Panayam kay Usec. Emerald Ridao ng Presidential Communications Office
Panayam kay Usec. Emerald Ridao ng Presidential Communications Office
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Communication Month, Campus Caravan, and Media Information Literacy Campaign,
00:05 we will discuss with Undersecretary Emerald Ridao,
00:10 USEC for Digital Media Services from the Presidential Communications Office.
00:14 USEC, good afternoon and welcome to the new Philippines.
00:19 Thank you for having me. Good afternoon to all of you.
00:22 Well, first of all, happy anniversary to all of you who are forming the Presidential Communications Office or PCO.
00:29 President Ferdinand R. Marquez Jr. declared October as Communications Month.
00:36 So, USEC Emerald, what is the vital role of communication when it comes to administration?
00:47 Let's go back to basics. USEC.
00:50 Sorry, what was the question?
00:53 What is the vital role of communication when it comes to administration?
00:58 You know, that's one of the important things that we need to communicate better.
01:02 I know you're very social media savvy.
01:05 Yes, very true.
01:07 We're all in a different time now and you're very fit for your role in the PCO.
01:12 The importance of communication.
01:14 We noticed that not because BBM is featuring the President in the news,
01:20 people already understood what he's doing, what his programs and policies are.
01:26 So, for example, on a day-to-day, the PCO reports on what the President is doing,
01:33 where he is, who he's talking to, and what they're talking about.
01:37 However, when we evaluate on the citizen side, sometimes they don't understand that information.
01:46 And that's largely because we admit that the information is quite technical, for example.
01:52 So, the PCO bridges that gap. We expand on the message of the President.
01:57 We laymanize on the message of the President.
01:59 And we also have attached agencies that translate the message.
02:03 So, whatever the language or the dialect of the province,
02:07 they translate it so that people can understand the policies of the President.
02:12 So, what is the theme of the anniversary celebration of the PCO this year?
02:19 This month, our theme is "Community."
02:23 So, it's "Comms + Unity."
02:25 And that focuses on how everybody is responsible for the messaging that surrounds them.
02:32 So, we all have a contribution, a responsibility to the freedom of information
02:39 and to the release of true information within our own communities.
02:44 That's why the play of social media is really important.
02:47 Because that's what our communities see.
02:51 So, what are your priorities for your Media and Information Literacy Campaign?
02:59 Like here at PTV, in Rise and Shine Philippines, we have a new segment,
03:03 Media Information Literacy Campaign. Is this one of the projects of PCO?
03:10 Yes. So, we're very, very happy that we were able to collaborate with PTV.
03:14 We're very happy that you're allowing us to use the platform, that you're sharing your platform.
03:18 Recently, we conducted a survey and it came out that unfortunately,
03:24 9 out of 10 Filipinos are either victims of fake news
03:28 or feel that it's a problem in their everyday interaction with information, with media.
03:34 So, this is a big number.
03:37 This is enough for us to know that this is a problem that the PCO needs to answer.
03:43 And so, through the MIL campaign, we also studied which sector of the population
03:49 is more likely to be victimized by fake news.
03:52 And we found that mostly, they are the youth.
03:55 Because as you mentioned, they are the most social media savvy,
03:58 they are the most exposed on the internet.
04:00 So, they are our first target before we move to other sectors.
04:05 We are collaborating with CHED and with DepEd
04:08 to further expand the MIL modules that are already available in schools.
04:14 It's just that per DepEd, it's not yet updated with digital information.
04:20 So, for example, now, artificial intelligence is already used a lot,
04:25 unfortunately, AI, in making fake news.
04:28 And so, we need to expand the modules in the curriculum
04:32 to accommodate this new type of misinformation.
04:36 So, how can this help USEC in the Media Information Literacy campaign
04:41 when it comes to spreading fake news, as you mentioned,
04:45 and how can this support the misinformation and disinformation of the public?
04:52 Well, I think, firstly, we have to recognize that there is no spreading of fake news
04:56 if no one will share it.
04:58 So, there is an individual responsibility to take the time to assess
05:03 if what I'm reading is legitimate information
05:08 or if it has red flags, if it has signs that I need to research to verify this information.
05:14 So, for example, in social media, sometimes we can see an art card,
05:20 a quote card that has a logo of, for example, PTV.
05:24 So, automatically, we might think, "Ah, there's a logo of PTV, therefore, it's fake news."
05:29 But if you read the content, sometimes, it's not actually news.
05:33 Sometimes, it's just an opinion.
05:35 And unfortunately, sometimes, it's even disinformation.
05:38 So, the MIL program teaches our students how to take that moment to analyze
05:45 if it has markers of legitimate information
05:49 or if I need to check what the source is,
05:52 how many sources are saying this information,
05:55 and if those sources are legitimate in their fields of information.
06:00 That's the kind of habit we're building.
06:03 I just want to react to this, the ones using logos,
06:06 because there are really many who are victims of that, not just the youth,
06:10 actually, even senior citizens, because our parents are more FBFB,
06:17 our parents, right?
06:19 Yes, unfortunately.
06:20 They're always online on Facebook when you see them.
06:23 And sometimes, even I, myself, I get forwarded news items,
06:32 "News items" with the logo of legitimate news,
06:35 like, let's say, PTV4, ABS-CBN, CNN, whatever, GMA.
