President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared on August 2 through Proclamation No. 308 the month of October as Communications Month.
The proclamation also declares October 11 as the anniversary of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), after former President Manuel Quezon’s creation of a similarly-functioning Office of Special Services in 1942 on the same date.
According to Executive Orders No. 11 and 16, the PCO is in charge of crafting, formulating, developing, enhancing, and coordinating the message system for the Executive branch and the Office of the President.
In a statement released on Sunday, the PCO said that Marcos issued a two-page proclamation signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin that “underscored the vital role of communication in engaging and involving the citizenry and the media industry in enriching the quality of public discourse on all matters of governance.”
“The administration aims to provide true, accurate and relevant information regarding its policies, priority programs, and projects to nurture a well-informed and enlightened citizenry through appropriate media,” Marcos said.
Under the proclamation, PCO will lead the observance of its anniversary celebrations, while other government agencies are enjoined to participate in activities for the event.
The declaration came a year after Marcos issued EO 11, renaming the OPS to PCO. It also comes nearly two months after the president announced that the government will be implementing a media and information literacy campaign to combat disinformation.
In December 2021, fact checker Vera Files reported that Marcos was the top beneficiary of inaccurate election-related online posts that was used to attack or political aspirants.
Three months later, Marcos, then presidential candidate, claimed that he did not see himself benefitting from “fake news.”
Another fact-check coalition Tsek.ph also released analysis of fact checks in 2022 which found that there was “firehose of disinformation” in favor of Marcos days leading up to election day in May that year.
The president, however, said he was a victim of fake news and that there is no group of paid trolls helping spread disinformation in his favor. —with reports from Alexis Romero and Cristina Chi
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