Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU) students engaged in an information-loaded seminar by the speakers from the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) during their CommUNITY Campus Caravan held at the Miguel Romualdez Memorial Auditorium, February 20.
The activity, in collaboration with EVSU as a part of its 117th Founding Anniversary Celebration, was the office’s first caravan to be conducted outside the National Capital Region (NCR) in pursuit of promoting awareness to media literacy and misinformation.
Distinguished speakers highlighted the pivotal role of media in education and in national development addressing also the importance of effective communication in today’s digital age.
During his discussion, Mr. Rex John Remitio of CNN Philippines tackled the topic ‘Covering the Government from a Private Media Perspective’ addressing the people’s idea when it comes to the media regarding the nation’s President.
“We’re trained to report, like parang nakikipagusap lang kami normally, ganon. That’s how we report para mas madaling maintindihan, that’s how we report without sacrificing kung ano yung value and detail,” he said, answering a question from a student during the open forum.
Fr. Ranhilo Aquino form PCO meanwhile, enlightened the students via Zoom regarding the Bagong Pilipinas Project in which he stated that the idea of it arose from the hearts and the need of welfare of the people.
Meanwhile, Mr. Nickolaus Gel Llamoso, News and Program Writer, Presidential and Broadcast staff of RTVM talked over ‘Covering the President, RTVM way’ and addressing the common struggles in covering the daily events of the President.
“In that specific action, ang pinaka-struggle is ang ‘Facebook’, not the Facebook itself but the users. As much as we require to stick to deliver factual news, meron at meron pa din nagsasabi na mali ying mga pinopost namin but what we do is something we can never go wrong. It’s us against millions of followers. Pero, we don’t mind. We just do our best, we just work for better,” Mr. Nicko responded during the forum.
Afterwards, interactive sessions and workshops allowed students to actively engage with the material and apply the strategies discussed.
Participant Jonh Diether Baitista from Bachelor of Physical Education expressed his appreciation for the practical tips shared during the seminar, stating, “It was fun. The activities were really engaging also and damo nak nabaruan.”
The event received positive feedback from students and faculty, with many expressing interest in future collaborations with the PCO to further enhance communication literacy among the youth.
Article by Jake Sabido