Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian assured the public of timely, credible, and reliable information on the agency’s various social protection programs and services, as the Marcos administration endeavors on capacitating Filipino citizens to become media and information literate.

In a Malacañan press briefing on Tuesday (August 15), Secretary Gatchalian expressed his full support of the recently launched Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Campaign led by the Presidential Communications Office and participated in by the DSWD, Department of Education (DepEd), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

“We have to make sure that we circulate the right channels, but more than anything else, those right channels should bear the right information in a very timely manner,” the DSWD chief emphasized.

According to Secretary Gatchalian, the DSWD will ensure that the public, particularly the vulnerable sectors, are well informed about the different programs and services of the Department through its various communication channels, in support of the MIL project.

“We will make sure that we use all our media channels para masigurado namin na up to date ang impormasyon at credible ang imporasyon na aming pinapublish,” Secretary Gatchalian said.

(We will make sure that we use all our media channels, to provide updated and credible information.)

The DSWD chief also pointed out that the Department has been frequently receiving reports of false information about social protection that proliferates in the digital landscape.

“Kami madalas kaming nagiging biktima niyan . Once so every often we get reports sa field office namin. na may nagpuputna doon na nagke-claim ng alin, dahil sa cellphone nila parang may code na binigay,” Secretary Gatchalian said.

(We often become victims of fake news. Once so often we get reports from field offices that there are people going to our offices, expecting that they will receive something since they allegedly receive a code from someone.)

Under the MIL project, the DSWD shall incorporate the MIL Project into its social protection programs, provide support to the conduct of training related to the Project in targeted communities, and assist in the dissemination of MIL information materials. #