
MANILA – Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar emphasized on Wednesday the importance of reporting to the Filipino people the improvements that the country has made under President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s governance, which will serve as a benchmark for future administrations.
As a result, succeeding administrations will be challenged to either continue the Duterte administration’s record of excellent governance for the common good or to outperform it.
“Ang Duterte Legacy ay ang communications campaign ng pamahalaan para maipaalala natin sa mga Pilipino kung ano yung mga legasiya ni Presidente Rodrigo Roa Duterte sa kanyang anim na taon na panunungkulan (The Duterte Legacy is a communications campaign of the government to remind the Filipino people of the legacies that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has made in his six years in office],” he said in a radio interview.
“Sa mga nakaraang administrasyon, walang naging legacy campaign so minarapat natin na magkaroon tayo nito para magawan natin ng benchmark ng panunungkulan (In the previous administrations, there were no legacy campaigns. We made sure that we have one so that we can set a benchmark in governance),” he added.
The PCOO and its associated agencies are now highlighting the government’s major achievements through the Duterte Legacy campaign, a communications initiative.
It covers the administration’s Covid-19 response, as well as legacies on peace and order, infrastructure and development, and poverty alleviation.
“Ang dahilan kung bakit natin ni-rollout itong (The reason why we rolled out this) Duterte Legacy is really for the nation to appreciate what the President, what this administration has done for the entire country, at para din bigyan ng sukatan ang Pilipino kung ano dapat at sino ang karapat-dapat na maging susunod na Pangulo sa 2022 (and also to give Filipinos a measure to which they can compare who deserves to be the next president in 2022),” Andanar said.
Due to the pandemic’s constraints on physical interactions and meetings, Andanar said they’ve reinforced their partnerships with several media outlets.
“The best way to be able to reach the wider Filipino audience and deliver the messages of the President, especially during this pandemic, is through a strengthened partnership with the Kapisanan ng mga Brodcaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), who is broadcasting the Laging Handa communications programs that we are undertaking,” he said.
According to the PCOO chief, the Laging Handa Communication campaign, which was launched in 2016, prepared the government media in disseminating the correct information amid crisis situations.
This approach is extensively applied during natural catastrophes and crises. It has also been useful in giving timely and accurate information to the public during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It resulted to various initiatives of giving information such as the Laging Handa Public Briefing, the Network Briefing News, Covid-19 PH Radio, VAXplainer, and Laging Handa Dokyu, among others.
“Pinagsama natin ang government media facilities sa isang direksyon sa ilalim ni Presidente Duterte. Napalakas natin ang (We were able to integrate into one direction our government media facilities under President Duterte. We also strengthened the) Philippine News Agency, PTV, Philippine Information Agency, Bureau of Communications Service, RTVM and the PCOO itself. And we now have broadcast facilities that we never had before,” Andanar said.
He also stated that PCOO will continue with its Duterte Caravan across the country, in conjunction with Duterte’s visit to personally convey his gratitude to Filipinos who have supported him.