06:40 So, you really think it's true.
06:42 So, now, what's your message to those?
06:45 And then, share, share.
06:46 Yes.
06:47 Because it's fast to share.
06:48 You don't know, you're always with them when they share fake news or disinformation.
06:53 Exactly.
06:54 Maybe even the proliferation of AI now,
06:57 I actually got to talk to a hacker, a white hat hacker,
07:00 and he said that all it takes is 10 seconds of your voice,
07:04 and they can replicate you.
07:06 Yes, they can replicate you.
07:07 Yes, unfortunately, that's very true,
07:09 and we've even seen it being done to our president,
07:12 because he's always in the media, every day his face is on TV.
07:18 It has become very easy for people to use AI to manipulate, unfortunately, his messages.
07:24 So, this is why the campaign is so important,
07:27 because we really need to beef up the citizens' understanding
07:30 that it's not just his face and voice, he's the one who's talking.
07:35 But how can we verify that, if it's his voice, but his face?
07:41 It goes back to the source.
07:45 Part of the campaign is really identifying,
07:48 if the topic is government, these are the legitimate government pages,
07:52 this is where you should go.
07:54 For example, if the topic is health, this is the page of DOH,
07:57 this is the page of these following doctors.
08:00 It's not that we're going to list fake news pages versus real news,
08:06 but we're just going to teach the students that if the topic is about this,
08:10 these are the sources that I should check.
08:13 This is the way to verify if the source has an authority on that subject matter.
08:19 Okay. Newsite, there are also some law firms who proposed
08:23 to include in the school curriculum the Media Information Literacy Campaign,
08:27 which you said earlier, that's also your plan for Shed and DepEd.
08:31 Yes, ma'am.
08:32 Currently, there's a curriculum that's already happening,
08:35 how do you intend to tweak it so that you can make it more effective?
08:43 Our understanding is that presently, media information literacy is a module in the curriculum,
08:49 so it's a lesson that you will take over three or four classes.
08:55 What we intend to do is to spread that teaching throughout all the subject matters continuously.
09:02 For example, going back to the example of health,
09:05 if the teachers and the students are going through health lessons,
09:10 in that lesson, they will discuss how to determine if the information is just a rumour,
09:18 maybe just a chain forward, or it really came from the DOH or the proper medical authorities in that subject.
09:25 Then we will continue that information, for example, for history,
09:28 which one is just opinion, which one is actually verified by historical text.
09:36 Historian, yes.
09:37 Yes, historian, sorry, that's what I was looking for.
09:39 So, these are the ways, again, we are not pointing out only listen to these people,
09:44 only watch these groups.
09:45 What we're doing is we're helping the youth to be the ones who are watched
09:50 with regards to the information that they encounter.
09:53 It's a very good plan of PCO, but currently, given that it's not fully ingrained in the curriculum,
10:00 do we have mechanisms in place for the youth to learn in this campaign?
10:05 Yes, actually, one of the things that we are about to launch at the end of this month is our campus caravan.
10:12 So, that will be nationwide, we will start in Metro Manila,
10:18 and the caravan will go around the different provinces in the country.
10:22 So, we are collaborating with our partners in the government and in the private sector.
10:27 We are going to be joined by META for Facebook and Instagram.
10:31 For TikTok, we are also going to be joined by X and Google,
10:35 because we know that it is primarily in their platforms where misinformation is circulating.
10:41 And we are one in the goal to reduce the number of citizens that believe in fake news.
10:48 So, we have collaborated with the platforms where we will bring their programs and modules
10:56 to teach the teachers so that the teachers themselves can instill appreciation to the youth
11:03 regarding how to determine if news is fake or not.
11:08 That's good, right? It's really a collaboration, not just the government but also the private sector.
11:13 So, aside from the state universities and colleges,
11:17 are private schools or universities also included in this caravan?
11:24 We definitely hope to include them down the line,
11:27 although of course now because it's a government effort,
11:30 we are focused on where CHED and DepEd have jurisdiction.
11:34 But that's definitely a group that we want to collaborate with in the very near future.
11:40 Once we're able to successfully launch the Campus Caravan around the country,
11:44 we hope to present to them what we did in public schools so that we can be invited to the private side.
11:50 Well, as a parent, I feel good that PCO is going to do this because we can educate our children
11:56 on how to be critical when it comes to information.
11:59 But just a message to all our fellow countrymen who are watching our program now, you said?
12:04 Of course. Thank you so much.
12:06 Good afternoon to all of us. It's still morning.
12:10 It's still morning?
12:12 Yes. We're not used to it.
12:14 We're not used to it.
12:15 It's still early.
12:16 Thank you very much for joining us in Bagong Pilipinas.
12:20 We invite you to join us for our Campus Caravans.
12:24 We will be touring different SUCs around the country.
12:27 And of course, October 25 is our MIL Summit.
12:32 This will be held in New World, Manila.
12:36 We hope to also see you there.
12:38 Please refer to the official Facebook page of the Presidential Communications Office to know more about the details.
12:45 Thank you very much.
12:47 And again, happy Communications Month.
12:50 Happy Month.
12:51 Yes. We're in our Monthsary.
12:53 Monthsary of the whole month of October.
12:56 So thank you so much for your time, Presidential Communications Office, under Secretary Emerald Ridao.
13:01 Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me.
13:03 That would be.