MANILA — The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) will appoint a civilian Maranao spokesperson to specifically address the Lanao region on updates on the government’s ongoing offensive against the Maute terror group in Marawi City.
The move is part of the PCOO’s establishment of the “Mindanao Hour” Communications Center in Davao City which will serve as the main source of accurate and reliable information on the declaration of martial law in Mindanao.
“In this time of crisis, it is strategically wise for us to expand our communications language from national to regional in order to avoid marginalizing those who are most affected by the declaration of Martial Law,” PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar said.
Communication flow will emanate from this center to and from the national government, including information released to the media.
All processed information from conflict areas will be relayed to the Mindanao Hour Communications Center in Davao and to Malacañang for the regular press briefings in Manila and Davao.
‘Mindanao Hour’
Meanwhile, there will be a “Mindanao Hour” every M-W-F starting 11 am Monday, May 29, at the New Executive Building (NEB) to give updates on what is happening on the ground in Marawi and elsewhere in Mindanao.
Additional updates may be given every T-TH during the Press Briefing of Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella.
There will also be updates through Radyo ng Bayan every Saturday and Sunday at 11 am. This will be led by AFP Spokesperson BGen Restituto Padilla and Presidential Spokesperson Abella.
The Mindanao Hour Communications Center in Davao will be headed by Andanar while the Iligan Mindanao Hour Communications Center will be headed by Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Director General Harold Clavite.
The PCOO and its attached agencies including PIA, People’s Television (PTV), Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS), Philippine News Agency (PNA) and Radio TV Malacanang (RTVM) will be on board and daily press briefings will be organized at the Mindanao Hour Communications Center in Davao.
The Mindanao Hour Daily Briefings will be aired live on PCOO’s attached agencies and on their Facebook pages.
“The Mindanao Hour” and “The Maranao Hour Segment” updates will be available online through PIA’s Mindanao Hour microsite and Mindanao Hour Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts and is scheduled to air starting on first week of June.