The Presidential Communication Office (PCO) is ready to implement the Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Project of the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with partner government agencies this Monday.
PCO Secretary Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil led the ceremonial signing of the MOU with the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) ) in Pasay City.
“We are not merely embarking on a mission; we are empowering a collective endeavor to exemplify the power of a whole-of-nation approach, and indeed, a whole-of-society commitment,” according to Secretary Velicaria-Garafil.
The PCO chief added that the launch is a unified effort by the Marcos administration and members of the digital media industry against false information and disinformation.
President Marcos witnessed the MOU’s ceremonial signing and the MIL program’s launch on Monday afternoon.
He said that new technologies, online news and social media have made access to information easier, emphasizing the ability of false narratives and fake news to mislead, divide, and cause disease or harm.
“Our responsibility, then, is clear—to arm our citizens with the tools to discern truth from falsehood,” said the PCO chief.
From schools, the campaign will be brought to communities through dialogues with local leaders, civil servants, and ordinary citizens to enable people to navigate the digital world with understanding and responsibility, he said.
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Velicaria-Garafil said the government and its partners hope to build a society of “synthesizers,” who can use the right information at the right time for the right purpose to make the right choices.
In collaboration with DepEd, CHED, DILG, and DSWD, PCO Secretary expects a successful campaign against misinformation and fake news.
The MOU will implement the MIL, the administration’s response to the disinformation and misinformation plaguing the country’s digital landscape, focused on empowering the youth to become more informed media consumers.
MIL will be integrated into higher education curricula, community training, and family-oriented programs.
Social media companies like Google (YouTube), Meta (Facebook, Instagram, and Threads), TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter) will work with the government by lending tools and training to combat disinformation and falsehoods. information.
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