating with other sectors to facilitate technology development and improve accessibility in the information and media sector.
Puyat added that the PCOO is conducting Asean roadshows in different barangays across the country to deliver talks and answer questions from various audiences in order to share knowledge to the public. It has also been distributing reading materials in different dialects to explain Asean and the role of the Philippines in the regional association.
He said that the PCOO has also visited schools, interacted with students and engaged with local government units, members of the academe and local media to discuss important issues on Asean that can impact their lives.
More security forces
A 200-man team from the Police Regional Office (PRO)-6 in Iloilo City arrived in the city Tuesday afternoon to reinforce security operations for the Asean meeting.
The PRO-Western Visayas Civil Disturbance Management (CDM) contingent, who came on board the Philippine Navy’s BRP Agta, docked at BREDCO port in the Reclamation Area, adjacent to the meeting venue.
They were met by Senior Superintendent Joseph Thomas Martir, officer-in-charge of Regional Public Safety Battalion in Negros Island Region.
The CDM team, which will secure possible rally venues, augmented the 4,273 security personnel sent off to their various assignments Monday.
Senior Inspector Armilyn Vargas, public information officer of PRO in Negros Island Region (NIR), said the CDM personnel will exercise maximum tolerance during protest actions.
Vargas said they are expecting 5,000 participants in the rally to be held at the public plaza Wednesday.
She said the heads of the militant groups and representatives from National Organizing Committee (NOC) already met and discussed the procedures and the limitations of the protest.
“We are confident that nothing will happen especially during the two-day Somri convention,” Vargas said. (With reports from PNA)