A recently held regional information forum gathered together local government information officers and civil military operations (CMO) officers to tackle “inclusive” programs of the national government deemed important to be widely disseminated at the grassroots level.
Organized by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) 11, the regional forum was dubbed as Regional Inforum on Communicating Inclusive Governance. It brought together the local government information officers and the Civil Military Operations (CMO) officers from various commands within the 10th Infantry “Agila” Division.
Held at Big 8 Corporate Hotel, the two-day regional information forum covered discussion on inclusive governance policies of President Rodrigo Duterte particularly the Ambisyon Natin 2040 and the Peace Process. It included the Energy Conservation Program run by the Department of Energy (DOE).
In his opening remarks, PIA 11 Regional Director Efren F. Elbanbuena cited the importance of the year-end activity with LGU IOs and CMOs, citing them as crucial purveyors of information from the national government to grassroots communities.
PIA 11 noted as important for LGU IOs and CMOs to grasp understanding about Executive Order No. 05, “Adopting the Twenty-Five Year Long Term Vision entitled Ambisyon Natin 2040 as Guide for Development Planning”.
Ambisyon Natin 2040 basically envisions the Philippines to become “prosperous, pre-dominantly middle class society where no one is poor; our people shall live long and healthy lives, be smart and innovative, and shall live in a high trust society”.
As EO No. 05 mandates that all government instrumentalities including local government units (LGUs) are expected to align their thrusts with Ambisyon Natin, PIA 11 viewed government communicators as instruments in propagating public understanding and appreciation of such national policy.
Meanwhile, the perspective of the Government Peace Process both with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and with the Communist Party of the Philippines National Democratic Front (CPP NDF) was tackled well during the forum with speakers from the Office of the Presidential Assistant on the Peace Process (OPAPP).
Peace Process Secretary Jesus Dureza in a press statement pointed out the need for massive discussion about the Peace Process for it to become inclusive.
Aside from directly engaging with those primarily involved in the Government (GRP) Peace Process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the CPP NDF, he wanted to reach out to sectors of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the Indigenous Peoples, the youth and the wider public.
The regional inforum involved the DOE which dealt with energy efficiency and conservation necessary to avoid energy crisis that could cause frequent brownouts as experienced in past years. (PIA XI/ Jeanevive Duron-Abangan)
