University News

CommUNITY Campus Caravan visits PUP

Emy Ruth Gianan, News, Communication Management Office

The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) brought the pioneering CommUNITY Campus Caravan to the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) on December 12, 2023. The caravan was organized at the Bulwagang Balagtas, Sta. Mesa Campus, with the theme “CommUNITY: Nagkakaisang Tinig Tungo sa Bagong Pilipinas.”

PCO visited state universities and colleges (SUCs) and private colleges nationwide as part of the celebration of Communications Month 2023 last October, with its December stop culminating at the Sintang Paaralan. The campus caravan features activities such as exhibition booths, creative contests and competitions, panel discussions, Konsyerto sa Palasyo campus auditions, and internship information booth. It also served as a platform to roll out the PCO’s Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Campaign, “aimed at being a key solution to countering misinformation and disinformation by educating the people in evaluating information sources to make them more discerning in consuming news and information and to be better equipped in identifying and avoiding false or misleading content.”

“This is a wonderful opportunity for PUP to join hands with PCO in engaging our students through various communication-related activities. They would be pleasantly surprised with the creativity and ingenuity of our iskolar ng bayan. We also strongly support the government’s MIL campaign, especially in the age of influence operations and poor information ecosystem. We need every initiative to help exercise our discernment and resilience against bad information,” Dr. Manuel Muhi, University President, shared in a text message.

President Muhi, together with other key officials of the University, actively participated in the caravan and encouraged students to participate in the booths and competitions. PCO Secretary Atty. Cheloy E. Velicaria-Garafil graced the event and delivered the opening statement. The first half of the whole-day caravan was focused on short talks about working in government media and the role of PCO. Before lunch, the first half of the “Konsyerto sa Palasyo” auditions were held. In the afternoon, students joined digital literacy workshops and other activities under the MIL Campaign Project. “Konsyerto sa Palasyo” auditions resumed after the workshops. Undersecretary Emerald R. Ridao delivered the closing remarks.

The caravan was held with the overall goal of “help(ing) the people develop skills and knowledge needed to navigate the complex media landscape and make informed decisions about the information they consume.”