Dar to gov’t info officers: Inform public on gov’t programs, no sugarcoat

GOV'T COMMUNICATORS -- Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) and Dept. of Agriculture (DA) Secretary William Dar on Aug. 25, said government information officers play a role in properly informing the public of various government programs, projects, and activities, especially during the pandemic. Dar was in Baguio City for the third quarter meeting of the Strategic Communications cluster of the Regional Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC). (Screenshot of the meeting) 

By Liza Agoot  

BAGUIO CITY – Agriculture Secretary William Dar said government information officers play a role in properly informing the public of government programs, projects, and activities, especially during the pandemic.
    “As we continue to live in the realities and challenges today, I encourage you to continue promoting a positive public image of the government, not to sugarcoat, promote what is right and proper, the good over the bad, as we also provide enabling patterns for a harmonious relationship with the local media outlets and the general public as well,” Dar told government information officers in the Cordillera during the third quarter meeting of the Strategic Communications (StratCom) cluster of the Regional Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) here recently.
    Dar, who is also the Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) for the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), encouraged government information officers to maximize their learnings and experiences in the implementation of different programs and projects.
    “Aside from disseminating the correct information, capture the lessons learned, good practices and innovations which we can share to others for their consumption and possible adoption as applicable in the respective programs and projects,” he added.
    The DA Secretary recognized the relevant role of the government information officers amid the Covid-19 pandemic and urged them to continue to play the role of an important partner in bringing truthful and relevant information in the region.
    “Having the right information at the right path enables the stakeholders to make a sound decision,” he said.
    The third quarter meeting of the RTF-ELCAC StratCom cluster has a theme “Strengthening government communications toward resiliency and recovery”, which Dar said is very relevant considering the developments that the nation is facing not only in the agriculture sector.
    He lauded the DA-Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) in Cordillera for being the number 1 among the 12 other areas in the country in terms of production and releasing of timely and accurate press releases about the program’s initiatives.
    The SAAD is a special program designed to address the unique development concerns of marginalized communities, bringing livelihood to the people in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas and the ELCAC barangays in the region.
    The agriculture chief said that seeing the need to drum up the communication plan to inform the public about the government’s program, the DA expanded its key strategies to 18 by adding the communication strategy.
    “We aim to pursue comprehensive and proactive communication strategies to strengthen awareness among stakeholders, partners, and the public,” he said. -- PNA